Day 75...Workout of the Day

On the agenda for my workout today was an hour and forty-five minute mountain bike ride...nothing to intense, just a light to medium intensity ride on relatively flat terrain.  I was looking forward to hopping on the bike this morning, as I had just changed out my wheelset yesterday, to a slightly more stiff set.  You see...I purchased a set of wheels for my bike nearly two years ago.  Not just any wheelset, mind you.  This is a set of Mavic Crossmax 29er wheels...very slick...and very expensive.  

Check them out...

A pretty amazing wheel...the Mavic Crossmax 29er

These bad boys are very light...only 1750 grams per set, which equals a mere 66.7 ounces!  It's funny how much things cost that are extremely light though.  In the bike world, and others, the lighter...the more expensive.  These wheels go for roughly $800 a set, brand new.  Now, I would never pay that much for a wheelset, so I did what alot of people do...I bought a used set on Ebay!  I paid about half the price of a new set, and they were in extremely good condition.  Anyway...these wheels are super light...maybe too light for the terrain that I ride on regularly.

Like I said, I've had them now for about two years, and they have been worked on numerous times.  I probably should have just kept them for racing, and let some other, less expensive rims take the pounding and abuse that I put them through...oh well, live and learn right?

Lately, these wheels have been feeling a little 'sloppy'.  This means that when I am moving pretty fast, and making quick, agile movements over and around stuff, they feel like they are flexing laterally...way too much.  So yesterday, I swapped them out with my 'back up' wheelset which is not as light, and feels much stiffer.

I awoke early this morning, posted my carb blog, and got ready to head out.  As I looked outside, I noticed that the wind was blowing...not too bad...just blowing.  When I arrived at the parking area where I access the trails however, this is what I saw...

A stiff wind blowing this morning!

Flags standing straight out is not what any cyclist...mountain or road, wants to see.  Wind like this means the day will be all work and no play!  To say the least, today's ride was far less enjoyable than any recent ride that I can remember...any ride for that matter!

I hit the trail, and was immediately overcome with a strong desire to turn around, pack it up, and try it another day.  After arguing with myself for a moment or two, I decided that I was not a quitter, therefore, I would not give in to a little wind.  a little wind?  At the halfway point, I checked weather.com on my iphone and found that there were winds gusting at 20-25 mph...not good!  To make a long story short...the ride was outside of the light to medium intensity guidelines set forth in my training program!  At one point, I was heading directly into the wind for nearly 6 miles...trudging along in a pretty easy gear...at nearly five mph...I walk at nearly 5mph! 

I completed the ride, logging 18.9 miles in one hour, thirty-eight minutes...it felt like 30 miles!  In my efforts, I burned off roughly 1200 kcal...not too bad for two hours of work!

Have a great weekend!