Rollers

No longer do I have to obsessively check weather.wrong, because my rollers have arrived! I placed an order with my favorite shop, Bicycle Therapy, about three weeks ago but their distributor was out of stock. Finally it came in, and being car-free meant some ingenuity on my part on how to get it home.

Strapping the massive 4 foot by 2 foot by 8 inch box to my back and riding home from the shop was a feat; I tied two tubes around the box's width, and intertwined the straps on the back of my backpack with them. Then, four or five wraps of string across the length of the box and through my backpacks handle secured it vertically. Aside from a tendency to shifty to the left, the ride home went well with plenty of odd looks from pedestrians and drivers.

I was very pleased with myself and my bag until I realized how easy disassembly is; I didn't need to go through all that, as all the individual pieces would have easily fit in my bag. So much for out of the box thinking.... Sorry, bad joke.

I gave the rollers a try, but today is a rest day after two hard rides and a "recovery ride" over the weekend after a week of off-the-bike. It's hard for me to mount, so I use a chair to stand on to get on initially. After a few minutes and one minor fall I didn't have to lean against the wall as much and started to get the hang of it. I'm now looking forward to the first rainy day, and can plan my training schedule with relative weather impunity.

Also, the first 200km is less than a month away. Despite the 11,250 feet of elevation gain, I feel close to prepared, but set a goal weight of 145 lbs from my current 155. Even though I'm at a very healthy weight right now, trimming down will help the climbing come easier and get me fitter in general. This week is finals and next is spring break, so I'll have the time for some serious miles. The plan is to dial down the intensity and increase the length of the rides to burn more fat and get my back and neck a little tougher. I've also been having some minor issues with my achilles, but found some good exercises here to strengthen them up.