Cycle season started

This year's cycle season has started, for me at least.

Two Sundays ago was the first group training for Energitrampet. This was led by Patrick Serra (ex profs cyclist who organizes Energitrampet). We were about a dozen of somewhat varying ability (I put myself towards the low end on that scale!). We rode out to Strömsholm, where we stopped for fika (coffe/tea and optional cake). Our average speed, according to my bike computer was about 28 kph, something of a record for me.

On Saturday the weather here was really beautiful, warm and sunny, so after fixing the second puncture in two weeks caused by the very sharp sand the kommun uses on the cycle paths, and discovering that I don't have all the tools needed to fix the broken spoke in the back wheel, I went for a 28 km ride.

Yesterday I joined in the slowest group of three of the Energitrampet training session. Although the average speed was about 24 kph this time, there were periods when it went too fast for some of our group, and there was a certain amount of discussion about it! The main purpose of this training is to learn how to ride in a group (klungåkning) where the leaders change all the time, so that no-one has to 'pull' all the time. The problem is that the riders who are supposed to ease off when they are on the inside, and let the outside rider move over, don't, and so the outside rides goes a bit faster in order to pass, and so the overall speed just gets faster and faster!

It was very nice however, although I felt quite tired the rest of the day. This might have been made worse by the (too much) beer I had the night before, or the big fried breakfast on Saturday morning, who knows.

I hope that the weather stays nice enough to keep up this rate of cycling. For the first time I know about I'm actually ahead of the target training distance as defined on the Vätternrundan web site! With Easter coming up I expect that'll slip, but I might get out on Good Friday, while Margie is at work.