I never got to my Italy tour follow-up post and not sure I ever will. I kind of missed the sweet spot for writing it because I got caught up in some other things (firSSt can attest to how busy you can get not working sometimes).
So if you're wondering about my blog post title, aside from a good opportunity to homage Salt-N-Peppa, I've been stepping up my cycling game lately and really pushing myself to the limit. Before I jump into the details I want to give LI cycling the props it deserves. If you recall, when I moved out here I was nervous about finding good riding. But now I can't imagine riding anywhere else. The north shore of LI has some awesome scenery and hills with very limited traffic. I would estimate that I see about 25% of the cars on LI rides as I do on NYCC rides.
Two Saturdays ago I decided to join the fastest "A" group in the Long Island Bike Club. I had previously done two rides with the club but both times with the B group. Man, was it a challenge. But a good challenge. They really take no prisoners and they don't stop nearly as much as the B group. The A group can bang out 50 miles in under 3 hours including a bathroom/snack break. It takes upwards of 5 hours to ride 50 miles in a B group because of the slower speed and the generally more relaxed attitude towards stopping and overall lingering.
I definitely struggled a bit on my first A ride because I had forgotten about the importance of nutrition when you push yourself. I'd been doing so many B rides that I got into the bad habit of 1) not eating before the ride and 2) not bringing food on the ride. These came back to haunt me big time on my first fast ride. About halfway through I started to bonk (go anerobic) and I became like a homeless person begging for food. Someone was nice enough to give me an energy bar but the damage was already largely done. (Once you go bonk, you never come back.) Luckily I only half-bonked so I was able to struggle my way through the rest of the ride. Afterward, Phil, the rider leader, invited me to a training ride on Tuesday.
The Tuesday ride took things up another level. The best woman triathlete on the east coast rode with us, as well as a professional woman triathlete who was ranked in the top 50 in the world up until two months ago when she broke a bone in her foot. Suffice it to say she still roasted me on the bike even with a broken foot and after not riding for two months. After the Tuesday ride, I got invited to the Thurdsay training ride. This ride was even tougher than the Tuesday ride as a guy who used to race in Europe showed up. Man was he fast. These Tuesday/Thursday training rides seem like they have a certain minimum pace but can be a bit faster or slower depending on who shows up. Needless to say I did a lot of sleeping after the rides on Tuesday and Thursday but I'm feeling better and better with each ride. Saturday I rode with the A group in the LIBC again and felt great afterward.
I'm hoping the weather holds up tomorrow so the Tuesday ride is on. If I can continue making these rides I will soon be in the best cycling shape of my life and smash my mileage record from last year. I'd also love to lose some weight as I have issues keeping up on the hills sometimes. If I could lose another 15-20 lbs. (down to 195-200 lbs) I think I could be a force to be reconed with on the bike.
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