TRAFFIC ---------------------------------

How To Experience The Ultimate Commute? Over The River And Through The Woods Of Course

Unconventional Road Cyclist Training My Style

Winter is in full thrust as it is Christmas Day and a Christmas snow to go with it. I am sitting here with an strainned throat from painting rooms for the holiday. The interior paint created a respiratory reaction on top of my asthma, so I am dying to go out, but fear I could catch another neumonia. Perhaps tomorrow the irritation will subside.

Anyway choice words for training is in the lightly populated regions of our planet...the woods and parks during this dismal time of the year. No kids to dodge, no roller bladers with headphones taking up the entire path, very little human contact with the exception of the equestrians who are cool.

I recommend Valley Forge Park around the parimeter of the tree lines of the entire park. One lap is a sufficient fitness workout. Two may be pushing it due to the extreme road resistance of the mud and snow. One like myself have bonked within the 1st lap often due to overheating.

To avoid the chances of the Bonk during this type of weather, I do a little something most others would say is quakery. I fuel up 2-3 days in advance of a hard wintery workout with sugar cured swine and a good heaping of venison. The raw fat from the swine will keep my lipid bilayer topped off, so I will not feel the cold as readily as many. I just got to be sure to burn it off or I may get fat. The venison is taken to assure proper protein is embeded into my muscle fibers into the workout. A small portion is taken after a session.

Nightriding on the cyclocross bike is wild. Not only are you flying faster through unconventional terrain on a road frame, but doing it at night is an adrenaline rush that keeps me coming back for more. I recommend Hutchison XC knobbies for the current conditions at Valley Forge. The network of single traks are many and technical enough for cyclocross riders. This sport is new to me as I only did 3 races of this type, but I am getting a grip on the training aspects.

The aesthetics of night riding are tremendous and more interesting cause you aren't used to seeing things like that racoon shooting up the tree and looking at you as you direct the nightrider beam towards it. The Fox that ran across the night meadow. There are the skunks and heards of doe. And occasionally, I come across a few massive mule deer with huge racks along a treeline setting that is picturesque. I will be posting a new site (UPSURGEVELO) specifically for Biological and All terrain riding interest.

I would like to also set up cyclocross rides at some point on that site, so stay tunned.

Peace,

Terrence