"Salty" Bennett Throwdown

The schedule called out for 2 hrs 15 minutes of riding with 3 x 3 fast pedal with 3 minutes rest between. I got on the bike at 8 and after a nice warm up, I got the workout portion done and rode for fun. After studying the map last night of Ventura county bike lanes and routes, I decided to try Thousand Oaks. I thought it would be like Simi Valley. I was wrong. I rode more hills than the Cielo Vista Loop in SA. In some cases, I looked at my incline percentage and it was bouncing between 6 and 10%. This was not for a couple hundred feet but for several miles and on several hills. There were two on Westlake, one on Ebres, the slow up on Olsen, and the long moderate hill up First Street. Even with all of the hills, I still averaged 15.6 MPH with an average heart rate of 143 BPM. I would offer the route profile but I have not downloaded it from my Garmin yet. That will come later, after tomorrow when I have some time. Tomorrow will be all flat and easier, do the workout portion and get some time on the bike.

At the end, a car slowly rolls up to me and I look over, its Christine! I had been on the bike almost two hours and it was good to see her. She surprised me. She had gone to the salon for what women got to salons for. When I got home, we got ready and went to the beach. It was nice to sit and do nothing for a while. We just hung out and didn't get home till after 6 PM. While we were out, I got a call from my "salty" friend Mark Bennett. I use the term salty in jest. He told me about his blog. He thinks that the Hotter 'N Hell is going to be his coming out party. I just want him to ride and learn what it feels like to be ridden off of someone's wheel. I have added his link to the list. I wish him well in his preparation. But as I have learned, nothing replaces time on the bike and having done it before. I hope to ride several more events before August. I am already registered for the Conejo Valley Century and the STP Double Plus Century. I might ride one more before then.