Easing back in

Thursday was a great ride. 42 miles of beach ride and mist. Thank goodness for arm warmers. Those of you not in Los Angeles are most likely amused at our concept of cold.

Ramon and I decided we could take a little time off work if we headed back and caught up in the afternoon. Since I have not been on my bike on my usual TNT training schedule and he has been off since Honolulu (Sept 30th) we were in agreement that we both really needed this.

When we were discussing routes, he actually asked ME for an easy one! Of course, later when he put on his coaches hat, he told me I need to pick more challenging routes (the brat).

We left from the house and rode up Olympic, crossing over to Pico where it hits the beach, north to Will Rogers then turn around south to somewhere about 10 miles past the Marina and then back to Venice for lunch. All in, all, a very good way to get back in the swing of things. Left us each feeling that it was worth our time and that we could do more.

The beach path can force you to ride fairly slow in some places, which was good for us on that day and also give you opportunities to open up. I was pleased that I maintained 33KPM for a while, without passing out or wishing I would. Admittedly, there were very few places we could ride at that.

I think the best thing about having a riding partner is the ability to check in and see if we are working efficiently in terms of our pace and effort. What we work towards is being about to put effort into the biking and still be able to carry a conversation. If my words are coming in gasps and pants I may be working too hard and have to learn to tackle that particular challenge.

Our next ride together will most likely be the same route I did on the Tour de Foothills. Its got a good steady climb and will work us out fairly well without kicking my ass. After that, I’m going to have to force myself back to Encinal Cyn just to get my ass kicked. From what I understand, a lot of the rides I have yet to do will have bodacious climb.