Today I decided to do a trail ride with no particular targets. In order to ensure that the ride had good training value I intended to ride it in a “fartlek” style, where I would ride continuously but increase my effort on some sections of the ride. The hope is that by not stopping to recover you will improve your ability to recover after tough segments such as hill climbs.
With the temperature at a chilly 2 degrees celcius I began at a swift pace to keep me warm. I rode along the undulating off road trail and along the river bank to Brinscall Woods where I increased my pace considerably on the steep climb of 127 feet in 0.17 miles. The bumpy ground adds to the difficulty and I was delighted later to find that my time in damp conditions was the fastest I’ve managed in some considerable time.
The climb continues for another 300 feet before a superb downhill section scored across the moorland. I maintained the effort along the top of the woods and was really happy to keep the bike going over a tricky rocky hump. This lead me to my favourite downhill segment of all, though the slippery surfaces impacted on my speed. To be at its best the ground will need to dry up but I enjoyed being back on such a good descent, which will always be something I’ll miss in winter. The clear blue skies brought a lot of walkers out today so I had to give way many times on the return to White Coppice.
I rode along to the back of Healey Nab where I again upped the effort to achieve a fast climb up the 200 foot ascent. I rode straight down the purpose built trails which have started to dry a little and continued across the open field which was surprisingly wet. Back at home I was very encouraged by my speed on many sections of the ride. The app. Strava allows me to look in some detail at my ride and today the news all looked good.
Mountainbiker 