Another cold one this morning. It was about 26F with some light flurries when I got out at 10am. Despite the cold it was one of the most enjoyable rides I've done in a long time. The roads were very quiet which I expected on Christmas day but there were a lot of people out exercising and everyone acknowledged each others efforts. A nod of the head, a smile, and even a "merry christmas" which I couldn't hear because I had tunes in my ear. I headed out to Carlisle/Chelmsford area. My ride is on Strava. With such quiet roads even the drivers that usually act like your not there passed with plenty of space and often slowed down. Christmas spirit? It should be like this everyday. My water bottles froze again which is a pain in the arse. Fortunately there was a service station open right after the half way point in the ride and I was able to grab a drink and a clif bar. Half a bottle for a 117km ride is not enough so I reckon there will be some insulated bottles purchased from Providence Bike in the next few days.
I have a Zipp 404 wheel on the back because I punctured as soon as I took my bike out. With some snow looking like it was about to fall (you can't see but it but there were flurries) I opted to just stick on my racing wheel and deal with the tube change later. The ride was steady and it felt great. Just shy of 4 hours and another chunk of the Rapha500 done. Upon arrival back to my flat I rewarded myself with the finest of IPA, my favorite Dogfish Head 90 Minute. The first bottle went straight to my head given the lack of water throughout the ride.
So tomorrow is a recovery day. From now on Mondays will be a short ride or even off. Once my fitness comes round and my legs get a little stronger I will be looking to clear 210-220km every weekend. Not much for a serious rider but a lot for me. I can't foresee (with the exception of maybe a training camp) weekends of 250 - 300km which many of the Cat.1 racers I'll be competing against routinely do. Social life is important to me and I will always reward myself with a night out on the weekend.
Took out an older playlist for the ride. One I made for indoor sessions last February after my knee surgery. It really confirmed how much better 2010 was for music in my opinion. Tracks by Mew, LCD Soundsystem, Crystal Castles, Twin Shadow, Wolf Parade, Interpol, Four Tet. I played the list through twice and loved hearing the songs again. Tonight I am putting together or at least attempting to, my favorite music from 2011. One thing I am certain of, "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster The People (a song I thought was catchy and enjoyable when it first came out) was completely ruined by the radio and its become perhaps the most annoying song of 2011.
One tune I did love and dropped onto my compilation this morning was Jai Paul - 'BTSTU'. Thom Yorke played this slab of plastic magic on his Radio 1 mix when he took over the turntables of Giles Peterson. Wonderful tune.
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