Hit the road...

So last night I finally got together with my buddy Chris, who's lending me his airborne for the MS150 ride in three weeks, for a first road ride. Well, technically, it's not my first, but, maybe 3rd, and the first two were far in between and at least 4 years ago! So yeah, for all practical purposes it was my first.

What can I say about it?... Not a fan. But there is no big surprise there. It was mildly amusing and entertaining, for the novelty of it all, playing with it, some semi-sprints, hill pulls, etc. Especially, after I figured out the bike and got a little more comfortable on it and was able to actually stand up and crank up the hills, SS-style! heh

We did just over an hour ride at average speed of just under 19 mph, for a 22 mile loop.

I can see the training benefits tho. Big time. I was thinking about it since last night, but the full irony of it didn't occur to me till this morning. Most people get on SS in the winter in the off season for training to improve their racing/riding on geared bikes. I'm considering getting more often, or dare I say, regularly, on the road geared bike to improve my SSing!!!

At least for me SSing is a lot akin to interval riding, bursts of effort and power up the hills, some hard short spins on the flats, but a lot of coasting on the downhills and on the flats once certain speed/cadence are reached. Thus effort followed by rest and recovery, followed by more effort, then more rest and so it goes. On the road, especially with gears, it's not so. The effort is a lot more constant, even on the flats and downhills, it's still pedaling and working the legs, so it definitely should improve the endurance and stamina. While I still did not like the concept of the road, cars, bike, somewhat boredom, etc... I can and do appreciate the benefits and will try to make it a habit over this winter.