This morning I woke at 0530 and thought “I can’t be bothered to go for a ride so early.” Within a few minutes I was up getting ready. I put on my Autumnal cyclist stuff and pumped the tyres to 80 bar. I then road to the meeting point. I arrived 15 minutes early and was surprised not to see anyone appear until 5 minutes before. I had considered going for a solo ride as a result.
The first bicycle ride, when it got cooler, felt unpleasant. My hands felt cold, the areas around zips felt cold, my legs felt cold, and then, over a few rides I got used to the temperature.
When you cycle in the pre-dawn dark the temperature is cool. You can feel it biting through your long cycling shorts, and through the first three layers, and especially through the zip. Add a think windcutter, and you’re warm.
Yesterday I felt strong cycling with the group, up from Nyon to Saint Cergue and on to the Col De La Givrine before heading towards La Cure. Part of the reason for feeling strong is that I have climbed the Jura multiple times this summer, so climbing up has become less strenuous. I am now habituated to heading up the Jura for the first climb of the day.
It’s on the second climb that I start to show fatigue.
For several days I was the only person signed up for a bike ride. Last night it went up to seven people, and then this morning it was down to three people, including me. I arrived half an hour to fifteen minutes early. During that time I had the opportunity to think “What if no one turns up, would I still ride”. My reaction was “of course”. I was already at the meeting point, ready to cycle.
Yesterday I cycled along the lake to get to Geneva. When I got to Geneva I cycled by World Meteorological Organisation before heading up from there towards the Graduate Institute, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Palace of Nations (Palais des Nations) before heading by the International committee of the Red cross, by the International Labour Organisation and World Health Organisation before passing by the European Broadcasting Union, before finally heading back out of Geneva.
Today I looked at the Sports Tracker app and I noticed that all of my activities started from home, whether cycling, hiking, or walking. That’s because I spent this month cycling and walking from home. I didn’t use the car, or trains to get around.
I was thinking of this luxury when I was walking to the food shops this morning. Usually I would go by car, not because I am too lazy to walk four kilometres to the shops and back, but because recently the roads have been congested.
When I was scuba diving every weekend I would often feel tired in the afternoon, after I got home. It’s due to the huge change in pressure, from 40m down in the lake to 300+m above sea level around the Léman. Yesterday I went for a ride, and today I went for a ride again. I feel fatigue. I feel tired and in need of time to recover.
I believe that it’s due to the Autumn conditions.
When I left home this morning the sun had not risen yet so my legs, and other parts were cold. I could feel that more layers might have been welcome. That’s because cycling in Autumn is about moving from a hot apartment to a cold dawn air temperature, before meeting with a group and cycling up a mountain, getting hot, and then heading back down into valleys hidden from the sun.
Yesterday I expected to be quite comfortable on a ride but I wasn’t. The climb was steep, with bits that were at 17 percent according to others. You pedal, and pedal. You feel the muscles in your legs fatigue. You think, “if only I could stop for a few minutes”, but you don’t. You keep going. You keep pushing. You get to the top.
You rest for a bit, while waiting for others to join.
I have been up the Molard climb four times this year, and each time I sped up by a little. Twice my time improved by two minutes, and when I tried yesterday it improved by only a few seconds. With an average of 2000 meters of climbing per week I can feel the effects.
I can feel that I am climbing with more power and I can feel a big change on short climbs.