TEAM TOUR DU ALS REUNION

130 kms | 4 h 25 m | avg speed 29.6 km/h | avg hr 135 bpm | 2.264 kcal

Great ride today around Ermelo with the men that participate on the Tour du AlS and climbed the Mont Ventoux in the last 3 years. Good speed, good legs and nice sprints to test the power. Rode the whole day not looking at my heart rate but only at cadence and speed, with the idea to see if by looking at it is making me save too much. It worked quite well as I pushed to my limits during the sprints and sticking to main bunch. Happy with that.

MERGELLAND ROUTE II

Second attempt today to do the Mergelland Route in Limburg. Another failure to follow the route. For one reason or another I never get this one right. This time the Ironman Limburg was happening in exactly good part of the same route we were try to follow. But overall it was a great 96kms ride with Stef and Tom (who took the above picture) and a good climbing training.

I’ve downloaded the route to my Garmin and today I have to say it worked perfect. I didn’t miss any turn and could follow the course perfectly. The only problem is that I’ve set the route in the “easy” direction (clockwise) and not on the way you get all the big climbs. In this way you get the climbs going downhill but the route is full of long false flats, which sucks energy.

We were just going thru the climbs nicely but at around 70 kms we all started feeling tired, what is unusual. Usually one or two are not feeling strong. But this time the legs were not there. Stef and Tom could still drop me on the climbs but they couldn’t do their normal push. At that point it started raining quite heavily, so we decided to stop at a little restaurant to get some coffee and a rice cake (with the vain hope to regain some energy) which are very good in Limburg.

When we finished, the rain has stopped and we continue. But just a little over 2 kilometers we were forced to stop as the road was blocked due to the bike leg of the Limburg Ironman. Tired and not being able to complete, we decided to call it a day and ride straight to the car. Good ride but clearly not my day. I need to focus on strength training…

Clearly I was going the wrong way…

Some say Stef was pushing me uphill.
Some say he was trying to hang on my jersey for dear life.

Coffee and rice cake in Mheer

LIMBURG

130 kms | 4 h 58 m | 26 kmh | avg hr 145 bpm | 2.665 kcal

Tried today to enjoy the great weather doing a ride that I haven’t complete for a couple of years: the mergelland route in the south Limburg. It is a 130 kms ride that goes thru several of the famous climbs in the region. Unfortunately because they stop maintaining the boards that indicates direction and because the Garmin is very bad with navigation, Tom and I lost the route several times and decided to follow the more reliable Amstel Gold Race boards instead. A hard day in the saddle especially climbing the Keutenberg and Kruisweg, two very steep climb with 16% inclinations.

Also hard because Tom is much stronger than me and was dropping me every time. Which meant I had to push hard at the end of the climbs to catch up. Although he was slowing down for me, I didn’t want to let him wait too long and pushing whenever the gradients went below 6%, took some energy. I need to do more of this!

QUICKY

60 kms | 2 h 00 m | 30 km/h | 1053 kcal

SHOULD BE WORKIN IN THE GARDEN

80 kms | 2 h 47 m | avg 28.8 kmh | 150 bp hr | 1.729 kcal

L’ETAPE DU TOUR RACE DAY

Start line in Megeve. 18 degrees at 7 am. 35 degrees later in the day.

Another cycling season closed by the L’Etape du Tour ride. A great long weekend in the French Alpes closed by the most important event of the year for me. And it was again a very hot day in the French summer, with temperatures around 35 degrees, steep hills and hard climbs. The result for me was mixed feeling: I bit my expected target by 16 minutes, finishing in 5 hours and 44 minutes. But finished with the sensation I could’ve done better, could have pushed harder. As in my all of my good Etapes…

DAY 2 IN FRANCE

Second day in France. We rode 49 kms and climbed the Aravis again as I didnt want to go for the second choice in team ride which was 95 kms. The weather was a little cooler than yesterday and the body more used to the altitude.  I stick with Stef with a god rhythm and we did quite well. After a little break at the top we went down to the other side for 5 kms and went back up.  On the way a team mate had a flat tire and we stop to help. Took us some time and after that it was a great decent to the village.  Another great day and now it is a little trip to pick up the numbers and rest for the sunday race.
Check photos after the link.

IN FRANCE DAY 1

 

First day in France with a quick 40 K ride as training for the Etape du Tour and we rode the Col de Aravis, which is the first climb of the race. It is a hard climb. Harder than it looks in the profile. And it was very hot, close to 35 degrees. High heart rate but expected as the body needs to get used to the altitude. Check the photos below.

LAST RIDE BEFORE FRANCE

78 kms | 2 h 39 m | 29.4 kmh avg | 137 avg bpm | 1.353 kcal

Almost 80 kms today around my house with strong winds both helping and against. It was a lonely sunny ride as preparation for the Etape race of next Sunday! Finally the time of the race is here. But the day wasn’t planned like that as we originally wanted to ride 130 kms. Check after the link why we changed plans…

Quase 80 kms volta de hoje foi ao redor da minha casa com ventos fortes ajudando e também contra. Foi uma volta ensolarada e uma preparação para a L’Etape que vai  acontecer no domingo. Finalmente a melhor corrida do ano está aqui. Mas não foi bem isso o que eu tinha planejado. Dá uma olhada depois do link porque não fiz os 130 kms que queria.

ETAPE DU TOUR TOP TUBE READY

The sticker for the top tube to follow the Etape is ready.
Blue is water station and green is a food station.

LAST LONG RIDE

154 KMS | 5 h 06 | 30.2 avg kmh | 150 avg hr | 2.853 kcal

Today was the last long bike ride before going to France for the L’Etape du Tour. It was the Jan Janssen Classic, an sportive of 150 kms around the Arnhem area. What I like about this one, which I’ve missed in the last 4 years, is the route. They make sure we explore all climbs in the region, twisting over small roads to get small and bigger climbs. It was a good result and an excellent training for the race in July.

Hoje foi a última volta longa antes de embarcar para a França para o L’Etape. Foi a volta Jan Janssen Classic, com 159 kms ao redor da região de Arnhem. O que eu gosto dessa volta, que não pude participar nos últimos 4 anos, é a rota. A organização explora a região e passa por quase todas as ladeiras, fazendo o percurso bastante difícil. O resultado foi bom e melhor ainda um excelente treino para a corrida em Julho.

SUNNY AND FAST

155 kms | 5 h 04 m | avg speed 30.7 kms/h | 144 avg hr | 2.642 kcal

Today was the 5th and last team ride from Nike before the L’Etape du Tour. A ride of 150 kms around the flats of Markermeer lake and against good wind. After a mishap with the start point, we joined the team and went immediately to a good speed, keeping around 35 kms/h. It was a great ride and I felt well most of it, pulling in the front at some places and closing some gaps a couple of times, keeping a 39 kms/h constant speed. Great result.

Hoje foi a vez da quinta e última volta do time da Nike antes da L’Etape du Tour. Foi uma volta de 150 kms ao redor do Markermeer e contra o vento. Depois de uma confusão com o ponto de encontro com o time, conseguimos nos juntar ao time e conseguimos manter uma boa velocidade por volta dos 35 kms/h. Foi uma volta muito boa e eu me senti bem na maior parte dela, inclusive indo prá frente do grupo e fechando algumas lacunas com velocidades de 39 km/h. Um resultado muito bom.

QUICK

37 kms | 1 h 15 | 29.7 avg kmh | avg hr 139 bpm

LONG

170 kms | 6 h 10 h | 27.7 kmh | 136 avg hr | 2.944 kcal

Gloomy day on Saturday with light rain, no sun and no wind. I tried to go thru almost the same route of last week adding a couple of new turns to make sure I had a actual long ride. Unfortunately I got lost and the constant stop and go brought the average speed down. But the overall result was good:  a very constant ride of 170 kilometers with speeds around 30 to 33 kmh all the way.

Dia nublado neste sábado com uma chuva leve, sem sol e sem vento. Eu tentei seguir a mesma rota da semana passada colocando alguns quilômetros extras para garantir uma bota distancia. Infelizment eu me perdi várias vezes e isso baixou bastante a velocidade média. Mas estou contente com o resultado: um treino constante de 170 kms com velocidades entre 30 e 33 kmh.

MOTHER NATURE IS A TIGER MOM

145 kms | 5 h 21 m | 27.1 avg km/h | 131 avg hr | 2.413 kcal

As the title says, mother nature is an aggressive tiger mom: it gives and it makes you pay if you don’t behave. Today it was a beautiful and a hard day: sunny and hot but also full of pollen and allergy in full swing and I was even stung by a bee. In the lip. But it was a good ride and I did NOT bunked like the last 3 rides.

Como diz o título, a mãe natureza é uma daquelas mães asiáticas: dá mas cobra pesado se você não se comportar. Hoje foi um dia bonito e duro: quente e de sol mas cheio de pollen e minhas alergias no máximo. E eu até fui picado por uma abelha. No lábio! Mas foi uma volta boa e eu não fiquei sem energia no meio da volta…

STILL NOT THERE

130 kms | 4 h 33 m | avg hr 28.5 KM/H | 140 avg bpm | 2.131 kcal

Not much to tell today. After the hard and disappointing riding from last week on Limburgse Mooiste, I’ve decided to do a endurance type of ride, not going out of zone 2 at all. I wanted to see how I would feel around 120 kms mark and understand if I pushed too hard on the last rides or if it is something else. I rode very familiar roads to avoid surprises and to avoid too much stopping and starting again. The ride was nice with speed around 30 kms/h with a heart rate between 130 and 145 bpm. But unfortunately the feeling of total loss of energy hit me again with 117 kms on the bike computer. Not happy about it. Until that point, the average speed was 29.5 but I ended up 1 km/h lower as I slowed down quite a lot. I have increased already the number of trainings and I will change the food. I have a little over a month to figure this out…

Sem muita novidade hoje. Depois da desapontante corrida da semana passada, eu decidi fazer um treino hoje focado em resistência, não passando acima da zona 2 de ritmo cardíaco. Eu queria ver como me sentiria aos 120 kms e tentar entender se eu fiz muito esforço no começo das últimas corridas. Eu segui estradas bem conhecidas para evitar qualquer surpresa  e para evitar parar demasiado. A volta foi boa com velocidades de 30 km/h com um ritmo cardíaco entre 135 e 145 bpm. Mas infelizmente a sensação de perder todas as energias aos 117 kms voltou. Não fiquei muito feliz com isso. Até aquele momento a velocidade média era de 29.5 kms/h mas acabou  baixando um quilômetro no final. Eu já aumentei o número de treino durante a semana mas agora vou mudar o que eu estou comendo. Tenho um pouco mais de um mês para resolver isso…

GIVING UP… OR MAYBE NOT

184 KMS | 7 H 32 | 24.5 KMS/H | 144 AVG HR | 3.757 KCAL

This weekend was time for Limburgse Mooiste. The longest and better organized cycling sportive event from Holland. It was 184 kms in the steep hills of Limburg done in 8 hours and 39 minutes running time and 7:32 riding time. That shows a bit what happened: I bonked big time and had to wait for a long time seated to regain energy to continue. A very hard ride which again is showing my training is going in the wrong way this year. At least I didn’t have cramps… The most difficult part of the day was deciding if giving up or not. With 30 kms to go I wanted to give up. But that was not an option and finished the ride anyway. But it was mentally difficult to keep doubting for 10 kms if I should quit or not. Happy I didn’t. See the whole race after the link with some more pictures

Neste fim de semana o treino foi o Limburgse Mooiste, o evento mais bem organizado da Holanda, com 184 kms nas ladeiras íngremes de Limburg. Eu fiz em 8 horas e 39 minutes de tempo corrido e 7 horas e 32 minutos de tempo pedalando. Dá uma amostra do que foi o dia: difícil e que eu perdi todas as energias ainda faltando 40 quilômetros para o final. Um dia muito pesado que está me mostrando como o meu treino está errado e o que eu tenho que melhorar. A única coisa boa foi não ter câimbras… A parte mais difícil do dia foi decidir se eu desistia ou não. Com 30 kms para a chegada eu queria desistir. Mas não tinha opção e acabei terminando a prova. Mas a indecisão por 10 kms foi muito difícil mentalmente se continuar ou não. Mas feliz por não ter desistido. Dá uma olhada como foi depois do link e mais algumas fotos.

CRAMPS AGAIN

163 kms | 5 h 52 m | avg speed  27.9 km/h | 146 avg hr | 2.777 kcal

For the first time I rode yesterday the Ronde van Nijmegen, a 160 kilometers sportive that starts in Holland but runs mostly in Germany. Usually it happens on the same day of Mother’s Day but this year it moved one week out due to the Giro d’Italia starting in Holland. It was a hard race with mostly false flats, two big climbs of 11% gradient and the last 50 kms against a strong head wind. More details after the link.

Eu fiz ontem pela primeira vez a Ronde van Nijmegen. São 160 quilômetros começando na Holanda mas passando a maioria do tempo na Alemanha. Essa corrida acontece normalmente no Dia das Mães, mas por causa do Giro, ele atrasou uma semana eu eu pude participar. Foi uma corrida dura, cheia de subidas falsas, duas ladeiras pesadas com 11% de inclinação e os últimos 50 kms contra um vento muito forte. Dá uma olhada nos detalhes depois do link.

MOTHER’S DAY

102 kms | 3 h 34 m | 28.7 km/h | 157 avg bpm | 2.254 kcal

First day of the year without leg warmers and arm warmers. But very windy. I went from home to the beginning of the Lekdijk and rode all the way to Amerongen and back with a total of 100kms. On the way I met this rider that match my speed and we rode together until Wijk bij Duurstede. Great to have a bit of company against the wind. The headwind on the way to Amerongen was so strong that at some point I was pushing a heart rate of 174 to keep a speed of 24 km/h. Pushed in that way up to the top of the Amerongeseberg where I met Stef. I wasn’t feeling so well as the result of the car travel of 9 hours from the day before. Almost didn’t recognized him. The rest of the ride was with that strong tailwind pushing 34 km/h barelly forcing the pedals. Part of the ride with Stef. At some point I pushed even 42 kms. Great ride back but the legs were really tired from sitting too long in the car and I cut the ride short to 100 kms. Recovery tomorrow…

Primeiro dia do ano treinando sem camisa de manga longa e calça completa. Mas um dia com vento forte. Segui pelo Lekdijk até Amerongen e voltei, um total de 100 kms. No caminho eu encontrei outro ciclista que estava na mesma velocidade e seguimos juntos boa parte do caminho. Bom ter companhia. O vento estava contra até Amerongen e estava tão forte que em alguns pontos eu tive que puxar o ritmo cardíaco até 174 bpm só prá manter uma velocidade de 24 km/h. Mantive o ritmo mais ou menos por aí até o Amerongeseberg, onde encontrei um colega do trabalho. E não estava me sentindo muito bem devido a viagem de 9 horas de carro do dia anterior. O resto do treino foi com vento ajudando com uma velocidade de 34 kms/h mesmo sem fazer muita força. Em alguns pontos onde coloquei pressão cheguei aos 42 kms/h. Uma volta boa mas as pernas estavam pesadas e doloridas por causa da viagem de carro…

KINDERDIJK

112 kms | 3 h 47 m | 29.5 avg km/h | 1.885 kcal

Great weather and steady wind coming from the south. I couldn't miss a chance to ride to Kinderdijk and back as I'm on vacation today but there were no plans with the family. The first half was against the wind and the second half with tailwind. I managed to keep speed around 28 to 30 km/h on the way there and 32 to 35 on the way back. Heart rate stayed low the whole time, under 155 bpm and I couldn't really get it up...

Com o tempo bom e um vento constante vindo do sul eu não pude resistir a chance de dar uma volta rápida até o Kinderdijk. Férias mas sem planos de ir prá lugar nenhum. A primeira parte foi contra o vento, com uma velocidade entre 28 e 30 kms/h e na volta com o vento ajudando, com velocidades entre 32 e 35 kms/h. O ritmo cardíaco é que não subiu muito, não passando de 155 bpm em nenhum moment.

SUNNY AND DRY

136 kms | 4 h 47 m | 28.5 km/h | 141 avg hr | 2419 kcal

To contrast the ride last sunday and even the luck ride on Wednesday, today was a sunny day with very little wind. Finally feels like spring is here. 9 degrees celsius and a great ride criscrossing the region. I left home without any plans other than ride around 140 kms and decided on the fly where the turn. Manage to go all the way up to Amsterdam and back in a lot of nice loops. I managed to keep speed around 30 to 33 kms/h with a heart rate of around 155 bpm (zone 3). The only bad part was getting lost around Ouderkert ad Amstel and loosing lots of time to find the way back, which brought the average speed down.  Anyway, feeling good with the result.

Para contrastar com o treino do último fim de semana e da volta de quarta-feira, hoje foi um dia de sol e com muito pouco vento. Finalmente a primavera começou com 9 graus hoje e eu fiz uma volta ao redor da região. Eu saí de casa sem muito rumo e fui virando meio que no achomêtro. Acabei indo até Amsterdam e voltei com vários loops bem legais. Eu consegui manter uma velocidade média entre 30 e 33 km/h com um ritmo cardíaco de 155 bpm (zona 3). A única parte ruim foi me perder ao redor de Ouderkerk ad Amstel e perdi muito tempo procurando o caminho certo, o que baixou a velocidade média. De qualquer forma estou satisfeito com o restultado.

KING’S DAY

60 kms | 2 h 09 m | 27.9 km/h | avg hr 152 bpm | 1507 kcal

King’s Day is  bank holiday in Holland. The daughter is not home and wife has an early morning appointment. What one does? Goes riding, of course! The weather forecast for today was pretty bad but there was a little window of “dry” opportunity between 7 and 12 and I couldn’t miss that. Left home at 7:45 and did a good 2 hours ride in the lekdijk, witha constant cross wind. It was a great way to have a punchy short ride, keeping the heart at low zone 3. Apart from a flat tire in a one third of way, the ride was great. I could see the dark clouds either ahead or behind me, but scaped all rain. The legs were kind of heavy but I could keep a good cadence. The road was moist on the way out and completely wet on the way back, which means I just missed the heavy rain. Lucky bastard today…

Dia do Rei é feriado na Holanda. Como a filha foi dormir na casa de um amiguinho e a esposa com um compromisso cedo, o que há prá fazer? Sair prá treinar, claro! A previsão do tempo para hoje era muito ruim, mas de última hora apareceu uma janela de algumas horas sem chuva entre as 7 e as 12 e eu não podia perder. Saí de casa às 7:45 e fiz uma volta de um pouco mais de duas horas através do Lekdijk, com um vento cruzado constante. Uma forma boa de maximizar o curto tempo, mantendo o ritmo na zona 3. Aparte de um pneu furado, foi uma volta boa. Dava prá ver as núvens ao redor mas escapei da chuva. As pernas estavam pesadas mas ainda assim consegui manter um ritmo razoável. A estrada estava húmida no caminho de ida e completamente encharcada na volta, o que significa eu escapei mesmo de uma chuva pesada. Sortudo hoje…

WHAT WE DO FOR FUN

126 kms | 4 h 43 m | 134 avg hr | 26.8 kms/h | 2389 kcal

The team has stopped. Someone got a flat tire. Right at that moment, it start hailing heavily. We all hurdle together as penguins and try to protect our faces and ears from the painful ice needles.  Stuart look at me and say: no point in stressing, right? My answer: Nope, that is what we do for fun. If you stress about your hobby, when are you going to relax? So, this was the moto of the day: relax about the painful hail storms that hit us during our team ride on Arnhem. Nothing you can do about it. Just keep riding and try not to get dropped on the posbank climbs… My legs were not firing on all cilinders during the climb, so I stayed with the mid group and tried to stick to the main group. It was an good ride with a big group and a good test of the legs. Keep on riding and enjoying it. Next time with the fast group…

O time parou. Alguém teve um pneu furado. E naquele exato momento começou uma geada forte. Nos juntamos como os penguins fazem, numa tentativa de proteção do rosto e orelhas contra as agulhas de gelo. Stuart olha prá mim e diz: não tem muita lógica em stressar, não é?! Minha resposta: não. Isso é o que fazemos para nos divertir… Esse foi o slogan do dia: não se estresse contra a dor das tempestade de gêlo que foram constantes durante o dia no treino de Arnhem. Nada a fazer. Só continue pedalando e tentando não ser deixado para trás pelo grupo nas subidas do Posbank… Eu não estava com as pernas muito boas, por isso fiquei com o grupo de velocidade média. Foi um treino bom com um time de quase 50 pessoas e bom teste para as pernas. No  próximo treino do time vou tentar o grupo rápido…

CRAWLING BACK HOME

176 kms | 6 h 30 | avg speed 27.5 km/h | 3500 kcal

Left alone, I more often than not make a decision that proves to be very stupid. That is why family, friends and a team are vital to keep us in the right path. Once a year I made one of those decisions and fail spetacularly. Today I was alone and made a decision to go from home to Arnhem and back: 176 kms of which 120 kms were fun and the rest was a slow craw back home against an annoying headwind, snow, hail, rain and a general lack of energy. Had even to stop to get a coke in a gas station to be able to continue. And to make matters worse, I forgot to charge my Garmin and it went out with 53 kms to home. What left me without any idea of effort, time passing, distance, etc. You can see on the top map where it went off, in the red line. Long and hard day in the saddle. Training for performance biking is not always fun but it is important to face days like this to build up mental toughness. But at least I didnt get any cramps as it happen in last weekend Veenendaal-Veenendaal. So, I must be getting better…

Se me deixarem sozinho, eu frequentement tomo uma decisão estúpida. Por isso família, amigos e um time são essenciais. Uma vez por ano eu tomo uma dessas decisões e falho de forma espetacular. Hoje eu estava sozinho e tomei a decisão de fazer um treino longo de casa até Arnhem e volta: 176 kms dos quais 120 foram divertidos e o resto me arrastando para casa contra um vento contra, chuva, neve, geada e sem energia prá pedalar. Tive até que parar num posto de gasolina para comprar uma coca-cola  para poder continuar. E prá piorar as coisas, eu esqueci de carregar a bateria do Garmin e ele desligou-se faltando 53 kms. Me deixando sem nenhuma idéia do esforço, duração do treino, distância, etc. Dá prá ver no mapa onde a linha vermelha pára. Um dia muito longo e duro na bicicleta hoje. Treinar nem sempre é divertido, mas é importante encarar dias como esse prá criar força mental. Como consolação, eu não tive câimbras como nos últimos 20 kms da corrida da última semana. Então alguma coisa deve estar melhorando.

MIXED FEELINGS

75 kms | 2 h 41 m | avg speed 28 km/h | avg hr 145 | 6.680 kcal

Now that we have just short of 100 days for the L’Etape du Tour, I went today to Arnhem to train climbing in the elevations around the Veluwe national park. The weather forecast was for a sunny warm day and we wanted to go for around 90 kms to still have time to g0 back and watch the Rond from Flanders on TV. But the plans needed to changed due to very annoying rain and a nasty crash. See more after the link.

Agora que só faltam um pouco menos que 100 dias para o L’Etape du Tour, eu fui treinar hoje nas ladeiras de Arnhem e do parque nacional Veluwe. A previsão era de tempo bom, seco e sol, chegando a vinte graus e planajei com outros dois colegas uma volta de 90 kms. Prá dar tempo de voltar prá casa e assistir a Flanders na TV. Mas outra vez os planos mudaram por causa da chuva e de um acidente. Dá uma olhada depois do link.

SUNNY & WINDY

distance 119 km | time 4 h 19 m | avg hr 153 bpm | avg 2.487

This week ride was on the Saturday because of the forecasted great weather as you can see on the picture above, taken from the only stop I did in the 119 kms ride. Great sunny blue skies. And to complete a hard training, a strong wind was coming from the South, which guaranteed  a cross-wind a good resistance.

O treino desse final de semana foi no sábado por causa da previsão de bom tempo, como dá prá ver na foto acima, que tirei na única parada de toda a volta de 119 kms. E para completar o treino foi realmente bom com um vento forte vindo do sul do país, o que garante vento cruzado por todo o tempo e boa resistência.

SECOND TEAM RIDE

109 kms | 4 h 18 m | avg speed 25 km/h | avg hr 144 | 2.670 kcal

After two weeks out of training due to a strong flu, today was time to go back to the road. It was the second team ride from the Nike and a big team was expected for a 100 km training ride. I decided to go from home and complete a 145 kms total ride. Unfortunately it didn’t go to plan…

Depois de duas semanas sem nenhum treino por causa de uma gripe forte, hoje foi dia de voltar prá estrada. E foi dia da segunda volta da Nike e eu esperava um time bem grande para uma volta de 100 kms. Eu decidi ir desde casa e completar uma volta de 145 kms. Mas infelizmente as coisas não seguiram assim…

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FIRST TEAM RIDE

105 KMS | 4 h 49 m | avg speed 27.4 km/h | avg hr 144 | kcal 2.272

First team ride from Nike team today. A small size group with around 15 riders show up for a cold but dry ride. It was an interesting ride with easy pace most of the time, lots of time to catch up with riders that I havent seen for some time. And more interesting a paceline drill in the airfield close to Hilversum. Nice to do with another 6 riders and try to keep it as tight as possible, which is harder than seen on TV. Apart from that, very uneventfull  and easy ride. Before it I managed to do 3 interval sessions on the spinning bike. So, a very positive training week. Now to watch Paris-Nice.

Primeira volta do time da Nike desse ano. Um grupo pequeno de mais ou menos 15 ciclistas compareceu para uma volta fria mas sem chuva. Foi uma volta tranquila feita na maioria das vezes em ritmo leve. A parte mais interessante foi fazer um treino de paceline com o grupo na pista de aeroporto de Hilversum. Muito legal fazer o paceline com outros 6 ciclistas e tentar manter o mais eficiente possível. Mais difícil do que parece na TV. Pelo resto da semana antes da volta, eu consegui fazer três trenos de intervalo. Uma semana de bom treino e contente com o resultado. Agora é assistir Paris-nice na TV.

RAIN & MUD

90 kms | 3 h 15 min | avg speed 27.8 | avg hr 139 | kcal 1862

Back to the road today! After almost a month only doing training inside, I decided to go out today regardless of weather.  I met 3 other guys in Utrecht center and we did a nice 90kms ride around the region. Some sprints, some good pacing but mainly training in zone 2 (between 146 and 156 bpm). The weather was pretty bad with heavy cold rain but good training. Check after the link for details.

De volta à estrada hoje. Depois de quase um mês sótreinando dentro de casa  decidi treinar fora hoje. Encontrei outros três fanáticos no centro de Utrecht e fizemos uma volta de 90 kms pela região. Algumas arrancadas, outras áreas de ritmo elevado, mas principalmente treinamos em zona 2 (entre 146 e 156 bpm). O clima estava terrível, com vento e chuva, mas um bom treino. Dá uma olhada depois do link.

The original plan for the weekend was for a team ride on Sunday with the Nike team. But the extreme rain and wind forecast made the organization calcel the ride for the safety of the rookies. Not wanting to lose another week training, a couple of us agreed to ride today when the forecast was better. Today the team was Stef, Tom, Richard and me.

Right from the start in the city center, the rain was heavy pouring down and the wind was strong. Tom was pushing quite strong from the get go, something we should be used to by now. From Utrecht we went to Soest where we added Mark to our team and went around the area with mostly flat roads and almost nobody cycling due to the bad weather.

One new thing that I’ve never done was to ride on the Soest airport runway. Great for some fast pacing and little sprint, with a heart rate above 175 bpm. We did the spring thru the runway twice and I completely blowup. Because I did the interval training yesterday, my legs were not in shape for acceleration or for climbing, but I managed to keep up on the flats.

But best of the day was really to be out there with the guys, sprinting against each other and making stupid jokes. Gotta love that!

POSTER 2

POSTER 1

While I haven’t had the chace to go out cycling due to several reasons, I’m training indoors using the Tacx. But I don’t manage to do more than one hour. So, it leaves time to check some nice posters on the internet.

RAIN & MISTY

Now that the ice and snow are gone I went back to the bike. Last sunday I had to train on the bike trainer int he Attick, which I don’t like. The weather forecast was of cloudy and dry, but in reality I got a  very rainy and misty day and the wind was quite constant.  Felt good most the of the ride but kept it short to avoid getting too cold.

That being said, the week was good in training. I managed to do 2 interval sessions during the week and yesterday I went back to the attick and squeezed another hour of endurance training. Hope this next week goes well and the weather picks up!

ICE COLD RAIN

KINDERDIJK

Mixed feelings about today's ride. The weather forecast was dry and sunny and the plan was to go against the wind (force 4) all the way to Kinderdijk on top of the dike and comeback enjoying the tailwind. Something like 110 kms. But the ice cold and strong rain made it a tough ride for me and I suffer a lot at the end. I was so cold that I had to stay a half an hour on a hot shower to wam it up enough and stop shaking. Check the details after the link.

Um treino mais ou menos hoje. A previsão do tempo era de dia ensolarado e sem chuva e o plano era de ir até Kinderdijk pelo dique contra o vento e voltar aproveitando o vento a favor. Algo como 110 kms. Mas uma chuva gelada e forte estragou tudo e eu sofri bastante mantendo a performance. Fiquei tão gelado que tive que ficar uma meia hora num banho quente quando cheguei em casa. Dá uma olhada nos detalhes depois do link.

FIRST OF 2016

First training of the year: 70 kms zone two training. Good for build up endurance. The wind was not so strong and I decided to go to the Amsterdamrijkanaal as it has a very long straight stretch. Great for keeping the heart rate stable between 145 and 155 (which is my zone two). Weather was cloudy and sun breaking and the ride was very relaxing. Good start.

Primeiro treino do ano: 70 kms em ritmo cardíaco na zona 2. Bom para criar resistência. O vento não estava forte e eu decidi ir para o Amsterdamrijkanaal, que tem uma linha direta bem longa. Bom para manter a velocidade constante e o ritmo cardíaco entre 145 e 155 bpm (minha zona 2). O tempo estava nublado com o sol aparecendo aqui e alí. Uma volta bem relaxante para começar bem o ano.