Days 6 & 7: Recovery Rides

After those two big days (days 5 and 6), I was happy to have some easier terrain. I took it real easy and made both days recovery rides where I kept my power and heart rate way down (I talk about my power meter below). In essence, both these days served as well-earned rolling recovery days.

Riding

Day 6: 63 miles, 2405 elevation (1 wheeee*)

Rode out of Fallon, NV at around 7:40 a.m. Dave and Bruce quickly dropped me, so I rode the day on my own. I kept my pace slow and easy. It worked. This former Pony Express stop, Middlegate Station came at mile 50 and was a hoot. Generally, a pretty easy day. (* Note - a "wheeee" is my word for a sustained downhill glide, fun enough that I yell “wheeee!” at least a few times. A wheeee is better when earned, following a climb).

Day 7: 49 miles, 2372 elevation (2 wheeee)

Day 7 was even easier. A nice tailwind most of the way. The uphills were generally pretty gentle. A couple of good downhill glides made it a two-wheeee day. I rode it all solo and arrived about a half hour after Bruce and Dave. Pretty uneventful, less photo-worthy stuff.

One way I use my power meter…

I wanted to briefly describe my power meter and recovery regimen. Professionals and many amateur racers, and some people like me, like to use power meters to measure how much pressure they put on each pedal stroke. I have a power meter in each of my pedals and I closely monitor my power on my rides. The power values show up on my Garmin bike computer, so I can see them instantly. I focus on 3-second power, which is an average power for the previous three seconds. It is useful to monitor when training and to make sure I don't ride too hard. It keeps from burning out one day at the expense of the next ("ride for tomorrow"). It helps make sure I get a good recovery.

For these two days, I tried to keep my power below about 140 watts for the whole ride. It takes a certain discipline to do that, but after two days of that I feel pretty refreshed. Hopefully I am recovered from Days 4 & 5 and ready to push more on some harder days ahead.

Stories and pictures

Day 6: First recovery day…

They call Hwy 50 — our pavement for the next week or so, “The Loneliest Highway in America” because there are few towns or people along this stretch of road. The moniker was apparently placed on it by Life magazine in 1986. They play it up here. Towns are close enough for us to find hotels and water, but cars and trucks are relatively infrequent.

There was this stretch of road where we saw hundreds of messages written with stones by the side of the road. Everything from “J+C forever” to political statements, to nonsense. I saw “Goodnight mom” and thought about my mother looking down on me. It made me smile.

Trucks and cars usually give you a wide berth.

See Sand Mountain in the distance. There are some RVs and cars parked in front.

Middlegate Station was a welcome site about 50 miles into today‘s journey. An old bar and restaurant, it was a hoot to see.

Day 7: An even better recovery day…

Today was a rest day. Only 50 miles. Tail wind. Not much to see. We rolled into Austin, NV a dying town that at least a few locals are trying to revive. Nice people.I wish them luck.

The road was prettier today — a bit more green.

Austin is trying to revive itself.

Tomorrow on to Eureka.