16:44:35
June 6 2012- Summer activities
It has been awhile since I wrote. Renovation is down for the summer so you might wonder what I am doing instead.....well, a lot of you might have already figured it out, I have become a road biking freak...or at least a wanna be! :) My first season was last year and so this year I am not as much of a rookie as last. But still so much to learn and to improve to beomce a stronger and better cyclist.
Most Saturdays I wake up rather early to get going for bike training that starts at 10 am. Some of you my dear friends probably find me a bit insane and a bit too dedicated. That's ok, I understand....but then you haven't been at the parking lot @ Farsta gård to see, some times, up to 80 road bikers chit chatting and getting ready to get out on the roads for training. It is a rush, a kick. I don't know how else to describe it.
Even better is when you get out on the road and get the hang of and dares to ride close to the wheel in front of you. The speed you can get in a group is just exhilirating, or as one of the girls I biked with this past weekend said, Europhoric! Lena, I think you nailed that word down this past weekend so I am borrowing it from you! :)
So pretty much what I do during half of Saturdays is to learn to ride faster and smarter in a group of cyclists so you can enhance the speed and still bike safely. I geaky but seriously, the kick I get out of being outdoors, see the landscape and nature passing by and at the same time I get to do sports with a bunch of people that enjoy and like the same thing is just awesome...And a huge plus to it all is that it is training but it doesn't even feel like I am excercising. I mean, it sure it is hard work but it's not monotonous like going to the gym. I know, I know, I do sound a bit freaky, geaky and fanatical.
Why am I actually writing this particular blog. Well, June is here, which means that the peak of the biking season for me is getting closer and closer! Today it is only 4 1/2 more days before I start my first Vätternrundan, a 300 km bike race that I am supposed to do under 12 hrs.
How am I feeling!? I guess that is why I am actually writing this blog...to get some energy out of my system...hahaha. I know for sure I can do it but it is a new kind of challange since I am part of a team of 15 cyclists. I am not used to do sports where I have 14-15 other people depending on me to be at my best at a certain time. I always have been doing sports where I am in charge all alone and noone to depend on or that depends on me. Sure, I played tennis on a team from an early age till I was 19 but biking really isn't the same thing. So when I think about Saturday I get a bit nervous, though, I think that is a positive reaction. At least for me bc that means I am getting my fighting spirits and focus going.
This past weekend I raced in Tjejvättern, a 100 k bike race with a bunch of women from my biking club, Fredrikshof. As I have already posted on Facebook, we did an awesome race. The 6 of us who broke out of the bigger group ended up with an average speed of 30,6 km/ hr. I don't think I have ever kept that great of a speed for that long of a distance. Parts of the trip, 37 km, we actually had an average speed of 37 km/hr. It felt pretty amazing when we were biking but when I realized how fast we actually biked I was thrilled! So I believe I am in pretty good shape eventhough my body has told me different the last couple of weeks before last weekend's race.
The past weekend gave me a hint of my capacity. But the race this upcoming weekend is 3 times longer and I think the ride will be real tough. I am not sure how I will mentally and physically react to being on the bike for 300 k's, nor do I know exactly what the weather conditions will be like. No matter what, I think it will be a lot of fun since we have a great group of people doing this race together. We have been training a few times together through out the spring so we have gotten to know each other a little bit which will make the race a lot easier.
I promise will keep you updated on how this weekend goes. Until then, below are some pics of my pimped up bike and what I looked like before I started the race this past Saturday morning at 8:02 am.
New tires...read detailing to match the red details on the bike...it is all about matching ;)
New chain and cassette...ohhh yeeeesss, the bike purrs like a kitty cat.
Me in my biking outfit..Hovet it is :)
And some of us eating some well deserved food before we got some massage.
Most Saturdays I wake up rather early to get going for bike training that starts at 10 am. Some of you my dear friends probably find me a bit insane and a bit too dedicated. That's ok, I understand....but then you haven't been at the parking lot @ Farsta gård to see, some times, up to 80 road bikers chit chatting and getting ready to get out on the roads for training. It is a rush, a kick. I don't know how else to describe it.
Even better is when you get out on the road and get the hang of and dares to ride close to the wheel in front of you. The speed you can get in a group is just exhilirating, or as one of the girls I biked with this past weekend said, Europhoric! Lena, I think you nailed that word down this past weekend so I am borrowing it from you! :)
So pretty much what I do during half of Saturdays is to learn to ride faster and smarter in a group of cyclists so you can enhance the speed and still bike safely. I geaky but seriously, the kick I get out of being outdoors, see the landscape and nature passing by and at the same time I get to do sports with a bunch of people that enjoy and like the same thing is just awesome...And a huge plus to it all is that it is training but it doesn't even feel like I am excercising. I mean, it sure it is hard work but it's not monotonous like going to the gym. I know, I know, I do sound a bit freaky, geaky and fanatical.
Why am I actually writing this particular blog. Well, June is here, which means that the peak of the biking season for me is getting closer and closer! Today it is only 4 1/2 more days before I start my first Vätternrundan, a 300 km bike race that I am supposed to do under 12 hrs.
How am I feeling!? I guess that is why I am actually writing this blog...to get some energy out of my system...hahaha. I know for sure I can do it but it is a new kind of challange since I am part of a team of 15 cyclists. I am not used to do sports where I have 14-15 other people depending on me to be at my best at a certain time. I always have been doing sports where I am in charge all alone and noone to depend on or that depends on me. Sure, I played tennis on a team from an early age till I was 19 but biking really isn't the same thing. So when I think about Saturday I get a bit nervous, though, I think that is a positive reaction. At least for me bc that means I am getting my fighting spirits and focus going.
This past weekend I raced in Tjejvättern, a 100 k bike race with a bunch of women from my biking club, Fredrikshof. As I have already posted on Facebook, we did an awesome race. The 6 of us who broke out of the bigger group ended up with an average speed of 30,6 km/ hr. I don't think I have ever kept that great of a speed for that long of a distance. Parts of the trip, 37 km, we actually had an average speed of 37 km/hr. It felt pretty amazing when we were biking but when I realized how fast we actually biked I was thrilled! So I believe I am in pretty good shape eventhough my body has told me different the last couple of weeks before last weekend's race.
The past weekend gave me a hint of my capacity. But the race this upcoming weekend is 3 times longer and I think the ride will be real tough. I am not sure how I will mentally and physically react to being on the bike for 300 k's, nor do I know exactly what the weather conditions will be like. No matter what, I think it will be a lot of fun since we have a great group of people doing this race together. We have been training a few times together through out the spring so we have gotten to know each other a little bit which will make the race a lot easier.
I promise will keep you updated on how this weekend goes. Until then, below are some pics of my pimped up bike and what I looked like before I started the race this past Saturday morning at 8:02 am.
New tires...read detailing to match the red details on the bike...it is all about matching ;)
New chain and cassette...ohhh yeeeesss, the bike purrs like a kitty cat.
Me in my biking outfit..Hovet it is :)
And some of us eating some well deserved food before we got some massage.