The Holiday season is a great time to relax and unwind for people all over the world, including cyclists. Elite cyclocross racers may disagree, but for the rest of us, we can take some time to eat well and drink merrily in the company of family and friends. Regardless of the weather in your country, plans to ride may not be solid, and easily shelved. For most of us, it’s just not at the top of the agenda. Personally, I found there was panettone to be eaten, an ocean to be swum in, and prawns to eat. Plans for a ‘quick spin’ were pushed back and back throughout the day until it was no longer an attractive proposition. No problem – there is always time to get back in track. That’s the beauty of public holidays!
But is it really as easy as putting more hours into the next day?
To that question, my legs say no. Boxing Day was painful. Breakfast was larger than required, as that was what my stomach had grown accustomed to over the past thirty six hours. Pulling on my bib shorts, it was a rude shock to find that they just didn’t fit that well anymore – had they shrunk when washed?
As I rolled away and off for a long loop ride, the general feeling was ‘sub-optimal’. Usually, a good hard climb will clear any cobwebs out and I can get some good training done from there. But this didn’t hold true after too much Christmas gorging. An entire long ride passed without ever feeling like I ‘got started’. But what can you expect when your energy intake must certainly double your expenditure for a day?
The 27th of December dawned, and my autopilot breakfast hunt was still set to ‘gargantuan’, including a bowl of coffee. Today, there was no avoidance of a hard day. The sky was grey, there was some drizzle, I had time, and the route chosen was committing. Post Christmas Purgatory (PCP) was about to begin.
I ended up losing count of the amount of small townships I rode through with a slight grimace on my face, but I certainly passed plenty of other cyclists heading one direction or the other who seemed pretty set on their own PCP agenda. We were all still civil, nods were exchanged, or even a quick wave – but otherwise it was back to the task at hand.
At one point the route dictated leaving the gorge and reclaiming the ridge line. There are two options: the main road, or the dirt road. In this case, the dirt road rules supreme. It is quiet, and it requires a more concerted effort to get up at a good pace. The rain also started to increase.
The timing was good. I needed the rain, I needed the gradient. I’m certain this is what a lot of other cyclists were looking for as they were out on their PCP rides. Some suffering, some hurt – and experiencing that slight disappointment in your current form, an impetus to improve.
Later on, as I was finished up, showered, shaved and at yet another Christmas gathering – I was content. The legs weren’t too heavy, but I knew I had logged some good hours on the bike and started to make small steps towards achieving goals for 2011. The PCP served as a first stepping stone to the next big Monument in the calender:
New Years Eve, New Years Day, Resolutions and Resurrecting yourself after the night before…