First ride on the year, first ride on the Crux since the D2R2 (I didn't even test ride it after getting in back with a new derailleur last August). First training ride for the Rasputitsa, 112 days from today.
William St, New Years Day 2017
Hall St, New Years Day 2017
They say that if Balzac finished writing a novel before lunch, he would, immediately after lunch, start his next one.
So it goes for Dubstoevsky. No time for slacking, for taking it easy. Serious training, arduous training, relentless training getting underway. The bike, for a while, becomes a secondary focus. After three years of determined cycling, the body, while sinewy and strong in the muscle gruppetto, has lost significant strength and muscle elsewhere. Everywhere else.
That sad state to be addressed. Core training. A strengthening regimen designed and overseen by DS Mawgs, the Huron fitness guru who has taken a personal interest in Dubstoevsky's resurrection. Barbell step-ups. The Kettlebell Swing. Rowing machines. Weighted sleds. Truck tires.
It's the first day of the new year. Time to start the next novel.
Forecast for race day, East Burke, VT, as of Wednesday night, April 13
It's fitting that following an exceedingly mild el nino winter, this year's Rasputitsa is shaping up to be mild as well with lots of sun and temps in the 60s. At least that's the forecast just three and a half days before race day.
Team Shad welcomes this development. Mud & cold, raw overcast skies, rain & snow, these are not ideal conditions for Team Shad, despite the propensity of our namesake herring to favor cold ocean depths. Indeed, following a Friday that's also forecast to be sunny and clear, the course might possibly be in ideal shape on Saturday.
As for the squad, we're a carefully chosen, tight knit unit of two. Lacking the relentless physicality of youth, we must employ instead guile and karma, stealth and meditation. To state the obvious, we lack numbers. But we have many years of cycling experience between us and our intentions are pure so we are confident in a solid showing.
Typical pre-race headquarters established at the Lyndon Motor Lodge, strategically close to the race start yet also bounteous in luxury for the riders. For example, each rider gets his own bed (one's a queen, the other's a twin. I.e. the beds.). And there's a bathroom. And hot water. Perfection.
Beaver log, in the woods of Shutesbury
You know, they say that the American beaver is one helluva tenacious and indomitable creature, a tireless, determined character that somehow also seems to possess a sense of humor, like, hey, check me out, I just chewed down a maple tree, heh heh heh. There's something both admirable and laughable about them.
Just this past Sunday on our last training ride, the Virginian and I were reminded of this when the forest road we were riding along devolved rather abruptly into a babbling river fed by an overflowing beaver pond, and became impassable. In the forest around the trail lay plenty of evidence of beavers. Once while kayaking with DS Mawgs a decade ago, he and I came upon some fresh, beaver-gnawed twigs and we took a few as souvenirs. We called them "beaver sticks." What the Virginian and I saw scattered about were not beaver sticks but beaver LOGS. And it occurred me then - I must strive to ride with beaver indefatigability (intentional sic). I must gnaw the obstacle patiently and within my means until I prevail.
Practical Notes
Layering. With the possibility of nice mild weather, now I have to pack for every possibility, not just for "cold, wet, and crappy." Now, nuance is involved. Will it be cold at 9:00 in the morning? Will the sun be fully out or will clouds still be in place? Will it cloud up during the day? Or will it just get warmer?
The Crux Elite in the dungeon of Shad
These are impossible things to know until race morning, so the prudent Dubstoevsky must account for multiple layering options. It will all be packed in durable LL Bean canvas toes (each monogramed "Bonks" though not as a sort of preemptive jinx against every cyclist's nightmare, i.e. bonking, but actually a reference to the familial form of the professional moniker Bonkers the Clown, the character that Dubstoevsky played, once upon a time, in a circus that traveled the Ukraine, Moldova, & Belarus), and along with several coolers (for storage of the elusive Heady Topper should any be procured, as well as pre & post race ital provisions), all stuffed into the boot & back seat of the team car. With the Crux Elite riding in genuflection on top.
Ask for it
Special thanks out to the team's single sponsor, TJRZOG Salt & Mineral, DFW, Ltd of Bender Moldova, which, in conjunction with Ed Hyder's Mediterranean Marketplace, brings the team water bottles filled with smoked-coarse-sea-salt-infused water.
Around 9:00 this morning, it began to sprinkle. Before long, the driveway was damp, and the roads too. By 10:00, it was raining. I resigned myself to not riding. Not today and not for the immediate future. Slushy snow predicted for overnight, then an inch during the day tomorrow, then rain, then more snow Monday. Cold and raw. And this is spring?
So I went about my day, which included lunch with ND, and lunch included a couple of Be Hoppys from nearby Wormtown Brewery as well as a plate of grilled calamari on hummus, and a fried chickpea sandwich (of which I ate only half). We sat in the pleasant industrially-high-ceiling'd Volturno Restaurant and looked through the giant windows on the gloom of the rainy day.
I'd warned DS Mawgs this morning that the weather was not looking good and that I couldn't offer any guarantees that I wouldn't abandon training protocol and, in the face of an inclement weekend, eat and drink with abandon. He understood and gave me his blessing, but he also reminded me that all I needed was 20 miles to hit the week's mark of 63. It seemed unlikely. The sky was thick with gray rain clouds, and the roads were soaked.
Home from lunch, I puttered around, built a fire and began to consider what to make for dinner. Oddly, the kitchen suddenly seemed to lighten. I glanced outside and noticed that it was no longer raining. Checking weather.com, they indicated a shift underway, one storm system was moving out and another was slowly moving in. They indicated a window of a few hours without precipitation. I peered out the window again, staring at the puddles and trying to discern droplets. There were none.
Like a surfer who hops a flight to California to surf Mavericks when the Giant Waves are forecast, I hurriedly geared up, surprised by the sudden opportunity. I could ride after all! I could achieve the weekly target, I could stay on task, I could justify intemperate consumption later on by the fact of having ridden. If only the rain would hold off!
Storm Style
And it did. Long enough for me to rip it up to the tune of 21 miles, a shad in mid run finning wildly up the turbulent stream.
Worcester Airport, April 2, 2016
I opted for the category 4 climb to Worcester Airport, then a wrap & climb around the backside and the descent into Cherry Valley followed by the climb up to the Kettle Brook Reservoirs. Then on to rt 31, down into Holden and the speedy descent of South Rd, along the reservoirs, and back along Chandler St, past Worcester State and into Woo proper. Traffic was light, almost non-existent. The air, washed by the morning's rain, was clean and crisp and perfect. I nailed the layers: Gore long-sleeve base, Steal Your Face jersey, brown paper bag, Gore psycho lime green neon insulated outer wind top, tights and booties. Allez! Feeling like I've got my costume mojo back. Not to mention my strength and mobility. The shoulders feel fine! It's a miracle!
At about the 15 mile point I noticed I was averaging around 13.5 mph. Knowing there was no climbing left at that point, I kicked it hard in an effort to clock an average speed of 14+ mph. Even with intersections and cars back in the city proper, I kept a tidy pace and when I pulled into Shad HQ, I'd gotten to 14 mph.
Notes
I spoke with The Virginian this morning and he rode BIG this past week, a week that saw balmy temperatures and perfect riding conditions. He confided that "I had a good hard week and feel pretty much ready for the Rasputitsa." I don't doubt him. He's an understated savage who will rip you apart without even noticing that he's doing it. He never shows up unprepared.
We agreed that Sunday April 10 would be the next, and last, Rasputitsa Training Camp, the route as yet undetermined. Our intentions are to do a full 40+ miles, predominantly gravel and dirt and forest path. That would suggest either returning to southern NH and the roads up from Orange, MA. Or a lengthy jaunt from The Virginian's Conway redoubt in western MA.
Finally, DS Mawgs, scouring the internet for insight, for any shard of visual or textual information about this year's Rasputitsa that might be useful or illustrative, forwarded me a link to the following video, the Rasputitsa Pre-Ride that was held in February of this year.
