Had a few days of big rides. Epic actually would be appropriate. Lots of kilometers covered. Lots of good sensations in the legs. Big smiles on my face. A little bit of a sunburn. All chased with a sweet Sunday afternoon nap and a solid Monday rest day.

Yep, it was a darn good weekend of riding and training. Saturday was all about tempo. The plan was to ride for two hours and then wind up for a 40 minute tempo effort and then simply roll home. Sounds good right? Amazingly warm day on Saturday. I hit out for my ride after a solid yoga work-out to get my body loose and limber. The ride as a whole went really well. I rocked the tempo block. Felt super strong and really just was grooving on the bike. But I didn’t do a very good job of timing the ride… At the of the tempo block, I was much further from home than I had planned. I thought about calling Marc to let him know I’d be a bit longer than estimated. But I sort of figured it would all work out… Well, after an extra hour of riding (rather than the 20 minute cool-down), I arrived at home.

Guess my brain was a bit scrambled because I really didn’t clue into how late I was and that Marc was getting a bit worried. And to top it off, by this point I was pretty darn hungry. Oh, and somehow I ended up breaking a spoke in my rear wheel. Ya, like I said, it was epic. A great ride.

Sunday started bright and early with a 7 a.m. ride at Kanata Lakes. I had three hours of mountain biking on the schedule. Cool. Very cool. The trails were basically empty at that early Sunday morning hour. Nice. Very peaceful. I had trouble hooking up with the trails initially, but once I got used to the slightly damp rocks and took off my glasses (lenses were too dark), I was good. I had a blast. I discovered some new trails. Conquered some obstacles I had previously struggled with. As usual, the ride was over all too quickly.

Bit of a quick sit-down at home, time to eat some food and then I was out again. This time on the road bike for an easy two hours. What a warm day! I had a great ride. I was a bit tired but I relished simply being out in the fresh air and sun. Explored some of my favorite road routes and took a detour through the nearby town of Manotick. Nice to see that the road construction is complete and that there is a smooth new shoulder along the main road running through town (sorry, don’t know the name of this road).

I crashed out for the rest of the afternoon. Napped. Read the newspaper. Sat with Murphy the grey cat. And just generally lounged. Great way to wrap up a solid weekend of riding. Monday was a well-deserved rest day. I was feeling a bit run-down from the sunburn (guess it was very sunny on Sunday…) so I just did an hour of hot power yoga – great way to sweat out the toxins and clear my head.

As for today? Well just finished an excellent road ride. Some tempo intervals chased with a bunch of sprints. One of those rides that taps a couple of energy systems, gets a bit of a burn in the legs and lungs, and just long enough to savor riding the bike. Re-fueled with a super tasty smoothie made in my trusty Magic Bullet. Today’s mix had dates, carrots, an entire orange, yogurt, chocolate protein powder and puffed kamut. It was sooo good. I know the carrots sound strange but they really add to the flavor.

By the sounds of the thunder out there, I’m pretty darn relieved I got my ride in this morning. This afternoon is all about writing, researching, emailing, and an important airport pick-up. Hoping to make it out to the crit tonight as well.

Good times indeed. Now it is time for some chai tea.