Mind Games
Yesterday was mind game day. Andrew had posted a scheduled ride for a docent guided trip through some Irvine Company land and so I signed up. Matt, Corby and Mike were going to be there too so I knew it would be a good time.
The trail started out of Irvine Park and went back near where Coal Canyon is. It was all fire road and the scenery wasn't the best, but it was still fun.
The real reason I'm writing a post about the ride was that mind games were going on.
Any time you get together a bunch of guy riders to do a ride, you get competition. One guy goes out fast and another tries to match him. Before you know it lots of guys are racing to try and beat each other.
I'll admit I'm very vulnerable to this kind of group mentality. I love to compete and love to "win". Once we started the first climb I saw Matt and Andrew take off and decided to try and keep pace.
The entire ride I ended up trying to keep up with Matt and Andrew and trying to hold off anyone else that was behind me. Even though the guys that were there weren't that great, it still felt good to push and bury a lot of guys. My heart rate was pretty high for a handful of the climbs, but I just kept pushing.
The on-going theme lately has been to push and I was pretty content with the overall effort.
The next set of mind games was at Anaheim Hills-Weir Canyon. Mike, Andrew, Matt, Corby and I decided to do this trail after the docent led ride because the first ride (12 miles) wasn't enough for a Saturday.
My mind had started to wander while riding the second trail because I didn't eat enough the night before and because it was hot outside. It sucks being on the bike and not being able to focus that well on anything.
I remember stopping a few times at the end of different climbs and feeling light headed. I was pretty careful not to ride too hard in the heat because I didn't want to pass out or do something stupid.
The last set of mind games on the second trail was going down Chutes. I ate it last time on this section and so I was a tiny bit worried about going down the section where I fell. Ended up riding down it though without incident. The only part of the trail I had to walk was the drop in to what I consider "Chutes Proper".
All in all it was a nice day of riding, but the heat was more of a factor than I'd like it to be. It makes me worry a little to think that The Traverse might be held in similar conditions. I'm going to have to train carefully for that kind of a ride considering the heat.
Final Notes:
- Cleared all three B's, but was breathing REALLY HEAVY after the first two
- Cleared almost every climb in Weir Canyon ... frustrating to miss the big one (95%)
- I've developed a restless left leg. For some reason during my down time my left leg feels SUPER restless.
The trail started out of Irvine Park and went back near where Coal Canyon is. It was all fire road and the scenery wasn't the best, but it was still fun.
The real reason I'm writing a post about the ride was that mind games were going on.
Any time you get together a bunch of guy riders to do a ride, you get competition. One guy goes out fast and another tries to match him. Before you know it lots of guys are racing to try and beat each other.
I'll admit I'm very vulnerable to this kind of group mentality. I love to compete and love to "win". Once we started the first climb I saw Matt and Andrew take off and decided to try and keep pace.
The entire ride I ended up trying to keep up with Matt and Andrew and trying to hold off anyone else that was behind me. Even though the guys that were there weren't that great, it still felt good to push and bury a lot of guys. My heart rate was pretty high for a handful of the climbs, but I just kept pushing.
The on-going theme lately has been to push and I was pretty content with the overall effort.
The next set of mind games was at Anaheim Hills-Weir Canyon. Mike, Andrew, Matt, Corby and I decided to do this trail after the docent led ride because the first ride (12 miles) wasn't enough for a Saturday.
My mind had started to wander while riding the second trail because I didn't eat enough the night before and because it was hot outside. It sucks being on the bike and not being able to focus that well on anything.
I remember stopping a few times at the end of different climbs and feeling light headed. I was pretty careful not to ride too hard in the heat because I didn't want to pass out or do something stupid.
The last set of mind games on the second trail was going down Chutes. I ate it last time on this section and so I was a tiny bit worried about going down the section where I fell. Ended up riding down it though without incident. The only part of the trail I had to walk was the drop in to what I consider "Chutes Proper".
All in all it was a nice day of riding, but the heat was more of a factor than I'd like it to be. It makes me worry a little to think that The Traverse might be held in similar conditions. I'm going to have to train carefully for that kind of a ride considering the heat.
Final Notes:
- Cleared all three B's, but was breathing REALLY HEAVY after the first two
- Cleared almost every climb in Weir Canyon ... frustrating to miss the big one (95%)
- I've developed a restless left leg. For some reason during my down time my left leg feels SUPER restless.
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