Orlando, FL – Training: Crunch Time

Two weeks until the Big Day – The ADA Tour de Cure Lake Nona. It is just around the corner. Now it is Crunch Time!! This Sunday was yet another bright, slightly sunny, cool, and breezy day! While other states on the east coast might have received a little snow, Orlando brought on perfect weather for a day of riding. Last week the TeamOne riders faced an incredible wind. Today they thought it would be a snap with no wind, especially since the day promised some sunshine and moderate temperatures. HA! It was windy as usual but not at 17 – 32 mph. Great for training, though, since the Tour de Cure is famous for blustery winds at times on event day. Wind speeds were averaging around 4 mph (Garmin provided) or 10 mph (weather website), not including the gusts of wind. To top it off, the riders could never be sure what direction the wind was coming from. The tree tops swayed slightly. Misleading! The wildlife report today: Sandhill crane, turtle, and Long Horn cattle (maybe not wild – but since they were behind the fence, no one can say for sure). There was a bit of road kill, too. Snakes – a little gross, but they weren’t in the bike lane. The route selected took the riders through Avalon Park for a warm up. The wind was already kicking up. Once the real route started, the riders faced the wind head-on. “Bring it, Mother Nature!” one of the riders shouted. “You’re not whipping me today!” And so it was. The technique of switching last time came in handy as the cyclists switched off every few miles. Since the route was not too long, the riders decided to make a couple of laps to get 30 miles in. You might say they are gluttons for punishment since that meant riding into the wind what seemed like constantly. Our average was 17.6 mph and not where we wanted it to be, so the last 26 minutes we pushed hard to increased our average. An 18.3 mph average was the reward, which was worth the fight. Only 2 weeks to go…a little more time for some training and lots of anticipation for a great ride await the cyclists.

Event Day Statistics

Let us talk about some facts and figures about the wind that day according to Weather Underground … If you take an average man’s weight (180lbs), the minimum (4mph) – maximum (17mph) – gust (24mph) wind velocity for the day, along with average speed (18.3mph) and use an Aerodynamics principals this is what it takes in effort to maintain 18.3 mph average over the varying wind speeds.