I enjoy the Prorides. I find them engaging with the various power changes that make the ride fly by. Even though I know how the story ends I find myself trying to will her for the win everytime. But I still miss the suffering of previous tours. This time last year the legs and brain were at battle and it was the anticipation of not not knowing who was going to end up on top that was so fun! ( In a Sufferlandrian wayđ)
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I was pretty nervous about this stage but after yesterdays âeasyâ stage, it was very manageable.
The Prorides are a great way to keep engaged with so many pace changes.
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Yes, I am hoping for some Sufferlandrian Holy Water 
This is probably the second, maybe third ProRide I have done and itâs actually not too bad. Always felt that the ProRide series pretty daunting because of the rapid changes in pace but I suppose thatâs also because I mainly ride on the rollers saved for this Tour.
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I quite like the pro rides, I seem to be ok with the micro recoveries but this one was easier than most. Once the first climbing bit was over it was really easy until the last part and up the climb to the finish but that was so short the extra power needed was easily sustainable. Different kettle of fish tomorrow though, a real nightmare for those that struggle with sustained efforts so spoiler alert⌠itâs like a 30 minute increasing pace TT. I seem to remember, having done it before, that the coach at the beginning of the climb says to the girls, who probably donât weigh more that 50 odd kilos, we will start at at 220 watts!!
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Well spoken and good perspective.
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Todayâs socks:
A good mottoâŚ
ProRides: Tour de Suisse Women 2 (never did this one before, but rode Stage 1 in current monthly challenge) - I quite liked this one, that first climb was harder than I expected, sneakily over threshold for quite a bit of that blue section. I was expecting at threshold and not above. I found this to be a reasonably hard session without being too hard. And that crash near the end, yikes! (I peeped 
Stage 3 in this series, looks like a good 2 hour session).
Ha, I found this funny!
How it started.
How it ended.
Resident Couchlandrians/Minions in their typical early morning places, Romeo on the couch to observe/nap, Kat still in bed all comfy in the blankets after a morning coffee snuggle.
Now, about tomorrow⌠
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That was just what I needed today, it fit my schedule because I had to do a jaunt into town first thing, meaning my Tour ride had to be at like 11, and I already had ~50 minutes of riding in my legs, with some big sprints as I tried to get some PBs on a couple segments. Anything more than this ride in length or intensity would have felt unmanageable to do later (and still unfueled, besides coffee). As it was, I thought Iâd probably crack in the last kilometre, but I made it through, barely.
I really enjoyed it, and ESPECIALLY enjoyed the conversation with riders before and after the race. I would love more of that in ProRides! Makes it (even) more real. And Clara saying âdamn, 30 seconds are longâ during her spin down â nothing has sounded more true before.
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I really enjoy hearing this sort of feedback! Great to hear youâre enjoying your first Tour.
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Were you the model for the original âbleeding eyesâ picture?
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That was fun! I really enjoy the ProRides because I get so into the race that I am not thinking a head. Also they always feel really short, no matter the actual length. In the end they always sneak-up on me - thinking it was easy the last kâs of the race usually reveal the actual suffering.
On to stage 6 but not before sharing Stage 5 face of SUF:
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Solid SUF face. 5 points.
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@nicktick Three thoughts:
(1) While it never feels great to be dropped those rides do give perspective on the tactics and outcomes of pro racing;
(2) Since these are races not all of the video may be usable based on what is happening or the weather or other stuff that would detract from the workout.
(3) It will probably take some time to get athletes on board with the concept. It seems like Wahoo have been a bit more successful with getting cameras on the bikes of top athletes in the womenâs tour. Hopefully that develops a bit more on the menâs tour and probably some of that has to do with getting the word out and having athletes understand the benefits.
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Ahh the exuberant faces of joy! So delightful #toureyes
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Haha. Not at all. I hadnât washed up on the shores of the greatest mythical nation in the whole wide world until 2015.
However, I can 100% relate to the facial expression of the spider/face of the guy with the big red headphones.
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Yep. Face still red. That was a sneaky-hard ride. It was fun to really have to concentrate and I found that I easily kept a high cadence which I struggle with when Iâm told what cadence to keep. I was really racing at the end!
This is my first tour and Iâve only been on Wahoo since January and this has been a really fun challenge. We just lost a valued community member (much too young at 51) to Parkinsonâs so itâs also been an honor to raise money for the DPF and ride in her memory.
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You look like you suffered well!
But yes, I do agree with you that this ProRide seems very much bearable and comparing that with Stage 6, the ending to Stage 5 is much more brutal. Haha
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Rode Stage 5 tonight, to be immediately followed by Stage 6.
On a dumb trainer this type of workout is pretty difficult to follow.
Since I control power by gearing and cadence, the frequent shifts in power and often very short in time intervals made it very difficult to stay on target.
A hard run last night also made it painful to stay on target.
I did suffer.
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Some excellent Sufferlandrian holy water there, sir. Please make sure you top up the font.
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