Not So One Dimensional

Yes, I have a cycling addiction, but I am also grateful despite my eagerness to become a stronger road cyclist not to give up some of my other passions. If one were to desire to become a competitive road cyclists one would have to consider the need for specific training. This often excludes other types of training or cross training because of time and interference with recovery.

However, I am a self-labeled recreational cyclist because I desire to have a broader range of training events because I simply enjoy a variety of things. I am a former competitive bodybuilder and have been training with weights for over 25 years so I will continue to train with weights. I enjoy hiking with my wife and will continue hiking, but there is another type of cycling that I really enjoy and that is mountain biking.

I don't mountain bike near as often as I would like, but when I get to go I really have a blast. I am not real adventurous and typically do one particular single track loop at Blanket's Creek. This past Sunday I did a one lap on the Dwelling Loop and bested my best time of 00:22:30 and completed with a 00:21:20 time. I felt pretty good about that since I had been struggling with fatigue for a while. Yesterday evening I gave it another shot when Edgar and I went to see how quick we could go. I ended with a 00:21:08 time and I imagine Edgar's time was at least 30 seconds faster. We stayed pretty close together until one corner nearing the end and he engaged turbo speed.

I can't imagine going out and doing a recreational ride such as this could be harmful to my road cycling training. It may in fact prove to be more beneficial than my spin classes. At the end of the loop my lungs were burning and my legs were a little shaky, but with a sub 30 minute high intensity effort I imagine my body will recover fairly quickly. My body must have recovered because 10 hours later I attended a spin class and felt pretty good.

It is great to be nothing more than recreational cyclist and be able to have some variety in my life. I do believe in the importance of specific training, but having no training boundaries it sure is much sweeter living.