Sunday, April 17, 2011

practicing the transition - ski-bike bricks

Ski season is over.  But before it was, I got in a few ski-bike bricks* in Utah.  A morning to mid-afternoon of big mountain powder followed by an evening ride up scenic Emigration canyon.  With a wide shoulder, moderate climb, and lack of ski tourist traffic, it's my choice for some hill climbing when I borrow a road bike out there.

 *Brick: I'm borrowing this term from triathlon, where athletes practice brick workouts to get used to the transition (both in equipment and movements) between swimming and cycling and between cycling and running.  Since I don't swim and don't love running, this ski-bike brick is way more fun, though thankfully no one is timing my transitions.

Funny thing is, I never rode the canyons and hills when I lived in Salt Lake.  I apparently believed that road biking should be a flat endeavor and mountain biking was more the ride-uphill-for-45 minutes-turn-around-and-ride-down style.  Oh how a few thousand miles on the bike, 40 or 50 races, and a few years of riding the steep, rolling hills of Baltimore County can change one's perspective.  There is something very pure about riding a bike to the top of a big hill.

The ski boots are in the basement, pants and jackets hung in the closet, mittens packed away.  It was a good season that I'll probably reflect on more here before summer.  Bike shoes, helmets, gloves, arm warmers, camelbacks, chamois cream, and gu packets have taken over our dining room table and guest room bed.  When you work, train, and play too hard, organization goes out the window.