A little bit of this, a little bit of that.

Last weekend was the 24 hours @ Albion race. I didn't have any plans on racing it with a team since I havent really had the urge in awhile. I did my first 24 hour race back in 2002 @ Kelso and pretty much did two events a year up until 2008. They're fun races, but I find I get bored after 2 or 3 laps. Night riding isn't exceptionally exciting, and getting up at 3:47 am to do an unexciting lap isn't much fun.

So for the last few years Ive gotten into the habit of signing up with my buddies corporate beer league team and throwing down a lap or two so that I could benchmark myself against the 3-4 elite guys who would show up. It was a good set up. No late nights, no commitment to do a lap and no entry fee!

It wouldnt pan out this time though. Right after the Lake to Lake i found out my wheel bearings were seized. Then soon after, I found out my BB bearings were toasted. Then soon after, I found out id need a new chain and cassette.

So my bike was out of commission. Which worked out conveniently, as it began to pour at the start of the race. I didnt really feel like throwing down in the mud.

The more and more I ride MTB the more I think I should be riding road. Mountain bike racing is not a poor man's sport. It is right up there with Golf and Tennis. Huge entry fees, expensive equipment, travel costs... its brutal. This is not to say it is overpriced. It costs what it costs... and its expensive. In my next life im gonna stick to basketball.

On Sunday, I did 70k ride that had me riding through some fiercely heavy thunderstorms. Also, I felt pretty tired, and actually puked at the top of rattlesnake, granted I was pushing harder than Ive pushed before.

Monday was a day off as I discovered I had a rampant strep infection on the back of my throat and could barely eat.

Tuesday, I felt surprisingly better, so decided to join the Speed River Guys for their weekly 2h hammerfest. Unfortunately I got out of work 3 mins too late. I charged hard, trying to catch the group and hoping the in town traffic lights worked in my favor, but alas they didnt. I managed to keep the group on the horizon up until we got to the outskirts of Guelph before they disappeared. Ah well. It was a thrilling chase.

Instead i whipped up an 80k route that had me spending about 40 minutes above threshold. It was a fast hard ride. WKO+ revealed a 34.9km/h avg and an av wattage of 244. It was fast on the southern stretches, slow and painful when going north.
I cant say for sure, but that has to be the hardest ride ive done all year. At least in terms of power data.

Today my legs are wicked sore, and my throat is acting up again. Ill probably taker easy tonight and try to squeeze in a ride tomorrow before work. I really wanted to get in a hard ride on Friday but it looks like work, and driving to go camping will prevent this from happening. Ill be camping this weekend which means no ride time. Ill probably take some time to do some core or some swimming so as not to waste the weekend.