Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Camp Oahu... The Long Ride

Forecast called for stronger winds today (20-30mph, the state is under a high wind advisory) so I warned my group that the Honeymoon was over and now they get a real taste of training on Oahu... I think the key to successful training/racing is always about setting appropriate expectations so I really tried to scare the crap out of them about how hard the ride home was going to be.

The way out was pretty cruisy and fun though! Nice tailwind, nice day... We stopped at some of the famous beaches along the north shore, took pictures, enjoyed the sights.

They (obviously) didn't really have much fun.

We made our way to a coffee shop and when the gal behind the counter asked if I wanted whipped cream on my mocha, I said YES.

Funny thing- I had never even been to this coffee shop before. Normally when I'm riding I have exactly 4 hours to get a 4 hour ride done so I don't screw around at coffee shops, but this was a special scenario and was a nice break before facing the headwind on the way home.

The scare tactic about the ride home worked because everyone steeled themselves for a long solid hard effort... and indeed, they absolutely crushed it (and me!!). My lack of recent riding showed up for sure and they had me on the ropes and eventually I just ran out of fitness to hang on any longer. I was genuinely impressed with how strong everyone rode and how great the attitudes were today. I think most everyone probably got a best ever 60min power number on that ride home today. I'll admit though that I really missed being able to ride like a boss and it made me want to put in the work to get back to that kind of fitness! I've ridden 4 days in a row now so it's a start back down that road.
Camp is a place to get your ass kicked, but it's also super fun!

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