The Wind...

...is coming this week.  Multiple days of steady winds over 10 mph, gusts in the 20's.  Call me a fair weather rider but I really despise rolling out on a day when the wind is whipping hard enough to push ya sideways... especially on the road.  The whole reason I built the orange Industry Nine / Nobl wheels with the 38mm deep rims was to cut down on the sudden movements that the sail-like Nox 55mm deep rims were catching.  

Stack on four days of rain - beginning Saturday afternoon, hopefully stopping sometime Tuesday - and that trip to Cordes last week was a well-timed grab at riding dry dirt.  Most of the higher elevation areas around the Valley hold onto that moisture way longer... so the trails are mud everywhere else.  And not just puddles like it'll be at Browns or Apache Wash.  It will be peanut butter mud, the kind that latches onto your tires, crowds in around your frame and creeps into EVERY nook and cranny of your drivetrain.

Sounds horrible, demoralizing and miserable?  Yep.  Makes me glad I am NOT riding/racing at the Chino Grinder this weekend.  It had been a goal before the Summer BurnOut of '26 back in June... but went away after riding the couch (and sometimes the gym) became more of a focus.  If I felt some relief knowing a break was coming in June, there's an even BIGGER relief knowing the DiiVerge's drivetrain will not be destroyed.  I pre-rode the course once back in '17 after the rains had subsided for over a week (but much colder since it was March... back when the race was in April)... and that mud is unforgiving.  (Thinking back, the mud was relentlessly gooey PAST the Perkinsville bridge... so maybe the short course riders won't have it SO bad.)  Still... it looks like they will be starting and racing the first few hours in the wet.


My plans are a bit simpler this week.  Today will be mostly errands, a few chores around the house and the gym.  The weekend was a blur... leaving me thinking & re-thinking what & how I want to ride (maybe there will be another post... later.)  

Tomorrow, since it will be raining off and on, will be a short Zone 1 Spin to open up the legs, check over the bike.  The Canyon is sporting a different tire in the rear after the Conti 5000S TR refused to not leak (...another  story for another day).  With a tube in there and plenty of shit in the road, I am considering riding a different bike on Wednesday.

Why?  'Cause Wednesday will be my LONG ride for the week.  The plan is to ride three hours or so mostly in Zone 1, get to that point where my body seems to want to switch from fat oxidation to glycogen... and see if I can prolong the lower intensity effort longer.  My last few long rides have been more intense, hitting Zone 3,4 in the latter parts.  This will hopefully get my systems back in the groove of burning more fat.

Thursday is back to the Gym after a short warm-up hike, hopefully with new shoes.  Bea is going in for x-rays so I will hit the trails after I drop her off.

Friday, the winds will be STRONG around here but my plan is to get on the Zwift bike anyway.  Last week I used Zwift to get in some Zone 3-specific intervals... and it worked WAY better than trying to hammer for 8 minutes on the streets of Scottsdale.  My plan is to do it again.

Saturday, the winds are supposed to still be here... but it won't matter as much since the plan is to ride gravel.  The trails out by McDowell Mountain will be dry enough to get in a harder Zone 2-3 tempo ride.

Sunday will wrap it up - another longer Zone 1 ride with less intentions on doing much more than spinning in Zone 1.


Luckily, next week is looking good... less rain, higher temps, hopefully less wind.  Not so lucky is the fact, Meghan is outta town for work come Wednesday, 'bout time trails up north will be drying out... and leaves again on Sunday for a horse show.  Missing HER will be harder than missing any good rides, so it means I will be down here in the Valley making the best of the warmer days before they are gone.

Later.

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