Every day is a cycling day!

January was full of rides like this!

I rode a bike every day in January! Over all the years I’ve been cycling and training, this is the first time I’ve ever ridden every single day of a calendar month.  It wasn’t a New Years resolution or something I intentionally set out to do either. However, once it became a "thing" I couldn’t resist the little personal challenge.

So how did it even become a "thing"?

Early in the month the trail conditions were perfect. i.e. Dry and fast! Two new bikes at Christmas for the younger members of the family had helped fill the weekends. Plus with the kids still on vacation and requiring no school run duties, I was unable to resist the pleasure of the perfect night time trails after work. I remember the first time it rained since well before Christmas; it was the 17^th. Typically the 17^th was the day I was leading the club MTB ride! The next day was a Thursday, which is normally one of my non training days. After dinner I was sitting in front of the TV with my feet up. Casually I checked the Garmin App on my phone and noticed that the proceeding 17 days were all green, indicating activities logged. It seemed a shame to end the run so hopped on the turbo for 30 minutes of Zwift. 18 consecutive days - and now I was aware there was no way I could just stop there!

I was racing that weekend and should have been resting in the days leading up to the event. I chose "active recovery" instead of a days off! Saturday I made the excuse that I had to check the bike ahead of Sunday, and ambled around the local lanes, when clicking through the gears in the bike stand was all it really needed.

The accumulation of miles and days began to take their toll the following week. I was noticeably tired and my legs were heavy. Even getting out of my chair and walking around the office I could feel the burn. Mid week rides became easy low power spins, as I desperately tried to recover. Surprisingly it worked because come Sunday I was able to enjoy a cracking 4 hour MTB ride with the boys.        

17th January - First rain for a month and also the CCR club ride!

Monday was pay back for that fun. I felt utterly drained during my usual commute. Almost grinding to a halt into the light headwind across the airfield on the way home. There was absolutely no motivation for my typical detour up the hill. I sat on the bike Tuesday evening feeling so weak I was barely able to turn a pedal. I laboured away, hunched over the bars, head lolling, no speed and no energy. I had another race that weekend. I should have been tapering and I told myself that night as I went to bed that I had to rest the following day. Of course by the morning I’d convinced myself a couple of easy miles on Zwift to keep the 23 day run going wouldn’t hurt. Then a funny thing happened. After 15 minutes warming up I felt stronger and was able to push hard on the climbs and take on the sprints. A quick ride became a full 60 minute Zwift workout. Thursday was the same and after work on Friday I powered up the hill and hit the local trails flat out. Two days later, Sundays race result was my best of the winter! My body had adapted to the new regime.

31 consecutive days. Every day of 2019 so far!

2019? Is that now the new "thing"?!