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Saturday, May 29, 2010

Lub ... Dub

It was a gorgeous day for the Washington County Bicycle Club’s “Brat in Hell” ride and thanks to a couple of guests from Oconomowoc we had our best turnout of the year. (If you went only as far as Theresa, then you didn’t get to meet our guests. They had started early and were waiting for us in Brownsville.) Like all Jimmy Scharrer routes, this one had some tough hills. I used them to get my heart rate up on what otherwise was a slow-paced 58 miles. My average heart rate for the entire ride was just 117—64% of maximum—but that’s OK. I surely didn’t want to fatigue myself before DeKalb.

As soon as I got home I showered and got into some compression shorts, downed a big glass of Ovaltine and had a high-protein lunch. I’ve become a big believer in actively managing my recovery. After lunch it was time to wash the flatbar bike, clean and lubricate its drivetrain, etc. Whenever I’m about to travel to an event I work from a checklist to ensure I don’t forget essential gear or bike preparations.

Now I’ve had a big spaghetti dinner to repack the glycogen stores, I’ve rehydrated (I lost five pounds on the ride today, despite drinking three bottles of water and one bottle of Gatorade), and bedtime is coming soon. I’ll want time for breakfast tomorrow, then it’s a 150-mile drive to DeKalb. I’ll be working toward the event for about four hours before it even begins.

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