RAIN AND WIND

126 kms | 4 h 37 m | avg speed 27.3 km/h | avg hr 1149 bpm | 2.630 kcal

In the last long ride training before the trip for the L’Etape du Tour in France, the Dutch weather gave me a nice gift: good temperature, a bit of rain and lots of wind. The wind was blowing from the Northwest at around 35 kms/h and if it helped at some point, it also made for a great training. Not for nothing the wind is said to be the Dutch mountain.

Na última volta longa antes de embarcar para a viagem para a L’Etape du Tour, a clima na Holanda me deu um presentinho: boa temperatura, um pouco de chuva e muito vento. A força do vento estava por volta dos 35 kms/h vindo do noroeste. Ele ajudou em alguns momentos, mas foi uma grade força pro treino. Não é por nada que ele é chamado de “montanha holandesa”.

I had an appointment in Rotterdam at 12:00 pm but the place wasn’t far enough to do a good training. My plan was to ride 140 kms going from home to Kinderdijk via Gouda, back to Utrecht via the north side of Lekdijk and back to Rotterdam via the south side of the dike. Great planning, but I didn’t count on the rain and wind.

I was ready to leave at 7:00 am but the rain was pouring down. I’ve checked on the weather forecast and it was supposed to go down to a drizzle at 7:30. I left home at that moment but the rain was still falling. Not as strong but surely. Luckily it wasn’t that cold: 15 degrees C.

The road from Utrecht to Gouda, which was the same travelled by the second stage of the Tour de France, is a old training territory  of mine. When I left home, as usual, I was completely alone so early on a rainy Sunday. Not even the church goers were out yet. I always like this time of a ride, when I’m alone on the road.

I kept the speed at the usual 32 kms/h and felt OK. The wind wasn’t that strong yet but maybe the fact that I’ve went swimming for almost an hour yesterday didn’t help the feeling on the legs. But speed and heart rate were fine. Around Gouda, the rain stopped and I continue with a good pace until the little village of Oudekerk ad Ijssel, where I turned around to go back to Utrecht. The road up to there isn’t particularly nice with lot’s of industrial or office buildings. But it has the advantage of being deserted on Sundays. A bit of cross winds here and there brought the total speed to around 28 km/h at some points, and the total average of this part finished on 29 km/h. Not great but considering the wind, not bad.

On the Lekdijk towards Utrecht is when I felt how strong the wind was. At that point I had a tailwind and the speed went up to 37 / 38 km/h quickly. I kept the heart rate at 158 and was having a lot of fun. Quick turns and long stretches of good speed makes a lot of difference on motivation to keep going hard. My only concern was that it was getting late and I calculated that if I did my complete plan, I would be seriously late for my appointment.

At around 80 kms mark I decided to cut the total distance by 20 kms. Instead of going all the way down to Vianen to be able to cross to the other side of the Lek river, I just turned around. And that is when I was hit in the face by what was waiting for me. Almost 40 kms of a terrible headwind!

THE WATER TOWER IN KRIMPEL AD LEK WAS A GOOD SIGHT. IT MEANT THE WIND TORTURE WAS ALMOST OVER.

DUTCH MOUNTAIN | The riders in Holland call the wind the only Dutch mountain. In a day like to day, it can make you feel like climbing a 40 kms mountain of around 5% gradient. And that is how I decided to face it. Training for the Col du Glandon next Sunday. I pushed hard to keep the heart at 160 and even then my speed barely moved above 23 km/h. It was hard work all the way back to Kinderdijk. At some point the wind was so hard and I was getting really tired that I had to stand on the pedals to keep up with the speed I wanted.

During the whole time I also could see very dark clouds at the distance. I felt again a couple of drops but somehow the wind kept blowing the clouds away from me. The Garmin, where I saved the directions to navigate, kept trying to send me to the right in the direction of the rain. I just ignored until I felt safe enough to avoid the rain. And it worked. I arrived in Rotterdam at precisely 12:30 (a little late, but they understood). Great ride and a perfect training for the race.

Now, one more interval session on Tuesday, travel to France on Thursday, two team rides and the big day! Stay tuned.