You gotta love having a coach that occasionally assigns training intensity as “ripping”… as in, “2hr fun ripping SS ride.” Friday morning, I woke up early and went to Stanky Creek, where I was reminded of how much flow Stanky Creek does not have. I still made it around a couple of laps, but I think I’ll take that workout elsewhere next time and cancel my tentative plans to attend the TT/XC race there next month.

Saturday morning, the Memphis Hightailers held their annual Red, White, and Blue ride. Interesting bit of “history” for you- The 2006 RW&B ride was my 2nd or 3rd real bike ride ever, and I gutted through the 64 mile route (at least doubling the mileage of my two previous rides) on 4 gels while riding a Trek Navigator hybrid bike. Thanks to the Warthogs for helping me through that one…

This Saturday, Ryan and I did not attend the RW&B ride. It seemed silly to spend $90 (45 each- not for a charity) to do a ride we’d have to ride/drive a good distance to when we have the Trinity ride nearly out our back door. So, at 7:30, we showed up at the usual meeting spot… where no one else showed up. Well, almost no one- we decided we’d ride the route alone and picked up a couple of stragglers along the way. They drafted us whilst talking obnoxiously about training zones  for the first part of the route, so once we were out of the suburbs, I picked up the pace to “STFU” intensity (with Ryan’s help, of course). We continued to throw in small attacks/hard pulls until they decided they’d turn off at the short cut spot in the route. Ryan and I continued our efforts all the way in to Arlington, where we stopped to refill our bottles then cruised home.

After lunch, we laid around with the dogs to watch the opening stage of the Tour while I laced up my new race wheels- Crest rims, DT Swiss Aerolite spokes, Prolock brass nipples, and Hope Pro II Evo hubs. At 1630g, not the lightest build in the world, but strong enough that I won’t kill them in one season.

P.S. Marley was over for dog-sitting. Indy has a new best friend. Or pillow… haven’t figured that one out yet.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to ride/spend the day with Ryan. Our work/training/racing schedules have been so different lately that it’s been rare for us to spend an entire day together, so Saturday was a refreshing departure from the usual routine.

Sunday morning, I left out early for 5.5 road hours on the MTB. I’ve put Small Block 8 cyclocross tires on it, so I can roll a lot faster than I was with the wider/heavier MTB tires. It was warm out, but I’ve got a great mid-ride water stop at the Shady Grove church in Fayette County. They have an ice-cold well water spigot that is incredibly refreshing at nearly 3 hours into a long ride.

Bonus points to anyone who can tell me what’s missing from my bike in the above picture…

After the ride, we had some all-you-can-eat sushi and followed it up with more laying around/napping/Tour watching. Today, we polish off the long weekend with some Tour, a recovery ride, and an afternoon 4th of July party at the house of one of Ryan’s teammates. Perfect weekend? Pretty damned close.