The temperatures are in the 60’s this week. Today, nearly 70 for my road ride. The trails are looking better, but I still won’t ride most until they are dryer. So, that leaves me on the road bike quite a bit for this time of year. Using MapMyRide.com, I’ve mapped out a nice loop from my house that is about 7.3 miles. For me, that’s a good distance. I can ride a good, hilly, training loop as many times as I have the time for. It’s a route that I like to use when I don’t have alot of time, or if I’m riding before work. I try to give myself enough time to ride the loop three times, but I make sure that I can ride at least two loops. It is 7.3 miles of mostly rolling country roads with very little traffic. In the middle of the loop there is a nice little climb that is a 3%-4% grade. After the decent, there is a nice 1.5 mile steady 3% climb with a fast decent. It might not sound like much to some, but for a mid-pack Cat 2 MTBer, it make a nice workout for me when time is limited.

My fitness level seems to be pretty good for this time of year. All of my training rides this week have felt good. I was able to maintain much of my fitness through the winter, and I’m definitely ahead of where I was at this time last year.