Standing-OH!
Last night’s HIT session revealed that the probable cause of my knee pain was the extended standing intervals. I’m not a small cyclist, and the combined stress of standing, extra weight, and surging (sprinting whilst standing) have served to accumulate a little wear and tear on the knees. This cause was announced to me by my left knee, which immediately protested as we started last night’s 20 minute standing saga. Sitting immediately stopped said discomfort. I chose to remain seated, and I had way less protest from that knee as I climbed the stairs today than I have had in 2 weeks.
My Lemond has arrived successfully in Palm Springs! It is now basking in the sun poolside, waiting for me to arrive on Wednesday. I’ll likely spend the cooler morning hours on Thursday and Friday re-assembling and checking my fit. Friday I will also pick up my rider’s packet for the Tour de Palm Springs Century on Saturday. The weather forecast couldn’t be better: a high of 71 degrees and sunny. Saturday morning will be cool (low 40′s), so I’ll have to be clever about dressing in layers to accommodate the 30 degree temperature swing during the day.
To anyone (like myself) unfamiliar with all the back roads of the Coachella Valley, presenting the route map here would be meaningless. The ride profile is more meaningful-I will be the large guy on the orange bike screaming down that 10 mile long hill at about mile 43:
It appears that the majority of the “evil” climbing happens first thing in the morning. That’s fine by me, as I am a morning kind of guy. The trick will be getting to the start at 7 a.m., fed and ready to go. I have a small refrigerator and microwave in our room, so I’ll have to do a little creative shopping on Friday to make sure I have some oatmeal or something carb-a-riffic to eat at oh-dark-thirty.
I am very excited to ride in the desert sunshine. While the trip to Palm Springs is a bit of an anniversary trip for Terri and I (21st, thank you very much), the bike ride will very much be a personal journey. Unfamiliar terrain, and I won’t know a single soul.
I’m pumped.
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January 31st, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Happy 21st anniversary John and Terri!!!
Have a fun time John. You are much more adventurous than I. I would have to be with at least one friend on the ride.
Can’t wait for the write up when you get home.
Julie
January 31st, 2008 at 9:10 pm
I’m definitely looking forward to the writeup.
February 1st, 2008 at 8:05 am
Twenty-one years? We’ll have our 20th this year, ourselves. Whodathunkit.
Desert sun sounds pretty good around this time of year. I like that elevation profile, too. Hope you have a good ride! Like Jim, I’m looking forward to your report.
February 1st, 2008 at 8:41 am
Julie- I have no doubt you’d make all kinds of new friends on this or any other ride. You can be quite entertaining, especially during those impromptu comfort stops.
Jim and Claire- I’m looking forward to my write-up as well. I just did the ol’ Google Blog Search for “Tour de Palm Springs”, or “Palm Springs Century Bicycle”, and the closest I get to a ride report is THIS blog entry. It is my honor-bound bike-blogger duty to write ‘er up!