Today was the first real team ride of the year and it was a good one, as confirmed by Ben’s thumbs-up! We met at Reed Cycles and then headed out to do the Hamilton Corner loop. I padded the ride by doing 45 minutes of L2-L3 on the trainer beforehand. I wanted to get in four hours and I didn’t want to have to get on the trainer after the ride in case I came up short. It was five of us today: Ben, Kelsey, Ken, Ted and me.

We mostly rode tempo as was the plan. I pushed it on most of my pulls, being cognizant of not disrupting the paceline. I wanted to keep my wattage up the whole ride so when I wasn’t pulling, I’d drop back or ride to the side of the group to stay in the wind. By the time we were on Hwy 52 heading into Emmett, we had a small headwind and my legs were feeling it. At that point, I didn’t mind seeking shelter!

We made a stop in Emmett, then pushed it up Old Freezeout. That was the only “measured” effort I did; none of my other efforts warranted recording as an “interval” in my training diary. We bumped into the Bob’s Bicycles guys on Beacon Light and since Ken still had to ride back to Boise we latched onto their group for a while (hope they didn’t mind)…until they picked up the pace. At that point, Ken stayed with them, while the rest of us cooled down back into Eagle.

Overall it was a good, hard ride and I didn’t have any signs of bonking. My legs were fatigued by the end, but I was still able to regularly put out my threshold power…it just hurt more that last hour! Now I begin my taper for Valley of the Sun. I’m excited for the race and feel like I should be in good form. But after today’s ride, I’m more excited for our team and the local races. We rode well together and all seem to have good form for this early in the year. Should be a great season!