Getting Ready for MTCC Experience Ride 2017

A few weeks back, I contacted my older brother to see how he might feel about dropping down our distance for next week's MTCC Experience Ride from the full 100+ route to something more along the lines of the 50 mile edition.  It isn't that I'm out of shape or anything, but in all honesty, I haven't been able to put in anywhere near the miles that a full century ride requires.  I mean, I might actually be able to do it, but it would be downright painful, and extremely ugly.  Having suffered through the full distance a few years ago, it just makes sense to dial it back a bit this year.

Setting up downstairs= time-saving training!

The truth is, I haven't done a lot of outdoor training on the bike in the last few weeks.  Instead, I've been putting time in on the trainer.  I recently added a Tacx Vortex Smart Trainer downstairs, and along with the Zwift virtual ride, I've done most of my recent rides indoors.  This is something that I've wanted to do for a while, and while I know that there's no comparison to being outside, it has certainly helped in terms of being a time-saver and efficient way to train.  It will be "interesting" to see how this type of training stacks up against the real thing. I do know that the times I've been outside I've felt that the indoor training has been worth it.

That said, I certainly won't be looking to break any records on Saturday.  In fact, I plan on taking my time and enjoying the ride a bit more.  The shorter edition still has plenty of climbing involved so I'm sure to take some breaks on the side of the road, or one of the established aid stations when necessary.  This isn't always so easy to do in the 100 mile version because you are competing with the clock a bit more since it's going to take the better part of a day, and you also don't really want to get caught in a late afternoon rain storm, etc. Not so much of a problem on a ride half the distance, where we should be able to finish by late morning, lunch at the latest.  With any luck, I might be able to hit the pool that afternoon! Look for a follow-up report sometime next week! Ciao!