March Lodi Camp Day 4

Today’s ride turned out to be one of the best rides I have been a part of in a camp. After another attack on Panera Bread Co., we clipped in a little after 9am and headed out as a peloton of 10. The first 90 minutes to 2 hours was just a comfortable 2 x 2 pack cruising out on these beautiful Lodi countryside roads. We made our way through the vineyards and headed north toward the Rancho Seco Nuclear plant. We cruised along highway 104 toward Ione where we stopped for water and whatever anyone needed to take onboard before we got into the climbing.

At the Ione stop there were these two Irish Setters that hung out with us on the curb. The owner quickly appeared and had to show us what good dogs his guys were. He would put nuts down in front of them and they would stare intently at him waiting on his every word. He would say eat…they wouldn’t move. He would say Bella…they wouldn’t move. He said some words in Japanese…they wouldn’t move. He then whispers Bon Appetit! Boom! They were on those nuts like a hobo on a ham sandwich. It was pretty awesome and it kept us entertained. So what does that have to do with long rides and triathlon? Everything. There is a lot to see in this world, and tooling around on your bike for 7 hours at a pop gives a guy the opportunity to stop, hang out in a small town in Northern California, and take a look around. It isn’t every day you hang out with dogs that speak French. I just dig stuff like that.

After watering up, we pressed into the lumpy part of the ride with plenty of hills to suffer in for a few hours. As soon as the roads turned into windy hills, a few of us boys ratcheted things up and got in some good climbing. I was easily the least fit of the three of us off the front that had decided to point our noses uphill. Zach and Mark are both tough boys in the mountains and I rode at my limit to stay with them most of the day. They got away from me during a piece, but I was proud of myself to keep them in view. There is nothing like some climbing for a couple of hours to expose whatever weaknesses you have been hiding in the flats. I sat on my LT (Lactate threshold) and higher during the climbs. It felt good to get in some hard work. That is exactly what I was hoping would happen this week.

The peloton did some really good work through the lumpy parts as well, and we all popped out the other side into Sutter Creek happy and tired. We continued our day around the back roads of San Joaquin Valley checking out some unbelievable horse farms, reservoirs, dams, waterfalls, and some of the nicest riding roads I have ever ridden. There is a European countryside feeling to a lot of this part of California, and the training is just wonderful. At around the 5 hour mark, we stopped for some water and coke, and then rode back as a pack. On the way back, a few of the boys separated off the front and booked it hard for the house. Right then one of the tribe got a flat, so we stopped and fixed it. We then rode the last 25 miles home very controlled, and as a team, minus the three who had gone off the front like they had stolen something. I got to thinking during this time that this is such a smart way to train. I see a lot of groups that drill it from stem to stern in their training, and that is why they go home fried and end up sick. We drilled it during the times we were supposed to and then brought things back into the sane range and continued to get good stuff in, while not blowing ourselves to bits at the end of the day. It was really evident to me at dinner that we had done it right. Everyone was a bit baked from the ride, but nobody was drooling into their salad.

So like I said; today’s ride was easily one of the best training rides I have been on. 103 miles of tough guy riding, 5,000’ of elevation gain, over 6 hours of riding with a little under 7 in the saddle (with stops, flats, etc). Days like today make me fall in love with my sport all over again. This is why I do this stuff. I love to turn myself inside out to see what is there and then when happy with the result, cruise around beautiful countryside with beautiful people talking about beautiful things. This is what I call training with joy.

Bon Appetit’!

Jonser