Training Versus Racing....

I really believe there is a time and place for every thing, and then there is just common sense. Yesterday I went out for my first long training ride with lots of climbing....and yup was a little disappointed to see 3 different incidents which could have easily changed to fatalities given a different hand of fate.

started my morning right !!!

As soon as I headed out of the door on to the open road I felt happy I was going to challenge myself to an awesome day of climbing my goal was Crystal Lake but I would be happy with the second gate and do plan B the Monrovia loop....

Incident number one. 
As I was headed to the canyons I had a cyclist fly past me at a stop sign, as I started up again I nearly caught him and he blew the second stop sign, then the thing that really got me was when he blew through a red light....angry I shouted what an idiot, he acknowledged that he heard me as he turned his head..and guess what ear phones in both ears...nuff said but he is the reason drivers get angry at cyclists who obey the rules of the road......
NOW in competition, that is different, the road hopefully would have a rolling enclosure or be closed to traffic with law enforcement at these junctions.....but it is a training ride....open road ..rules of the road....


As I was heading up Azusa Canyon road which is a pretty climb with some blind corners which leads me to

INCIDENT Number TWO
As I was going up the climb imagine my surprise to see a runner ..yes a runner running with traffic down the road with NO SHOULDER and blind corners to traffic, I shouted to him to run against the traffic it was suicidal to run with traffic on this road but he looked at me as I was talking hebrew...

IN Competition we do not have to share a road with traffic it would be coned off...this runner could easily have chosen a mountain trail or gone to Bonelli Park, but he chose to play with the cars and motorbikes today totally not smart....

I finally found a new friend to cycle with to Crystal Lake, it is always better to share the pain of this beautiful climb with another cyclist than duke it out alone!

my new cycling friend Alex after gate number two...

The THIRD Incident 

this happened as we were climbing up a rather steep section of this hill.....and very little traffic glorious day and a cyclist is descending and a car over takes the cyclist and the double yellow line and I am now looking at the front of the car approaching my line to ride, I quickly jump into the gutter to avoid being hit....really a DOUBLE yellow line hello I am a cyclist obeying the rules!!!

The rest of the ride was perfect. At some point I thought I am going to turn back this is a long day in the saddle, with only 8 miles to go....then I thought of the last 10 miles of Ultraman Hawaii Day 1, or the last 10 miles of a double century or of the Canadian Mogul superstar Alex Bilodeau who credited his Olympic gold in freestyle skiing to his older brother Frederic, who has cerebral palsy. who said when he did not want to go out and train he thought of his brother who would love the chance to be out doors training! 

Made Crystal Lake with Ocean Potion and Kool n Fit in tow!

All smiles my Cannondale made it and I was well fueled with Hammer Nutrition perpetuem and expresso hammer gel.

Williams Wheels enjoy the view of the San Gabriel chain...

brilliant vistas

No problem refilling by bottles for extra water!

I ended up having an awesome training ride,

•  I had over come my negative thoughts and pushed through to complete my Crystal Lake Ride!
• I had made a new cycling friend on the climb.
• I had stopped to admire the beauty of the climb, and took plenty of photos.
• Fueled correctly and stopped when I wanted to I did my own ride and no one else s.

I had listened to my body and used my Polar RC3 GPS Monitor to keep me in zone 3 of my training.

Racing is different, but in training I always try to have a good time even when suffering on the climb as it is the satisfaction of completing a training ride you know is difficult but have fun doing it!

Please be safe on the roads while training, what I saw on this ride was just total disprespect for the rules of the road it was just an ordinary day no racing or planned event just a day to play safe.