End of the Season?

Maybe, but maybe not yet. Its been raining in Appleton for the last 3 days. No chance to get out and ride. And there is a chance of rain/snow mix through the weekend. I'm hopeful I can get a ride in on Friday, but it just depends on the weather. I did go out and do 27 miles last Sunday, when the windchill was a balmy 18 F. That was cold, really, really cold. Coldest ride I have ever done.

I have went back to Recyclist and done the CompuTrainer twice more. I did the Madeira Time Trial course (22 miles) and a course on the Blue Ridge Parkway (17.7 miles). They were both easier than the first course I did (Death Valley Artists Canyon), but easier doesn't mean easy. The CompuTrainer is still a good workout for an hour of riding. Its good for me for a couple reasons. First, it forces me to ride at a certain intensity that a lot of times on my own, I don't think I do. Second, because you are on a trainer, it forces me to pedal all the time. I have this bad habit of pedaling 15 seconds and then stopping for 5. I need to be more consistent and keep pedaling all the time.

Tuesday night I averaged 200 watts on the madeira course, and tonight I averaged 204 on the Blue Ridge course. Don't know if those are good or bad at this point, but its where I am at. I guess what I really want to see is improvement.

I've found another company that makes real life videos for the CompuTrainer. ErgVideo offers videos that look more like the Spinervals workout. A nice thing is that they are only $45 each, so not as pricey as the Real Video's from Racer Mate. I'll probably try one of these when the weather turns completely.

I'm working on my 2009 cycling goals and should post them sometime next week. Goals mean a training plan and sticking to it. Riding with a purpose and paying attention to the little things. Goals mean getting serious about the diet and actually doing your core exercises. But most of all, goals mean feeling a sense of accomplishment when you complete them.