So what does this look like? Well after about 4 weekends at home between March and October I relish the opportunity to stay put at home. My nesting instincts kick in and I become a cooking machine pickling the cucumbers and beets from our garden, making pear/apple sauce from our fruit trees, and salsa from the abundant cherry tomatoes that seem to keep growing even though I deprive them of water much of the time.
For me the off season is about living life like I hope to when I retire from racing professionally. This means keeping active and enjoying the great weather, but broadening my activities to hiking, running, swimming…frisbee, whatever. It means if it’s rainy and cold I can sit on the couch or bake muffins instead of riding. It’s also the time where I can do some learning, like take a french course, put in some volunteer hours with local community groups and catch up with friends and family.
I don’t like to let my fitness drop too much however. Aside from the fact I would go crazy if I didn’t keep fairly active and the fall is the best time for exploration mtb rides, getting back into shape after getting out of shape just hurts way too much. I found this out when I did the ClifBar Epiphany ride October 3 in Napa Valley (See Epiphany post). It seems that tapering for about a month and a half isn’t conducive to great endurance when it comes to 240km bike rides!
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