I met up with some of my lunatic friends this morning for a damp, chilly ride from Westfield to Verona and back.  A great time was had by all.  Turkey calories were well-earned.

Have a terrific Thanksgiving!

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Today I won the weather lottery.  For the first time in 3 months, it didn’t rain on Friday.  I couldn’t wait to get on the bike today.  My Tarmac was stashed at Stef’s house, and I didn’t feel like going to get it, so I decided to set up my S-Works cyclocross bike for some road riding.  A pair of Mondo-S-works tires, and the S-Works Tricross became the ultimate endurance bike.  Compact crankset, upright position, shallow-drop handlebars, and a comfy long wheelbase all added up to luxury.  The Tricross fork is a work of art, a vibration-damping miracle, and it makes the ultralight and stiff aluminum frame ride like a dream that floats on a cloud.

Although my to-do list was pretty long, I needed a day just to do my own thing.  My training has been negligible since we returned from Colorado.  My longest ride since then was an easy 40-mile spin along the coast from Beverly MA to Rockport and back, just a couple of weeks ago.  Although there were 20 other tasks I should have been doing, I seized the moment and hit the road.

It is amazing how fast my fitness evaporates when I don’t constantly push my limits.  I’ve been pretty lazy this fall, and today’s ride made me especially aware of that fact.  In August I hammered through 11.9 hours of high-altitude mtb racing, but a mere 3 months later I struggled to ride for 3 hours.  No matter . . . today’s ride was without any agenda.  Spin the legs, have fun on two wheels.  I took my camera along and documented the day.

So my training for the 2010 racing season started today.  As easy as I intended this ride to be, I found myself constantly pushing the edge of my anaerobic threshold as I hammered into the wind and over the hills.  The first 50 miles were fine, but the remainder was laborious as I forced my body to go beyond its limits.  The last few miles I was fighting off cramps and fatigue.  It will get better quickly, though.  I’m pleased with this start.

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been following Victoria’s Ride, a blog written by a woman who is currently riding across the US, from Boston to San Diego.  She’s currently on the same roads I traveled esatbound two years ago. It’s a great blog, just the kind of trip I wish I had the time to take.  Check her out, and wish her well.

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It’s pretty easy to geek out about it.  Thirteen lbs.  It’s the lightest frame in existence.  But it’s also the stiffest.  Pair it up with Paris-Roubaix-winning superlight Zipp 202 wheels.  SRAM Red shifting.  S-Works brakes made by TRP.  And everything else is stock Specialized componentry . . . carbon crankset, bars, stem, saddle, seatpost, tires, handlebar tape, all parts that have already been used on the Pro Tour circuit for several years.  Amazing.  At the Specialized Dealer Event this summer, they displayed an SL3 with off-the-shelf parts built to 10.4 lbs. that was completely rideable.  An incredibly good ride, at that.  I rode one in Utah, and it was stunning.  Possibly the best race bike ever.  We got our first one in at Jay’s Cycle today.

I’m looking forward to seeing what happens when you put a bike like this under Andy and Frank Schleck, Stijn Devolder, Tom Boonen, and perhaps Alberto Contador.  Fireworks, I’m sure.  Oh yeah, I forgot:  the UCI weight limit is still 14.9 lbs.

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