Friday, April 13, 2012

Spring has sprung!

I can't believe it's been a month since my last post! Things do always seem to get extraordinarily busy in schools as winter turns to spring and this year has been no exception. In other words, I've not been able to ride nearly as much as I would like. I have been able to add some commuting to my routine again, which has been delightful. With various complications brought on by the children I need to get to school and the late meetings and after-school rehearsals I need to shuttle between, it's been hard to ride in more than one or two days each week


In addition, my family and I just spent our spring break on Block Island. Early spring, while the weather is mild and before the tourists invade is one of the best times to take it all in. I made sure to ride every day and while my rides were not as long as I would have liked, the regularity made me feel like a rider again. I concentrated on quick tempo rides and threw in a few sprints here and there in hopes that I might actually improve my speed on the road. We'll see.


My first big event of the season arrives next weekend with the Princeton (NJ) 200K. This brevet is an old favorite filled with quiet roads through historic towns of western New Jersey. There are a few respectable hills along the way and I look forward to catching up with friends and acquaintances that make up the NJ Rando scene. I plan to ride this one at a steady, fast pace making very few stops along the way. I finished in 8:05 in 2010 and while that is an unrealistic goal at this point with my level of fitness, I am eager to see if i can break the 9-hour mark. I'll be sure to pack enough food to ensure that stops require me to stop just long enough to fill water bottles and get my card stamped. I'm eager to take my new Indy Fab out for a ride.

3 comments:

  1. Hope you have a great ride!

    Can I ask what type of bag is perched on your top tube in the first photo? It looks really cool.

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    1. The top tube bag in the top picture is a great bag made by Kinesis. I'm a huge fan. The bag is specifically designed for brevets and has a handy pocket for a brevet card and an external pen holder. It also fits a camera, phone and more within easy reach. You remind me that I need to write an extended review with pictures. Here's the link. Worth the price.

      http://www.distancebiker.com/store/index.php/bags/q0950.html

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    2. I would love to read your review of the bag. I was thinking I could use something like it-- I'm currently using a much smaller top tube bag. Thanks for the information!

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