F-U-N. As we get into the schedule of racing, and the rhythm of training begins to come more naturally, it is important to keep some long, fun rides with your buds in the mix, critical even.  So when the race squad decided to cancel Saturday's scheduled post-CRCA race century ride, I was adamant that Sunday be a long rip with the boys.  It was a great idea. The problem is winter indoor training doesn't really train you for near century distances of chasing Tom Hendry's wheel at tempo for 4 hours.  If you don't totally understand that sentence, in short: today was hard; hard when it wasn't supposed to be.  

It is a sobering thought as the NYS RR Championships at Bear Mountain looms just over a month away on the calendar (check out our race report from last year's edition).  For a good chunk of the squad the 2018 Cat 3 race will feature a 5th, one more than traditional, 14.7 mile loop of the course, bringing the total race distance to just under 75 miles.  Today's F U N ride up some hills to a New York apple orchard made most of us aware of where our fitness lies when it comes to longer efforts and longer hours in the saddle. It needs work.

But on the bright side, the Orchards were open, which wasn't a sure bet given last week's snow and the fact that none of us cared enough to check beforehand.  

It also turned out to be Colin Keaveney's birthday! A fact he neglected to all of us on the ride until after we split up to eat our mexican food of choice at our respective apartments - a birthday ride is a special thing, and we were all glad to partake.