05 September 2011
Spring has sprung, but Cape Town is certainly living up to its reputation for “four seasons in one week”.
Last week began with “summer-like” conditions and no wind, changing for the worst on Thursday and Friday before reverting to idyllic conditions for the weekend.
This of course adjusts our training program, with safety being our number one concern. Riding in the dark is no problem. Riding in the rain is unpleasant, but bearable. Riding in the dark AND the rain is a “no-no”.
So we improvise.
With the bad weather, I didn’t manage to achieve my goal of a certain amount of hours, but incidentally achieved the same total distance as the previous week.
This spells quality over quantity, indicating the average speed was substantially higher than last week.
I had two indoor sessions, both at a high cadence, which provides an excellent workout. This works the hamstrings as well as the quadriceps, improving my pedalling efficiency.
Saturday’s ride was our key session, and can only be described as “bomb-proof”!
We covered 182 kilometres averaging over 30km/hr, giving us another six-hour ride “in the bank”.
All in all, a good week, with a total of fifteen hours of riding. Considering the bad weather and resulting lack of night rides, I’m definitely satisfied with my progress up to this point.
We plan on “ramping it up” this week, with Sunday being our key day at the first league road race being held in Worcester.
I am riding back from there afterwards, which will be a very long ride totalling over six hours.
Bring it on!
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