Skirting oxygen debt and the law

This is a closed trail. (Photo by Dennis McGlasson).

Went for a brevet training ride yesterday along the Riverfront Trail from my house to Alton, IL, and back. Though the computer on my fixed-gear is out, I know from previous experience it is approximately 100 km. All in all it went well, it was very hard near the turn-around point because of the wind. And again at the very end, riding toward my house, I thought I pulled my quad muscle. But I got the kilometers in and I pray the decent weather holds. Wind I don't mind, but I can't ride in ice or temps below 20 F.

The Riverfront Trail north of the Chain of Rocks Bridge has a comical, "closed" section. Not the part featured in the above photo which is on the Missouri side and now repaired. The section I'm referring to is north of Choteau Island. To my knowledge, it's "closed" more often than it's open. And for as long as this important north-south connector has been open it's been a rough, gravel trail. I have long since given up hopes they will ever pave it (like the other 80+ miles of the MCT network). I just wish they would stop randomly putting closed signs up. The dredging/fill operation going on on the side of trail has been underway for eight years; I doubt trail traffic is slowing progress that much. I just ignore the signs. But the Madison County Trail network is great recreational asset, it is too bad Illinois lacks the will or funds to really maintain it.

The Off-season is On!

Not much to report from Ultra Scott Central. I caught a cold at Christmas time and have been in low energy mode ever since.

Cold weather and general malaise have been the order of the day though I am starting to pull it together for the occasional run and short bike ride. I ran four or five hours a couple weeks ago in St. Charles and managed to get muddy and lost, but at least it was a good workout.

One positive of my layoff has been that it allowed me to start homebrewing again. I brewed a delightful pale ale shortly before the first of the year and have already consumed the whole batch. This past weekend I brewed a brown ale that I'm excited about. I do wonder if it had a high enough starting gravity, but if not, it'll just be a mild. I have been brewing with a partial mash - mashing a couple pounds of grain and adding extract.

But on the exercise front, I am hoping to get some riding in in the next few weeks to get ready for the Brevet series. Stephen invited me on a trail run Saturday, but I think if the weather is halfway decent, I should ride for a few hours instead. It's time I went out on the Riverfront Trail for windy, punishing ride. I'd like to do everything, but realistically I need to ride myself into shape this spring and use the summer to get ready for a trail ultra in the fall.