April is winding down and so is 30 Days of Biking. Yesterday was the biggest test yet for my allegiance to the cause.
It rained all day and evening, heavy cold rain. Cats and dogs kind of rain. I put it off as long as I could then donned my rain jacket and pants for a really quick spin on the bike. Just enough to call it a ride. Barely.
We had two nice days of riding over the weekend. Amazing how easy it feels on Rocket the road bike after the daily slogs on my nameless mountain bike or Condor the commuter. I decided to do all of my Monday – Friday rides on the heavier bikes and save my zippy road bike for my longer weekend rides. My thinking was and is to use the slower, heavier bike rides to build my fitness and the longer rides would be easier as a result.
It’s working. I felt the benefits of this strategy on both rides over the weekend. Both rides were noticeably easier than they were in March. Granted I’m riding more, every day now, and that’s part of it, but I think a bigger part of the improvements are from the daily training on the beefier bikes.
Some of it is mental – some part of everything is mental – and I’ll take it but there’s no question, in my mind at least, that it is easier to go fast and long on a road bike.
Don’t get me wrong, I love riding all three of my bikes, but for different reasons and purposes.
Anyone see it differently or employ a similar strategy for early season rides?
All of us in the Northeast are trying to make up for the two months we lost this winter because of the snow. And as you said, it’s getting easier with every mile we add to our logs.
I bet, you guys had a horrible winter! Happy riding this spring and summer, John.