I guess I\’m a snail; or, what Joe Friel, in his Cyclist\’s Training Bible, calls a \”slow responder\”.

Last November I began on-bike exercises to try to improve my force so that I can cruise faster. It took something like seven months for me to really see some results.

That\’s why I feel like a snail; and it\’s precisely why I began these exercises a year in advance of Tour de Cure. I know that I need plenty of time to build up to things. It\’s better for me to bring it along slowly for six months, than to frantically try to build up over a period of six weeks.

I\’ve got less than two months left to work on this; and for the last week or two prior to the big day I\’ll need to let force exercises go. Even then, experience has shown that I never can prepare adequately for a big event. I\’m hoping for a Tour de Cure day of calm winds, no rain, and about 70 degrees!