End of season conditioning

We managed to get in a 50-mile day, about which I was pleased. We even managed to get in a 60-mile day, about which I'm even more pleased. So I think I can truthfully say that we're pretty much where we were at, fitness-wise, prior to going on vacation at the end of the summer.

The signs are all there. The lactic acid build-up that occurs when riding really hard up hills and that makes you wonder whether you can still keep your legs moving when you're near the summit, becomes less bothersome--you feel some soreness but the pain is not such that you wonder whether you can keep moving. I wonder, by the way, what is the explanation behind this aspect of fitness? The weight is still down: by the way, I've been hovering at right around 200 since toward the end of summer, sometimes a pound or two below, sometimes a pound or two above.

I think this signals that the end of cycling season is just about here. We won't have too many more nice days for riding. If we'll see another 50, I don't know. But I hope so--at least maybe one last day this season.

And probably around the beginning of November is when we'll go back to our twice-weekly strength-training workouts (the modified Power90 phase). Less time for cycling, more time--and energy--to work the upper body.