On Cycling into La Bise

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Yesterday before the ride I could hear the wind playing with the shutter slats. I could also hear it against the combes, or roof, if you prefer that word. I looked outside and I could see that the wind was moving branches around. I also looked at the temperature and thought “Do I really want to go for a bike ride in these conditions?” Of course, as this was a group ride I did.

Getting from Eysins to Nyon was slower. Where I get to fourty kilometres per hour I was at just twenty. I could also feel the cold and wished, temporarily that I had another layer.

We went for the group ride, and it felt warm, which is nice, but the wind was forceful. Riding into it, we could feel that it was swallowing most of our speed. When it’s windy it’s hard to feel like a much worse cyclist than usual. Your usual effort is not reflected in the usual speed on that segment.

Sometimes you could feel gusts of wind that try to flatten you sideways, but you counter balance and stay upright. The result is that what would be a relaxed ride becomes a challenge.

There is a moment when I got tired, and started to feel the cold. I was tempted to turn back with the others, but decided not to be lazy. That cost me. By the end of the ride I was truly exhausted. Not exhausted enough to wait for the lift when I saw that the blue circle lit. That blue circle means that a lazy person just ordered the lift.

I shouldered the bike and walked up two floors, rather than wait for the lift.It’s ironic that after a sixty kilometre bike ride in a twenty four kilometre per hour wind with nine hundred meters of climbing, that I am more willing to walk up stairs, than the neighbours walking from the apartment to their car, or the reverse.

I almost always lived on multiple floors so i never use lifts. I have the fitness not to need to, and the impatience not to wait. The point is, despite being knackered I still had the energy to walk up two floors, rather than wait for a lift.

Knowing I’d Run This Morning

Another factor in my sense of being knackered after the bike ride into the wind, yesterday was knowing I had a nine kilometre run this morning. I’m certain that this played a role in my sense of tiredness. When you know you have to make an effort the next day, you tend to save some energy ahead of the next day.

Kcals Burned

Yesterday I burned over 1400 kilocalories and today I burned 900. I made sure to have more rice than usual last night. My legs felt fine and although I would have been happy to run slower, I made it to the end of today’s morning run. 2300kcal within the space of two days.

And Finally

As I walked home, I stopped to get some food for tonight, and noticed that my legs are now knackered. I need to rest them for the rest of the day and recover. Once again I failed to notice that the ride had so much climbing, but we were also unlucky with the wind. That added hugely to the end result, in terms of effort. Today, and tomorrow, I need to recover.