Day 4, Solo

Decided I needed a day of driving by myself. Headed west along the boardwalk. Kind of a chilly start but warmed up nicely as I got into the sun. Knee warmers, longsleeve jersey and windvest. Didn't do the proper euro thing of full body coverage b/c my leg warmers were still a little damp from my in-room washing. Hopefully I wasn't judged too harshly for my lower calfs showing. Thinking of maybe picking up some authentic santani leg warmers. They are a little bit thinner than my thermal ones. Perfect for covering the legs in 70º temps b/c you don't want any skin exposed to the wind or you could risk becoming ill.

The ride started out a little frustrating b/c I was trying to find a route away from the waterfront and into the mtns along the western side. I ended up exploring quite a bit before I found the right road. Made a lot of stops to look at the map. Then I realized that any riding I do is good b/c the time here is about getting in the kms. So I stopped worrying about finding the "right" road and just rode my bike. Much better. Eventually I did find the road and it was smashing to quote the brits here. Very small, quiet roads. Very few cyclists in this area which is a stark change to other areas of the island. Did several climbs, 4:40 total on the road. That makes almost 19.5hrs thus far in 4 days. Still recovering well. I am being very conscious of eating enough while on the bike. In the past i have usually ridden myself to the ground then eaten at home, only to burn muscle rather than the fats and carbs I ate for breakfast and during training. Its much better b/c I don't arrive back to the hotel completely knackered(brit term) and unable to move b/c of hypoglycemia. Just some normal fatigue and after a proper washing in the nice warm shower, its a bowl of muesli and some laying down. Then before you know it...dinner time.

This morning I started getting a little bit more creative with my food. You have to after eating the quanity a training cyclist eats and nearly the same options each morning. In order to create the perfect ride fuel, I uncovered a special new treat: finger-size roll with dried apricots in a nutella spread. Good boost when on the ride. And a nice treat. Tomorrow morning I am going to go a little bit earlier and get some of the dates and smash them up into some fruit bars. I started doing this before I left Boulder. The project was to try to unravel the Laräbar magic. I think I came pretty close. Dates are perfect source of healthy energy and they mold very well and can hold other stuff nicely. Plus they are wicked cheap. Date trees have incredible fruit production efficiency, plus they have ancient mythical powers. You can stuff them with either sweet or savory stuff....I will post the production tomorrow.

Well I need to get to bed...Big day tomorrow, 60km of climbing along with many other kms.

Ciao,
Matthew