Le Peloton #179

I’m starting to see a pattern here, like last year…

We all made it to breakfast so the rest is history we can forget about, at least me. A great breakfast at Le Mond 🙂

The history: Strava

Le Peloton #178

Can you see the dry asphalt? A miracle working waking up in the middle of the night, ride with heavy legs since yesterday and meet some nice people. Manage to hold Peter’s wheel up to Nacka Forum:

Then at the redlight at Storängen I dropped for real. Nils and Rille in the front today riding superfast, can’t believe how they can average 35,5km/h on studded tires…

Took a couple of shortcuts and ended up at Le Mond with tired legs, out of shape today. Tomorrow it’s restday and then hoping for better legs on Friday 🙂

At least I had a new kit today, team cx speedsuit matching my bike 🙂 #lookprogoslow today 😉

Map and stats: Strava

Le Peloton #176

Peter is missing in the picture from this morning. I felt slow on the way there after intervals on Tuesday, Le Peloton on Wednesday and intervals yesterday. But last day of riding this week before I head to my mum for Christmas.

It felt fast in the beginning, like last spring. When Peter went around Michael before Lillängen it felt faster. Christian and Claes passed me up to Nacka Forum and I dropped… Felt just like last spring and unmotivated I turned around in the roundabout instead of trying to chase back. Rode to Älta and the last part of the loop with the feeling my rear brake was rubbing, but I don’t think it did.

In Älta my watch died too so had to stop and start my phone to continue the Strava recording.

Back in Stockholm I got warm so even opened my jacket in the end getting a bit of spring feeling 😉

Then we had breakfast and the ride was just a memory and some K’s in the book.

Map and stats: Strava1, Strava2

At work I tuned my winterbike a bit. Got aware that my pedals have seen it’s best days (from 2008) so ordered a new pair of Crank Brothers Candy. Choosed the cheap and light 1, in pink 😉

295g and the way home felt much more stabile 🙂

Le Peloton #175

Like usual Stuart was a bit late so just 7 on the picture plus me taking it 😉 3 rode short and 5 of us rode the the standard short Le Peloton roadloop trying to hang onto Nils wheel. In the beginning it was Nils, Magnus, me, Sebastian and Oskar. I made a gap up to Magnus on the top at Nacka Forum which I covered down to Storängen where I dropped again and Sebastian and Oskar passed me. I tried to get back and was on Oskar’s wheel half of the Järnvägspizza until the corner and climb came and they disappeared…

Short version is that I was weak today. Rode alone and took the shortcut in Älta. On Flatenvägen Nils and Sebastian caught me and I hanged onto the small uphill before the sprint, good 2nd effort for me.

It’s hard pushing all you got and feeling it’s nothing and everyone sailing away, maybe need to go to the gym a bit…

But we all got breakfast and smiled again 😀

Map and stats: Strava

After work I heard about the opposite, good legs but no air. My friend Eva rode up a mountain in Himalaya earlier this year with 3 others and Skoda and they made a video about it:

Got to see it this evening and hear the story behind it. All thanks to Skoda 🙂 How it is to ride with such thin air that made it hard to breath. Also met a lot of nice friends and people making me motivated to explore more of the beautiful world we live in 😀

Le Peloton #174 and The Road Book

Today it came, think it’s the best photobook I got so far. Pictures and some short highlights from this years Women’s road racing. Super pictures by Balint Hamvas (the man behind Cyclephotos) and Sean Robinson. It’s been a big year with many exciting races and some new rockets starting to shine. No matter if you know every women pro cyclists or doesn’t have a clue, if you like road racing and beautiful pictures on stylish cyclists I can recommend you to get your own copy: Velofocus

Not so pro, and not so warm was my morning today, doing Le Peloton, with others:

Sure, it was just 3 of the 8 starting (Stuart missing on the pictures) riding together but we got to ride our bikes for an hour and ending with a cozy breakfast talking about victories and cheese. 😀

Map and stats of my changed shortest loop, was so icy at some places so took the asphalt back: Strava

Le Peloton #173

I’ve been riding Le Peloton in all sorts of weather. Once last winter it snowed so much I got too late to leave my backpack at work, it’s been soaking wet and really icy. And sunny and dry 😉 But today was the first time of my 173 rides it was just me.

All alone in the darkness, got a couple of small showers but small enough to get cover by my Café du Cycliste windjacket. So can’t even brag that I was hardcore 😉

After not been riding since last Thursday in Girona but had a busy time moving made my legs slow. Decided already on my way to Urban Deli to take the shortest roadloop around Älta and Storkällan. Did like that on the cycling paths as I was feeling so slow.

Made it to Le Mond and got saved by Kalle making the early start worth it.

And instead of stopping my Garmin at Le Mond I started it again going home for a shower, odd 😉

Map and stats: Strava

add friends

Slept without setting an alarm today, first time in a long time. Took my time to get up, to eat breakfast and thought of my day which wasn’t planned. Thought of riding my bike, maybe on my winterbike with a friend I haven’t met in a long time. No answer made me think even of riding on the trainer, or not at all. Maybe just go into town for a coffee being casual.

Then it all got saved by Emil who just wanted an easy spin around the cx loop, great for my sore legs that didn’t work today. Felt hard but great to do a little spin at Erstavik:

Ended it all with panncakes, talking about etap, Spain and how many people it was at Le Mond. 🙂

Map and stats: Strava

Did all I could to be pro to cover up for my legs today. Glasses like Ted King, clothes like Veronica Larsson, bike like Christoph Sauser and riding gravel like Fredrik Kessiakoff 😉

Trick or Gravel

Selfiegame went strong on todays ride. 3-4h gravel for everyone from Le Mond was announced. Started like this:

Then we hit the gravel with smiles like if it was dry and the spring came

Awesome weather and with some fast and some slower sections, sometimes we had to get off or just wait for friends:

We also rode into the mist before coming to the gunfire with big guns.

mostly riding nice gravelroads in the sun:

Turning around before Häringe slott back to Stockholm, got up some speed to Västerhaninge and then it all went into pieces. People started to long home and the group got split into 3 groups riding and 1 group taking the train. I rode with David who got to see a very tired and low on energy Jonas. Had to take a gel with less than 5km to go to Le Mond as I couldn’t ride straight…

But all in all an amazing day. Feels in my heart and my legs. My bike managed it all great even with me getting it all dirty

Thanks to Emile for pictures and to all who joined for a great Saturday ride 😀

Map and stats: Strava

Fornstigen on mtb

There is the dry part of todays mtb ride. Being back in the forest for the first time since July felt really fun. Was really wet and muddy and I’m not so good at it but still fun and I got some extra confidence with the new Specialized Ground Control tires with Gripton 🙂 got guided by a great couple of friends as I never been there before and it’s always more fun riding with friends 🙂 Not so many pictures as I mostly tried to hold on to my handlebars and get safely over the roots and up the hard short climbs 😉

It was also my first ride on the new Specialized Epic. Borrowed a testbike from work that got a bit dirty…

It may have been better with a Camber or something but I prefer the Epic. It’s a racebike and pushing on the climbs is super fun. Used the rear brain just for transportation today as it was a lot of roots and the damper works better fully open like all do. And there is something going downhill on an epic compared to for example a Stumpjumper with dropper post. It’s great to train on such bike but riding an epic with high saddle makes you feel a bit more skilled 😉

Fornstigen was great, except when I hit a tree in the end with my body, felt like a flipper ball.

Riding mtb in the mud is something different than riding on road or gravel, such a bigger effort for the complete body and I can really feel that now. Was tired after last Sunday’s ride but more tired after today’s ride, and not just my legs but upper body too. Should do this more often 😉

Ended like this at Le Mond:

Empty, so tired I didn’t had the energy to ride my Diverge home after washing the Epic at work afterwards, rode an e-bike instead to be able to get home 🙂

Map and stats: Strava

SCS adventure

Stockholm is surrounded of gravelroads, some of them are surrounded by Stockholm. Christer and Johnny found some new roads, shared with Magnus who fixed Johan as a Garminguide for todays ride. Me and Viktor joined and helping making it an adventure:

Everyone had the best bikes and smiled more than the hills where steep 😉

My Diverge tackled every obstacle better than its rider too 😉

Not every day I got use of 44-42 but that’s the good thing with it and new roads, ready for everything 🙂

Map and stats if you want to do the same awesome ride: Strava