Monday 26 June 2017

A lot of cycling but not enough

stats of the week: run 24 km, cycled 148 km
stats of the week before: run 13 km, cycled 226 km
stats of the week before: run 18 km, cycled 263 km

My this year's cycling target now emerges to be not realistic. I hoped to cycle 7,000 km until end of August. So far I have completed just 3,300. The missing part could only be done by a weekly average of around 400 km. Impossible.

I have reduced running to just one workout most weeks. So I was happy to finish a hilly 15 K race within less than 2 minutes more than last year. However, running and hiking limits time and power for cycling. Recovery is an important part of your schedule if you are in your mid sixties.

This is half way up to St Barbara, a famous and regular climb of Giro d'Italia near Lake Garda:


Good Italian roads in the hills around Lake Garda:


Climbing the entertaining Ferrata Burrone at Mezzocorona:


Mezzocorona is a center of vine growing. We took home some bottles of course.


Thursday 8 June 2017

Good roads, bad roads

stats of the week: run 10 km, cycled 303 km
stats of the week before: run 20 km, cycled 218 km, gym 3 h

First day of the cycling marathon weekend at famous Bimbach was a success. Legs felt tired but nevertheless I managed 160 km with 2,100 altitude meters on exeptionally good roads in a beautiful landscape. It was an event without timing and results what I enjoyed as it was totally relaxed.

We cancelled the second day due to bad weather and left. While some really hard cyclists finished the 256 km marathon after heavy rain during the first morning hours.

Now we are back to the bad roads but also in a beautiful landscape. Monferrato in Piemont provides a perfect landscape for cycling steep hills.