Sport touring: Training runs… a prelude to the beautiful unknown.

 I woke up this morning determine to ride. It’s Saturday, time 0530, the weather calls for a toasty day hovering around 90F/32C and humid. What’s a surfer to do but roll out bed early, gear up and let it roll.  It has been a few weeks since I’ve been able to surf and am bugging out, must find smooth tarmac…. 

Sport touring can be a physical endeavor (specially when riding a 250) and like many other sports the rider could benefit from some form of training and mental preparation, except a how to manual does not exist or does it? Regardless, sometimes is more fun to use one’s own creativity to undertake such challenges. So I asked myself how can I prepare to ride 300+ miles/482 km a day in what can feel like sitting in a wind tunnel under rain or high heat while taking the occasional jab to the face? [Go ahead ponder].

A clear solution evades my mental grasp thus I improvise and adapt. My current self-designed unofficial sport touring training program may include:  running in 90 degree weather,  +- 100 mile rides follow by more running in the heat, some weight training, a few thousand meters on the rowing machine and more running.  But does it work you ask? There is only one way to find out.

Surfing Northern Maryland's state roads

One of these days I know I will find myself far from all that is familiar on a beautiful two lane road maybe facing down the continental divide (or insert own place), after a long hard day of riding under less than ideal weather conditions, fatigue yet determine. In a time and place void of everyday irrelevant complexities, where human and machine must function in unison. A situation that will highlight the most fundamental aspects of one’s existence, where the main currencies are fortitude and humility. Fortitude to accept a challenge from an environment that demands humility for it is greater than self, that is reality exponentially beautiful reality.

A Tarmac Surfer's self portrait