To Shred or To Slug?

I love biking, but I realized mid summer that if I want “to shred,” I need to be very careful how I spend my time. One experienced rider pointed out weeks ago, “It’s not about efficiency on the bike, it’s about efficiency off the bike.” I’ve slowly shortened my routines and am deliberate about how I spend my time off the bike. Off the bike, I’ve moved from being one of the slower folks to one of the fastest.

Though we are expected to reach the host site by 4pm, I personally seek to crush it and be there by 2pm. It’s not from racing my teammates and needing to be one of the first to arrive at the host site, and it’s not because I don’t want to be riding my bike. I am driven to go faster and stop less frequently to take care of myself. The earlier I get into a host site, the more time I have to recover my muscles, catch up on sleep, and not get caught in the miserable afternoon wind, heat, and traffic. I can socialize with my teammates better off the bike, rather than calling out, “Car right. Gravel up. Shoulder narrows.”

For example, yesterday morning in Caldwell, ID, I swallowed my pancakes in just a few bites, and was the first to excuse myself from the table. The day before that, I was sweep and was out biking in 112 degree heat at 5pm into Caldwell. No bueno. But leaving Caldwell we had a 40 mile ride, but the wind and heat promised to be just as brutal as the day before. I mentioned to Rae, “You know, we could slug today because we have so much time to kill, but between Caldwell, ID and Ontario, OR is nothing, not even a state sign.” That morning my bin was one of the first to be packed and brought to the trailer, as is now typically the case. It was 6:30am when I left Caldwell, and with less than 10 total minutes of stopping, we reached Ontario by 9:30am.

I usually reach the host site before the van and the trailer, which contains my bin with all my toiletries. Since Texas, I’ve begun bringing a change of clothes and towel in my Camel Bak, so that I can promptly shower and get out of my chamois. Riders towards the front of the pack bring a change of clothes with them to avoid spending unnecessary time in dirty chamois, and thus avoiding infection. I’ve also begun carrying my soap. In Ontario I showered, napped for two hours, read a book at a coffee shop, picked up some things at a bike shop, and tuned my bike. All crucial things that I don’t have time to do if I don’t push myself to ride hard on my bike.