This morning my condition had improved enough that I squeezed a ride in. Before getting on the bike I had no intention of riding hard. Right out of the driveway, my body confirmed that I would not be going hard. This week off the bike sapped me of some major strength.
I rode down into Fenton before ever feeling comfortable. Once on the river road I pushed it into the 53x14 but did not give a big effort. Instead I turned over a nice easy tempo. A really hard effort was out of the question. At this point I just needed some miles. Actually, I rode halfway decent and stayed in the big ring up Old Gravois.
Total ride time was about 1hr 45min. I didn't ride hard despite pushing a pretty good sized gear. My thighs are stiff this evening so they needed the work. Next weeks ride could be rough but with some luck I'll get a few good rides.
News Item of the Day: TROPEA, Italy (AP) -- Olympic champion Paolo Bettini of Italy won the first stage of the Giro d'Italia, beating some of cycling's top sprinters to take the overall lead. Bettini claimed the leader's pink jersey from Australia's Brett Lancaster, who finished first Saturday in the time trial prologue of the most important cycling race after the Tour de France.
Bettini, the road race gold medalist at the Athens Games, pulled away during a short uphill stretch in the final mile of the 129-mile race. "It was not an easy finish. ... The sprinters were sure to try, as they did, to stay ahead and the leading men didn't want to lose precious seconds,'' he said.
Bettini, of the Quick Step team, beat second-place Robbie McEwen of Australia by three seconds and third-place Alessandro Petacchi, Italy's top sprinter, by four seconds. Overall, Bettini leads McEwen by 12 seconds and Petacchi by 14. Defending champion Damiano Cunego of Italy was ninth and is 25 seconds behind the leader.
Monday's second stage is a mostly flat 113-mile ride from Catanzaro Lido to Santa Maria del Cedro.
Viewpoint: Fassa totally boogered up the leadout. It was as if they had no clue what the final kilometer was like. Four guys on the front of the peloton when they hit the base of the climb and the wheels fell off. All four looked like they had ridden into wet cement as Bettini opened up the gap. I suppose Fassa didn't all that badly since Petacchi still got third. Obviously the hill took its toll on most of the riders. It looks bad though when your team is in total control of the race and one guy just rides away for the victory.
I rode down into Fenton before ever feeling comfortable. Once on the river road I pushed it into the 53x14 but did not give a big effort. Instead I turned over a nice easy tempo. A really hard effort was out of the question. At this point I just needed some miles. Actually, I rode halfway decent and stayed in the big ring up Old Gravois.
Total ride time was about 1hr 45min. I didn't ride hard despite pushing a pretty good sized gear. My thighs are stiff this evening so they needed the work. Next weeks ride could be rough but with some luck I'll get a few good rides.
News Item of the Day: TROPEA, Italy (AP) -- Olympic champion Paolo Bettini of Italy won the first stage of the Giro d'Italia, beating some of cycling's top sprinters to take the overall lead. Bettini claimed the leader's pink jersey from Australia's Brett Lancaster, who finished first Saturday in the time trial prologue of the most important cycling race after the Tour de France.
Bettini, the road race gold medalist at the Athens Games, pulled away during a short uphill stretch in the final mile of the 129-mile race. "It was not an easy finish. ... The sprinters were sure to try, as they did, to stay ahead and the leading men didn't want to lose precious seconds,'' he said.
Bettini, of the Quick Step team, beat second-place Robbie McEwen of Australia by three seconds and third-place Alessandro Petacchi, Italy's top sprinter, by four seconds. Overall, Bettini leads McEwen by 12 seconds and Petacchi by 14. Defending champion Damiano Cunego of Italy was ninth and is 25 seconds behind the leader.
Monday's second stage is a mostly flat 113-mile ride from Catanzaro Lido to Santa Maria del Cedro.
Viewpoint: Fassa totally boogered up the leadout. It was as if they had no clue what the final kilometer was like. Four guys on the front of the peloton when they hit the base of the climb and the wheels fell off. All four looked like they had ridden into wet cement as Bettini opened up the gap. I suppose Fassa didn't all that badly since Petacchi still got third. Obviously the hill took its toll on most of the riders. It looks bad though when your team is in total control of the race and one guy just rides away for the victory.
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