Bass Lake

The weather is strange these days....it's really nice. Definitely not the norm for early November. Today was mid 60s. They said it was going to be sunny, but it was partly cloudy with occasional light rain. But it was warm...I'll take it.

I've ridden 9 centuries this year and I want to do one more. I was going to do that today, but I didn't feel up to it so I decided to go for a hard 56 mile ride - my Bass Lake route. It was the perfect route for today since it heads south and we had 10 mph winds out of the south. Nothing like a good tailwind on the way home.

I've had a lot on my mind these days, and I think I just got tired of thinking so much. I was completely focused on my ride. My mind didn't wander once. I got into a zone, and I kept pushing harder and harder. My legs hurt, but I was loving it.

At the Spirit of Racing Half Ironman in July, I averaged 215 watts for 56 miles so I started out doing about 215-220 watts. Eventually, my watts crept up into the 220-230 range. Then 230-240. Then 240-250.

Coming down Seminole toward the end, I was doing 250-270. My legs ached, but it felt great. I finished with an average of 233 watts, and an average speed of 20.7 mph - by far my fastest on that route. I've never averaged that many watts for that long so that felt really good.

This evening I went for a run, my first in a little more than a week. I've got a mild case of achilles tendinitis that I'm trying to get rid of. I ran 2.75 miles and my achilles felt pretty good so that's encouraging. It's a start anyway.

My legs are really sore right now, but it's a good sore.

I'm not going to tell you who I'm voting for....



...but I will say this: the times are ripe for change.

For those of you worried about a possible global recession: The Fix.

And for Toby, who's always looking for a new phrase, this is classic...