As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog post, I had a four hour bike ride today.  When I woke up this morning and looked outside, it was raining.  The weather forecast was for rain most of the day, so I had two choices: ride on my trainer or go outside and ride in the rain.  I chose to ride in the rain.

I went outside for two reasons. Firstly, I hated the thought of riding my trainer for four hours.  Even with TV or Netflix, that amount of time on the trainer, gets very boring.  Secondly, I am a big believer in being prepared for race day. It might rain on race day, so being comfortable on the bike in the rain is important.

When riding in the rain, I make a couple of adjustments.  I dress to make sure that I will not be cold.  Luckily it was very warm today, so I could ride in my standard triathlon gear. The other thing I do, is I ride with a slightly lower tire pressure than normal.  The lower pressure allows just a little more tire to contact the road, therefore providing a little more grip.  Obviously, I also ride a little more cautiously, especially when cornering.

My ride went well today.  My legs held up well until the final hour, when I could feel a little fatigue building in my quads.  I was prepared for this, given I was in the saddle for ten hours this weekend.  Big, double run day tomorrow and then I’ll start to back down the volume for my race.