Party Of One

Don't be shy about helping yourselves to punch and cookies.

Last Sunday was awesome. It was so awesome that it got even more awesome as the week progressed. When I recapped my performance at the Gravel Metric, I mentioned that I had finished in the top half of the 360-rider field. As it turns out, I was probably in the top 20 percent. A few days after the event, several people published photo albums online and by finding myself in those chronologically-ordered pictures I was able to see just how few people were ahead of me.

It was a great feeling to be part of something as big as the Gravel Metric. So many times in my life I have been convinced that there was a better party somewhere else, but last Sunday I felt like I was at the center of the cycling world … except for the Giro d’Italia, maybe. This weekend I once again felt like I was missing the party. The WCA had a road race yesterday and a crit today. It was a WORS weekend at CamRock. None of it was in my plans. This weekend I was a party of one.

Saturday was OK. I did a reasonably fast 45-mile road ride to reach 1,500 miles, year-to-date. My route combined elements of the Covered Bridge Ride, the Ozaukee Interurban Trail and Cheesehead Roubaix. But today kind of sucked. I went to New Fane not because I wanted to go, but because I had not ridden the mountain bike since May 20 and I needed to practice. Unmotivated and just a little fatigued from a long week of training, I completed two slow laps and called it a day.

I will take a scheduled rest tomorrow, then I will return to New Fane on Tuesday with fresher legs and, hopefully, a better attitude. The WEMS race at Suamico on June 7 will be my first mountain bike race since last September and I want to perform well, so another practice session on singletrack is in order. Middle-distance road rides are on the schedule for Wednesday and Thursday. Friday will be another rest day or an opportunity for a short Eisenbahn State Trail ride.

As June begins I am 5 pounds lighter than I was at the beginning of May. My resting heart rate is very low—just 44 beats per minute—and my blood pressure is a healthy 101/54. I’m happy with those numbers and with most of my recent road rides. Now I need to convert improving fitness into better performance on the mountain bike.