this is part of an old bike racing tradition. in the begining of base training coach would take away our big chainring so we could not over do it. then after january he would give it back, but take away our small chainring and send us into the mountains to start strength training.
two weeks later on valentines day he would add a little "love"
the love is in the pic below. a 5 pound weight added to our top tube. this made for horrible handling and slowed us down in the turns. you really had to learn how to "ride" your bike with finess andnot be a wildman all over the road. any sudden movments or over corrections would land you on the pavement. i survived many near crashes becuase of the skills i learned with this added love.
i cursed that coach, but he showed results.
the love just kept on coming, because he added another 5 pound weight in march.
we kept on the 10 extra pounds thru spin/speed and max interval periods of our spring training until june.
the only time we could take off the weight was for a race. and ya know what. the bike felt supa light and i felt supa strong without the weight.
by the time mid summer was here, i felt so strong that i could pass people at any point of the race no matter how tired i felt.
happy valentines day to all my readers as well(without the extra weight).
this is a roomate that started off grumpy, but thankful that i dragged her out in the cold for a valentines day hike.
