I'm working on something new. Al is helping me with pacing. While I have tenacity, I lack focus when I'm riding. I should just wear a jersey that says Easily Distracted.
Using my power meter info, I simply have to stay in my target power zone. Which is easy for those who don't daydream, or get interested in a conversation, or see a charming garden, or, well, you get the idea. As I said, easily distracted. But Al is patient and I have tenacity, so we are making progress.
Learning to be good with pacing is a very useful skill. When it is just Al, pacing is the skill that will get me to the end of the ride regardless of the length of the ride, the terrain, or the weather conditions. (It becomes even more useful when, in a few weeks, we start doing more long day-after-day rides again.) When the ride is with friends, pacing lets me adjust my pace to make certain everyone on the ride stays together. Stronger riders do this for me all the time. I need to learn the skill so I can pay back the courtesy when the opportunity arises.
Today the rain chances were low. Time for a bike ride. I might even show a little is focus.
(Don't snicker. It could happen.)
