Finally...the birthday ride.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

I’d missed a workout yesterday and I’d eaten terribly for the last two days, so that meant ‘long ride’. I’d been thinking it was time to do the birthday ride I’d never done because it had been snowing on the day I’d tried. That meant 55 miles and although it sounded good in theory, I didn’t know if my body was ready for 3-plus hours on the bike over hilly terrain. I did know that it would be a great calorie burner though, and good training for the long climbing days John and I had planned for mid-September…which is now only three weeks away.

I headed out around 3 p.m. on what was a glorious day for riding…reasonably cool and sunny, blue skies overhead. I headed for my Pekin Road route, which meant up the Iron Lung first. I stayed in the saddle for most of the Lung so the quads would get the maximum training effect (noun – right John?), but reminded myself I was in for a long ride and should maybe take it easier for the first half.

Pekin is such a great riding road with little traffic and mostly excellent road surfaces. In fact, it was just repaved between Watt and Sperry, which was the only rough spot. It takes me east to Butternut, which is about the 20-mile point for me, and I continue east on Butternut all the way to Burton-Windsor Road, my turn-around on this ride.

I decided I’d stop and take a break to call John and tell him why he should be with me, but I couldn’t get a signal…I was way out there. I saw an Amish man coming down the road with a hay wagon being pulled by a team of huge plow horses. I took their picture…the phone wasn’t good for anything else out here.

Rest over, I hopped back on the bike for the long ride home. It had taken an hour and 40 minutes to the turn-around and unless I had a big negative split, I’d be spending close to three and a half hours on the bike before the day was over. I was feeling pretty good and thought a negative split (faster second half than the first half of a ride or run) was a possibility. I kept thinking that until I reached the intersection of Fairmount and River Road and the lowest elevation of the ride. Now I’d need to climb about 600 feet out of the valley over the last 8 miles of the ride…and I was starting to lose it. I struggled up Berkshire, a mile and a half climb out of the valley, and had very little left when I reached the top. I pedaled easily for the remaining 25 minutes of the ride, suffering with a sore neck and shoulders, aching feet, and quads that were beginning to cramp. I rolled into the driveway three hours and 15 minutes after leaving, dog-tired, but thrilled that I’d accomplished my negative split (7 minutes faster on the return trip) and 55 miles under my belt. I knew I’d need to do this ride again, preferably with John since I think he needs the long stuff, too. I think for tomorrow’s workout I’ll…sleep.

Bike duration: 3 hours and 15 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120.
Calories burned during workout: 2,925.