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Today was the first training ride of our summer camp in Matsumoto, and even though we had two crits this weekend it wasn't a recovery ride.

Higashi-san, Nishizono-san, Ishikawa-san, Miyazaki-kun, and I rolled out in the morning and headed north. The weather was cool with scattered light rain, good for riding. After 30 minutes or so we split into two groups and picked up the pace. Miyazaki-kun was stuck with Nishizono-san and myself. We let him sit on the back while we rotated at the front, and he hung on strong for quite a while. Eventually, though, I think the pace got too high for him and he dropped off. Still, he worked hard and I was impressed he stayed with us as long as he did. Good work!

After that we kept rolling north at that high pace until we got to Omachi, then I teamed up with Higash-san and we all rode a ways out into the mountains before turning around and heading back. The pace on the return trip was higher than coming out, and I definitely felt fatigue in my legs from the weekend. Finally we reached the last climb back into Matsumoto. At the bottom my legs felt heavy, so I dropped off the bck and rode slow for a little recovery. Fortunately the other guys lowered their pace too, so when I started to feel better I didn't have to chase for long. I took a couple pulls towards the top and felt all right. Then we were back in Matsumoto and home. Definitely not my idea of a post-race recovery ride, but good solid training none the less. Hopefully I can enjoy more nice training rides next week when I go back there.

2:46, 89 km

Oh, and I'll try to write a proper race report tomorrow, if I get the chance.