The Inaugural shorts ride of 2012

My second MTB race of the season is this weekend, two weeks after the last and I feel gravely under prepared. I didn't have a lot of time to get the miles in I probably needed between the first round of racing and this in order to find any kind of improvement, but that's life as the daddy of a newborn and I don't mind it one bit. I did get out for a decent spin last Sunday but with no opportunities during the week I have reverted to the life of a student by going for some last minute cramming, albeit on the road rather than in the books.

The weather was fantastic for a ride though there was a stiff wind from the north-west and I ran into rush hour traffic on some roads through the first 12 miles or so. It made for a bit of fun cruising up the centre of the lane between the sets of cars sitting under the hot sun watching the drivers looking hot under the collar, wanting to be off these roads and home for the weekend. I'm sure they looked on at me with envy though nobody tried to run me off the road so I guess that was a bonus.

Had the ride come early in the morning or later in the evening when most cars had made it home, it would have been an even better ride, though I was quite proud of my overall average speed of 19.9mph. It was at about 17.9mph by the time I turned out of the wind so you get an idea of how much it aided my push for home. It'll be a good stretch of the legs ahead of the Saturday practice of the MTB course and then Sunday's race. That'll be three straight days riding by the time all is said and done and while I haven't got a lot of training rides in between the first round and this upcoming second round, the races themselves as well as the two rides I did get in should help a little.

Details: