Brick Workout #5

Hi. It's Laura.

Happy Monday, I mean Tuesday.

Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. I could almost kick myself for saying that I was craving a bit more of a workout at the end of last week. The beginning of this week has proved so far exhausting but that can wait until tomorrow.

I finished off last week with a lovely brick on Saturday morning. I try to get out of the apartment as early as I can on Saturdays. The Husband is usually meeting me at the end of the ride to hold my bike while I go for the run portion. And I hate for him to ruin his entire day, so I get up regular time and I try to be out the door by 6:00. Realistically I am always forgetting something so it’s more like 6:15/6:30.

I was on Riverside Drive by 6:30 and on my way. My original plan was to head over the GWB and into Jersey to go up 9W. It was a lovely Saturday morning. The temperature was perfect & no wind to speak of. I was about 10 minutes into my ride when I was passed by a bike gang.

They were about 7 people, a mix of men and women. I am not sure where they came from. It was quiet when I left and I was not going that slowly.  They caught me and passed me (but not really). I was actually kind of stuck at their tail. Their slowest person was just a little slower than me. I tried to slow down and let some distance get between us but I kept catching them and becoming part of them.

I am opposed to bike gangs. I always feel like I am being pushed around a little and they make me very competitive. That morning, I did not want to give all-out effort on my bike with a run still ahead of me.

I decided to pull over and let them get well ahead of me. Bad move. As I was stopped at the traffic light, I was passed by two more guys on bikes riding together and then two more after that. Ugh. So much for a quiet ride early on a Saturday morning.

I knew the bike gangs were going to be out because it was so nice out but I thought I would have at least until 8:00am before being overwhelmed by the gangs.

But wait, there is more. I take off from the traffic light only to be passed by a group of at least 7  women.

I was so annoyed. I sacrificed Friday happy hour and wine with dinner in order to get out early. Could I please have one hour to myself?

An opportunity presented itself. I used the road and the hills to get some serious distance between myself and the gang of women. I hit about 25 mph on a downhill and was able to maintain 18 to 21 Mph for the next 10 minutes or so. This put a lot of distance between me and GOG (Gang of Girls).

At that point I decided I was not going over the bridge into Jersey. If it was already this bad at 7:00am the Jersey route would be a nightmare. Once I hit Fort Washington Avenue I headed to Fort Tyron Park. I started arguing with myself about “how I am supposed to get a decent workout if I let these bike gangs intimidate me”. I have as much right to cross the bridge as they do. I decided to go across the bridge.

I crossed with no drama except for the wind. The wind was wicked and very loud. So loud in fact I could not hear my music.

I was happy I made the decision to cross the bridge. This gave me plenty of a continuous riding time instead of starting and stopping.

In order avoid the large crowds of cyclists heading up 9W, I decide to go straight on East Palisades Avenue. All I could think all the way down East Palisades Avenue was little piggy's going all the way home. Weeeeee!

I hit a solid 28 mph on the downhill and then it hit me. I will have to go back uphill with "all that fun" once I turn around. Uh oh.

I turned around and headed back. 5mph was all I could manage on the climb. I think at one point, I may have hit 6mph on the climb. It was a bitch of 10 minutes up hill in the sun. I was so happy when I hit Hudson terrace, which is the road immediately off the GWB.

The trip back is always amazingly fast. I was back in Riverside Park within 30 minutes.

I really wanted to track this ride accurately so I stop my GPS watch whenever I stop my ride to get an accurate read. Sadly I forgot to turn it back on until after I was over the bridge. So I missed about 20 minutes of my ride.

So much for knowing exactly how far I went or how much energy I used. Oh well…

The run portion was the best so far. No side cramps, no dizziness, nothing other than sheer panic.

I realized that Sunday was exactly one month out. I don't remember if I was this panicked last year. If I was, it was for entirely different reasons. Last year I really had no expectations and this year I know exactly what to expect.

Let the countdown begin.

Laura