Rich Rothwell

Wintervals

October 18th, 2009

Can ya see what it is yet? Yep, sadly I was hinting towards intervals. In the Winter. Wintervals. OK, so it’s not quite winter yet… Oh, never mind. It flippin hurt anyway. I haven’t had a proper hard training session for a while, so 3 hrs kicking off with 6 x 4 mins threshold was a real shocker. Rasping throat and legs that felt like they had been mashed by a meat tenderiser. It’s amazing how 3 weeks of ‘easy’ creeps up on you and turns you all soft like. Once the worst of it was over though it was a great ride through some of the best roads in Northumberland. Up and down some prolonged climbs and through steep river valleys that are so definitive of the area, yet so well camouflaged by the ancient woods that seem to ‘fill in’ the eroded ravines as you scan the expansive scenery. Haven’t done this sort of road ride for a while, (I’ve mostly been off road) and I forgot what  a bike handling challenge they can be… Down a 20% descent, round a tight left, let go of the brakes and then shoot across a slimey, 6 inch deep river ford…. with 25c road tyres at 110psi…. I soon forgot about the pain in my legs.

Some Relentless stuff later; still waiting to get hold of some pics. Needless to say Josh ‘n’ Dave were wicked in their own inimitable way…

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