Training objective: Some serious rides this weekend in the mountains now you have them at your back stoep. Just long hours Sat and Sunday, 4-5 hours and some hard, long climbing at a tempo pace with the heart rate at 140-155 bpm’s and the cadence between 70-80 rpm’s to work on some good power. Joined the Great Brak group for their usual 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning ride. Great to see the gang again! I got up at 4:00 a.m. to make sure my bike was in good shape - degreased the chain and cassette, lubed, and also refilled the tires with Stan's Race Sealant. I didn't want a puncture on my first ride out with the group! :) Because it was a group ride, it was closer to Endurance pace, so I'd zip ahead a bit and double-back to try to keep the heart rate and cadence in the target zone. Did the 4 hour group ride, then did another hour on my own at full tempo pace (into the wind, of course!). We stopped at the Botlierskop's new Village Lodge in Freimersheim for a coffee at about the 3-hour mark. Pretty nice! Decided to wear two pairs of Castelli Free Aero Race bibshorts today. This will give my backside a chance to get re-accustomed to the saddle and gravel/corrugated road surface - I don't want to miss any Attakwas training days due to saddle sores. I'm also trying to squeeze in a custom bike fitting session prior to the race to fine-tune my set-up.