pain machine

this winter has been so mild, haven't had to lay-down too many 3hr pieces on the indoor trainer, been limited to 40-60' per day in the mornings before the commute to work. but, cold temps, high winds and snow/ice on the roadways had me pedaling inside today. my rear is still bothering me from last wknd's fall and by 120' into today's session i was ready to be done with it. the next 60' crawled by so damn slow i grabbed a beer from the fridge w/15' to go as a "reward", to make the final 15' palatable. that pleasure lasted all of 30 seconds, guess i really can open up the hatch when huffing and puffing at 75-80% of max... here's hoping we get our unseasonable temps back! the pain machine has to be my least favorite part of preparations for racing - it's the only time i feel like i'm training vs riding to ride... but, once again, can't complain about this winter - been in the woods almost every single week!

thinking about it again, yesterday's snow ride was amazing. ground rock-hard, excellent traction, challenging ice/water crossings, then a steady light powder covering it all in a blanket of slippery uncertainty. the ride home was a blast. made me think of those old mario brother's style video games - there's always an "ice board" where you have to adjust for the slick conditions. a good video game player quickly recognizes the effects of the conditions, compensates and escapes unscathed - mostly. that's the kind of ride we had home. unscathed - mostly. couple crashes, but luckily we also got a couple extra lives.