The reality

 After an easy week and being back on my long distance bike I had great hopes for today's ride.

Such a great pleasure to ride this bike. Not the lightest but very comfortable. The endorphin induced happiness of riding fast, even against the wind. Feeling fresh. Believing you are strong.

A shame reality stroke as soon as we hit Green Dene. It is not that I was dropped. It was that I blew up in a thousand pieces and lost about a minute in 100 metres. 

You barely warmed up, I told myself. For a diesel engine like yours a climb in with barely 25km in the legs is just too soon. (I’m not really sure I have a diesel “engine” but it was a great excuse to be used at that moment). 

The problem is reality is stubborn and I blew up again up Cutmill. To add insult to the injury Cutmill is a climb I know fairly well, I raced it a few times. I know where you have to attack. I was aiming to take it. And just at that very moment I was telling myself “Attack. Now!”, my legs, my brain, all me really, gave up. 

For someone with a thousand excuses in the bag I was starting to run short of them. The diesel engine excuse doesn’t work that well when you are 70km into the ride, even if you play the “I’m a audaxer card”.

Worst of all I was still feeling ok(ish) for most of the time. Fair to say part of it is that by now wind was mostly tail wind and that makes it easier to get tricked into believing you are riding fast when the reality is that it was mostly wind assisted speed. I’m sure you know the feeling.

Ah, the reality. The reality is also that I took the Esher sprint. True too the reality is the order we took turns meant I was sitting on a wheel just before the moment you have to launch the sprint. That helps.

I needed that “win” to keep believing I was fresh, strong and fast. 

Who cares about reality. 

The ride in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/5024914056

Take care

Javier Arias González

How is my training going?

 

My CTL from 18th of Dec to 21st of March

I wanted to review how my form has evolved in the last few months and think a little about what I'm trying to do from the training point of view. I know you might not care about how my training is going so feel free to completely ignore this post. 

From 18th of December I enjoyed two weeks of holidays. That meant lots of cycling outside. Cycling lots meants your CTL goes up quickly, from 63.5 to 85.1. Cycling lots also means your form gets better and I definitely can tell I was riding stronger than I was for a very long , long, time.

January meant lockdown and not riding outside. Lots of turbo sessions kept me in good form. My CTL went from 85.1 to 77.8, but that’s normal. Even considering that I started to put 2 hours sessions on the turbo it is very difficult to compensate for the lack of volumen when you ride lots outside.

February was not that great. Still in lockdown my turbo decided to commit suicide and, literaly, stopped working with a small explosion. February was also a very busy month from the work point of view. We launched GCN+ and that meant lots of working hours. Lots of working hours mean less hours on the turbo. My CTL dropped from 77.8 to 63.1. I wasn’t too happy about it but live sometimes gets in the way of cycling.

March came. A glimpse of a summer allowing cycling events gave me a reason to dream about cycling objectives. Maratona in July, 1001 Miglia in August, Flanders and a week training camp in September. It is all, obviously, pretty much up in the air but having objectives gave me a reason to start thinking about training. 

A regime of four weeks of 2 easy hours on the turbo on Tuesdays, an intense session on Wednesdays, 2 steady hours on Thursdays, a long, intense ride on Saturdays and a steady ride on Sundays made my CTL go from 63.1 to 81.2 and I started to feel strong again.

I’ll confess this last week was fairly hard. Instead of taking it easy after three weeks I decided to keep the volume and intensity for one more week. That is because next week life will get in the way of cycling again and will force me to ride less so I preferred to force this fourth week rather than having two consecutive easy weeks. It wasn’t easy. My TSB touched -39, on Friday got my first dose of the COVID vaccine. Yesterday’s and today’s ride felt hard and I was dropped again and again. I’m definitely ready for a very easy week.

With the Kingston Wheelers 200 coming on 11th of April and having the 300 in May, the 400 in June and the 600 in July (perfect build up for the 1000 miles of the 1001 Miglia in August)  I’m now switching to my long distance bike. I’m also switching from short 1 minute interval sessions on Wednesdays to 8 minute intervals. Traditionally those have worked very well for me in terms of getting form.

Looking at my numbers for this year and comparing them to my best year (2018) I’m a bit behind in the calendar but they are very similar. The prospect of getting better than I was in 2018 after my fairly weak years in 2019 and 2020 makes me feel very optimistic. Let’s hope everything keeps on a positive note.

Take care

Javier Arias González

Javier, the climber

 The whole point of this ride is the "climb" that is about half way through the ride.

I knew that and I was prepared for that. Well, kind of. There is a long (3km?) drag before the climb and I'm never sure where the actual climb really starts.  

In any case I played it conservatively. Denis and I were taking turns as we were approaching the climb at a not very hard pace.

At some point, when I thought the climb was about to start I moved to the front and kept the pace. The road was getting steeper, I was keeping the cadence and I saw the power number to go "high".

Did something like 30 seconds at around 350w. The road got even steeper and I pushed to keep the same cadence (around 85rpm). I started to see power numbers around 400w. 

What a great Chris Froome impersonation!! Javier, the climber in action. All powerful, all confident. All this going through my mind. They say exercise efforts makes you seggregate endorphins and I was having an overdose.

All this until Ed passed us like he was riding in the park. 

Ed, the one that was riding about 30s behind us to make sure we were compliant with the lockdown rules. 

Very soon after Ed passed us it was Denis' time. Denis, the one that is always there, was, once again, there. He passed me slowly but by the time we got to the end of the climb he was a full bike ahead of me.

Third!!!

Javier, the climber. Starting the year with a bang. 

The ride in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/4554435319

Take care

Javier Arias González

Sprinting against Ed

Tired legs today. Still managed to ride at a decent, sustainable, endurance pace. Good training I reckon. Very happy that I felt reasonably well at the end. 

Not that happy that I lost the Esher sprint to Ed though. Let me replay it for T-Y's benefit.

Ed was having a sprinter day today. From the very beginning sprinting for every town sign. I think he took at least five sprints. I’d question some of them though. At points it felt to me he was sprinting for any type of sign. I still have to see a clear guideline on what constitutes a sprint sign that goes beyond any line Ed (or JFW or T-Y) crosses first.

By Ripley Ed took one of those questionable sprints and very soon the proper town sign sprint appeared…

We both sprinted… and I took it. First sprint of the day for me. Clearly losing at the points by then but that didn’t matter. Taking that first sprint meant we were game and Esher’s sprint was coming. We all know that no matter how well you did sprinting during the ride, the last sprint is the one that counts (unless I take a considerable amount of intermediate sprints of course). 

Ed pushed the pace every time the road was slightly uphill. Me hanging there. Praying to hold on, to stay there. Just surviving.

Ed still had time to claim another sprint. One of those I wouldn’t doubt to question, but one of those that affects your morale. So much so that he even mentioned out loud now there was only the Esher sprint ahead. Here is where my mind games started.

Last “climb” before Cobham, I just found out its name in Strava is “Mucky Duck Climb”, I was expecting Ed to punish me. Somehow I ended up leading the way on that climb and with a PR even if in my mind I was “saving my legs”.

At Plough Line I was saved by a car that slowed Ed. I thank god, wise in his mercy, and recovered a little bit. Things started to look good. The real deal was coming.

We were lucky out of Cobham, we didn’t have to put the step down. Straight into the first “climb”. Me at the front.

Wait a minute. Me at the front? This is not good I thought. Take it easy in this first “climb”. Let him pass you.

Sure enough by the time we got to the top Ed passed me. I jumped on his wheel and prepared to enjoy the ride through the flat section. This is looking really good.

In my mind I basically had three ways to play it. First option was stay there the whole way and outsprint him in the last few meters, classic Javier. I don’t have any moral conflict with that strategy but for once I thought it wouldn’t look that good in this report so ditched that option. 

The second way I figured I could play it was attacking from a far. It worked very well on my last ride and I was feeling ok(ish) so this was a good option. I figured I should wait for the second “climb”, the longest. Ed surely would try to drop me. Then, near the top, at the very moment he sits back on the saddle I would attack him soloing to the line. Perfect plan.

Except that by the time we were getting to the top of the first climb Ed was playing his best Contador’s impersonation and what was supposed to be an attack was just me moving to the front and Ed sitting on my wheel. Well played Javier, very well played.

Here came my third option. Outsprint Ed from the front. Bold. Yes, a bit of a stupid plan too, but unquestionably bold.

For a second I considered attacking Ed in the third “climb” but my legs didn’t agree and my brain quickly decided that “climb” is too short (great excuse that one) and that resting as much as possible for the last sprint was the wise decision. 

To be clear. Descending the third “climb”, approaching the last “climb” to the line, I was still knowing I was going to win the sprint. That’s how arrogant I am. I knew I was going to win. I never doubted it.

We approached the last “climb” rather slowly. Me looking at the back and seeing Ed there. Me thinking wait for it, wait for it, WAIT.FOR.IT!!!! 

What did I do?

I went too early. My sprint lasted exactly 13 seconds. It would have been perfect if it started 13 seconds from the line but started way too early.

Ed held my wheel without a problem and passed me 100 metres before the line. By the time I crossed it Ed had enough time to have a coffee at the Giro cafe if it were open.

Didn’t cry too much. In fact I stopped crying almost 10 minutes ago. 

The ride in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/4519541749/

Take care

Javier Arias González

A "Historic" win

I knew I was tired even before I got to Surbiton. It wasn't a surprise. Last few days I have been riding more than any other time this year. Nothing massive, especially compared to previous years, but still the hardest and longest I have ridden this year.

Being tired means the beginning of the ride is challenging. My brain wanting to go faster, my body pushing me to go slower, to take it easier. Not that my brain triumphs my body that often but today we had head wind all the way out. No chance for my brain. A bit slower it was. Henley couldn’t arrive soon enough.

A coffee (I’d confess it was another latte but that would be risking Paolo’s friendship. I could even be banned to enter Italy ever again) and sitting outside helped to recover. It was cold. The wind was very cold. But we sat in the sun. That was nice.

The return leg felt easier. It turns out that a bit of caffeine and a tail wind help to change your perception of effort. A lot!

In a stroke of genius I attacked no one taking advantage of the slipstream of a passing rider. Proper racing craft that. 7 km to get to the sprint at Hampton. Looked back and the gap was decent, in my head anyway, so set myself in a pace that felt sustainable and hopped for the best. Passed a few riders and that helped my morale, kept the pace. I was having problems to decide if this was more similar to a win at Flanders or at Paris Roubaix, a big memorable win in any case. Passed two female riders just before the sprint. I took it. Of course. Didn’t celebrate though. Not because I was afraid of losing the sprint, no one was contesting it, but because I was too embarrassed and afraid of what they would think of me. 

A decent ride at the end of the day. Strava says, “Historic Relative Effort”. It seems to me Strava has a low threshold for the “Historic” mark. After all this was a short and pan flat ride. 

Maybe Strava is referring to my “win”. Actually, I’d agree it was “Historic”.

The ride in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/4512283971

Take care

Javier Arias González

Fear

That's what I fealt this morning. I had a fairly heavy week in terms of riding and my legs didn't lose any time to remind it to me. As soon as I walked down the stairs to get my breakfast my legs screamed "Why are you doing this to us?". I could have tried a Jens Voigt's "Shut up legs" but my legs are not that well disciplined and they wouldn't shut up. That made me fear today's ride.

I knew is was pan flat and not particularly long, only 138km. I shouldn't have any problem to stay on the wheel of the group. But my worry was not being able to stay with the group, my fear was how hard that was going to be. I pictured myself strugling by the time we got to Hampton Court (km 7) and I didn't like the image. I turned on the coffee machine.

I'm so lucky caffeine is not a banned substance! I had my breakfast, and a coffee. By the time I jumped on my bike I wasn't afraid anymore. I was actually cold. Autum is definitively here.

In the "first half" of the ride I was feeling well. I knew it was the effect of the caffeine so I was prudent with all my efforts but didn't shy from working in the front (there you have a new Javier in the making). 

I say "first half" even if we stopped before we got to half of the ride. I did a great demonstration of my computer skills being able to order using Fergo's website and, obviously, I order a coffee for me.

We had a small climb straight after the stop. Not my favourite way to warm up after sitting ouside in the chilling wind. I took it easy, letting the climb to warm me up. As soon as I got to the top I tried to load the big chainring.

It didn't work. I immediately realised my di2 had run out of battery. I'll blame the battery itself. Otherwise I'd have to admit I had failed to charge it properly and I read enough about nowadays politics to know taking responsability for your acts is not in fashion these days. The battery is to blame! I should start a career in politics.

I told my ride companions. With 80 flat kms to go I resigned myself to ride the rest of the route alone riding all the way home in the small chainring. 

Now, what happened is between a few small bumps in the road, crossing a few villages, a few bits with lot of traffic, some constructions with traffic lights and a few times they waited for me I managed to stay at the back of the group for most of the time.

Another side effect was that as soon as a bump in the road came I just went for it thinking "Doesn't matter if you burn yourself and get dropped, you can just easy pedal all your way home". I did that one, I did it twice, and thrice. It was obvious I was still under the effect of the caffeine but it came to a point that I thought. "Wait a second. If you were able to use all your gears there is no way you'd be riding that way. You are way too conservative to ride like that. Always trying to make sure you don't empty yourself too early. Always thinking about the whole ride. Never not caring about emptying your legs before you finish the ride.". 

It turns out I surprised myself. I foud I had more energy I thought I had (oh caffeine, oh caffeine). I ended up enjoying the second "half" of the ride. Spinning my legs like crazy, riding not caring about blowing up, sprinting at 148rpm to get to 300w, not feeling any fear. 

I am now considering the following changes in my cycling live. Trying to figure out the maximal dosis of caffeine I can get. Riding aggresively from the start of the ride, ala JFW, even contesting town signs sprints. Removing the big chainring, it would have the additional benefit of saving some weight on the bike. Suing Shimano. Maybe I should buy a new bike.

Hopefully sense will come back to me at some point. 

The ride in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/4114550502

Take care

Javier Arias González

Spanish Cycling Jargon 101 (Part 2) - Rompepiernas

 "Rompepiernas"

This is so niche Google translate doesn't know how to translate it, proper Spanish Cycling Jargon. I'll give it a go: "Legs Breaker".

Rompepiernas is an easy concept to grasp. A Rompepiernas is a route that is not flat but is not hilly either. A Rompepiernas route is a constant up and down, it doesn't allow you to set a constant pace. Easy. The challenge is in the pronunciation. If you ever want to make my day ask me how it is pronounced and give it a go. As funny as when I pronounce Literature. 

Today's route was 149.81km, that's less than 150km so it was a short route. Today I climbed 1,328m, that's less than 1498m so today's route was officially flat. (If you don't know what I'm talking about see here https://www.unbiciorejon.com/2019/02/javiers-ride-classification-criteria.html btw. there was a bit of a debate at the coffee stop about how sensible these thresholds are. I think I can say I managed to convince everyone they are pretty sensible. As the post says "Don't even try to argue with me about this classification.").

So, can a short and flat route be a Rompepiernas? You bet it can. Alice warned us and she was right. The route is a constant up and down. All short "climbs", making it impossible to set a constant pace. Hell if you are not in form.

Even worst if you are riding with a group where everyone is stronger than you, that power it through all the "climbs" and even sprint for all town signs. You know that group you hate the whole ride despite you know you love riding with them. Oh my, I sat on some wheels today. A practice everyone would agree I don't need (I probably could claim a phd on wheel sucking) but add some nice wind to a Rompepiernas route and you know I really need sitting on everyone's wheel to survive (just about).

The good news is the optimistic in me believes I'm getting fitter. With a week of holidays ahead, a 200km Audax planned for 4th of October, two weeks of holidays at the end of October, with a bit of luck in Asturias, and my plan to start with 8m and 1m interval sessions in the turbo. I reckon by November I'll be in a decent form. Caffeine is such a great drug.

btw. Spanish Cycling Jargon 101 (Part 1) - "Me llevaron todo el día con el ganchu" is here https://www.unbiciorejon.com/2019/10/spanish-cycling-jargon-101.html Keep at it, by part 10 you'll be a proficient Spanish Cycling Jargon speaker.

Today's ride in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/4082839233

Take care

Javier Arias González