The second part of my training camp weekend was done mainly on the road bike. I went out on Friday morning for an easy zone 2 ride with the threatening clouds hanging overhead. I went out to Nahal Kziv. This time of the year the water is flowing and you venture in with the knowledge that you will have some seriously cold and soggy feet by the end of the ride. Opting out of the soaking I turned around at the start of the climb into the valley and headed towards Rosh Hanikra. Basically cutting straight across the banana fields and onto the coast. From here it was north and then turning around at the border, probably the closest I'd ever get to entering Lebanon.
My legs were feeling the kilometers by this stage so once I got home a can of tuna went down the gut before heading to the ancient town of Acco for some fresh humus. Said (pronounced Sah'id) is famous in Israel for him humus so we tucked into our bowl of with some freshly made pita, everyone packed like sardines as you enjoy the meal at the same table with complete strangers picking olives and pickles from a shared bowl. Probably not to everyone's liking but once you've experienced it it makes dining out seem tame.
The afternoon I had some of my natural luck come into play. My first ride on the open road was effected by a puncture. not just any type of puncture but rather a tired shredding screw type puncture that ended my ride prematurely and leaving me stranded on the side of the road waiting for Mirit to come to my rescue. Up until that point though i had been loving it. The iPod playing some great podcasts while the kilometers melted away under my big chain ring. Ended up putting in 60kms and may even have broken that century had I not been stopped in my tracks.
Saturday was the last ride and I managed to do this with the group of some Spider riders. Uriel, Oren, Eliran and Erez. We chugged along at a nice pace but nothing like what i was pushing the day before. Probably better that way but I felt a bit dissapointed that the guys weren't pushing a bit harder. Its like getting a new Ferrari and then going for the leisurely Sunday ride with some VW Beatles. I did manage to gain the theoretic polka dot of the day by out gunning Oren. I basically sat on his wheel as he spun the compact gears very easily, I had to work hard but by the time we were almost at the top i used the power and went for the dash. The feeling on the road is absolutely amazing and can see myself spending some serious time in the saddle getting out and enjoying the open roads.
I hope this makes up for my missed attempt at last months century. I feel great even though I am a bit tight from the hours spent in the saddle. I don't have much of a choice but to do the actual full century next week, leaving it again till the last minute.
