Today's entry brought to you by...

... The executive decision I just made to ride the trainer. In the coming months, adoption of a "train first, blog later" policy will be mandated. Today will mark one of the last exceptions to this rule (and if you believe that...). This morning, I have enough time to go out on the mountain bike. If I rush, I could probably get in almost an hour and a half and still get back home in time to peel off the layered clothing, thaw and stretch a bit, and get off to work without undo stress. But I hate shaving while my skin is still numb from the cold, I hate having a pile of dirty clothes from just one little ride, and I am a tired of the shivering on my rides. The trainer hasn't gotten much use lately, just some short spins to loosen up. Today I can get on there and do a real workout, maybe some short, hard intervals to complement the longer LT efforts from the weekend. This is supposed to be a hard week for me.

Sticking to the trainer will also allow me time to properly stretch when I am done. Tonight is massage night, so in order to be a good doo-bee and take care of myself like the nice therapist says I should, stretching is imperative. Last night I booked it out of work as the sun sank. I drove to Canton High, finding they have a nearly new rubberized 400m running track. The lights were still on, as it looked like lacrosse practice or something had just wound down and the maggots were still hanging around the field house before going out hazing skinny freshmen or laying in the road or whatever high school lacrosse thugs do when they are not playing lacrosse. I don't know anything about doing track workouts, so I just TT'd for a few laps, then did some 200 meter efforts interspersed with easy running. The lights went out after a while, but having a prepped and clear surface to run on made the situation fine. It was cold when I got done though, I stretched a bit, but then drove home where eating was my first priority. So I have to stretch today. Nice warm trainer muscles will make that task easier. So decision made, I am staying in. Mountain biking over the frozen tundra can wait until a bit later in the week.

More on gearing. Or is it moron gearing? The past weekend reminded me of something on Doug J's site where he suggests people avoid putting low gears on their bikes for fear of using them. When one is truly suffering, the temptation to use any means available to ease the pain can overwhelm even the strongest resolve. Doug makes his point in specific reference to hillclimb races like Ascutney or Mt. Washington. Having never done Mt. W, I can only refer to my two ascents of Ascutney for personal observation. In case you don't know, Ascutney is as steep or steeper than the Mt Washington auto road, but only half as long, not at elevation, well paved, and without the weather that makes the more famous mountain more famous. Ascutney does, however, have a particularly unrelenting grade. Then first two miles have no pitch change at all, just a constant 12%. After that, there are a few meters here and there where it levels out a bit, but that is it.

For my first effort up Ascutney, in 2004, I wasn't all that fit. My road bike had a 41 tooth small ring, so I fitted a 12-32 rear cluster and figured I would be fine. Surely I had a 39 ring laying around somewhere, but I didn't want to get my hands dirty for such an insignificant change. Long story short, my average cadence for the third mile ended up at 54 rpm, with a low point of 39. I had maintained 67 rpm for the first mile, but to say I died a thousand deaths over the remaining distance would not be overstating my suffering. Much.

In 2005, vowing to learn from my mistake, I returned to this peak on my 'cross bike, fitted with a 26T granny-sporting triple crankset, and a 12-27 on the back. I figured the 26x21 and maybe 26x24 would still be much more gear than the prior year, and turning these at an efficient rate of 70 rpm or so would bring me to the line in my target time. The 26x27 would be there "just in case." You already know how this story ends. I did most of the race in the 26x27. My HR was still pegged, and I took a few minutes off my 2004 time, but I probably would have gone faster had this gearing option not been available. I did not have cadence recording on this bike, but my recollection is that I settled in to survival cadence and stayed there. I probably died a mere hundred or so deaths on this ride.

Out on "normal" roads, doing "normal" training, what are the chances of something similar happening? I have a story, but I am out of time. Matta ashita (again, tommorow).