Day 2 of the Base

This morning went pretty well. Day 2 of my Base 1 period and I'm brimming with confidence. Maybe it was that the sun was out this morning, or that I'm a bit ignorant to just how much riding I have ahead of me over the next 8 weeks. Oh well, this morning just felt good. I awoke to find the temperature to be a balmy 10 degrees higher than weather.com predicted when I checked before bed; a good omen indeed. Living in the mountains, especially as a born and bred flatlander, is challenging when you're looking for a steady effort... hills make yopu have to focus on not going too hard up them, and then going hard enough down them to maintain the proper heartrate zone. As always, my coach knew exactly what my Zone 2 wattage range is... brilliance at work. I did get to race a train this morning. Twice. The first encounter, the crossing arms lowered, then mysteriously raised up as I approached. I gave the driver of the truck on the opposite side of the tracks an awkward shrug of the shoulders as I rolled across the tracks in bewilderment, he was confused too. Needless to say, as soon as we crossed, the arms lowered back down. The Roanoke River meanders through the Wabun area, so watching the train hug the steep river banks across from me, I knew we'd meet again. Sure enough I had to truck it up a steep hill, and sneak through the crossing arms as the train bore down torwards me a second time. For a ways we paralleled along the road, until finally I went left, and the tracks veered right. Woohoo. Aside from that, another highlight was riding a road not too far from our soon-to-be new house that I can't wait to explore... it seems to meander as a narrow pastoral state road; but we'll see. Tomorrow will bring a cornucopia of workouts. I wee bit-o-running, a romp around the weight room working on my core and legs, and then a 1.5 hour ride on the fixie. I love riding the fixed gear. This morning was the first time in a month I rode the geared bike on the road after a bunch of fixed gear riding. Took me a few minutes to re-acclimate. On that note... I noticed after my considerable work in the gym, most notably on the core, that I'm feeling more stable that ever on the bike. Watching my shadow, my upper body was motionless. Victoire! Giggidy, Giggidy, Goo.