With my thinking turning towards riding a century in April, I’d decided I needed another long ride on what appeared to be a perfect day…overcast and mid-50’s. I’d done 62 miles the previous Sunday and thought I should go at least 70 and maybe more. It’s been twenty years since I’ve ridden that far and though I was sure my legs could handle it, I was dreading the ache in my neck and shoulders that was sure to accompany me over the second half of the ride…one I figured would take me beyond four hours.
I took the same route I had the previous Sunday and thought I’d just extend it further into Amish country. I enjoy riding the country roads, passing the farms and homes of this rural community, and worrying more about hitting manure piles and dodging dogs than getting run off the road by cars. I tend to ride about 5 mph faster than buggies and so it’s not unusual to overtake them…and they’re out in droves on Sunday.
I was coming up behind a buggy on a long incline. It was moving considerably slower than I, but as I moved to pass it, the driver sped up. I was still moving past and even with the horse when I noticed a car cresting the hill on the other side…speeding my way. I had no place to go and the horse…or the driver…still thought this was some kind of race. I pushed hard, but gaining speed on an uphill is a struggle. With a maximum effort, I managed to get in front of the buggy before becoming road kill for the turkey vultures on nearby trees…watching the action with some disappointment.
I wanted to look back and flip off the guy, but he was still pushing his horse to overtake me and I wasn’t at the top of the hill. I was reasonably certain the horse wouldn’t understand the meaning of a raised finger and would likely trample me…so I kept pushing to the summit. Once there, I easily outdistanced the buggy while keeping my finger…and emotions in check.
I suppose you can no more generalize about Amish than you can about any other ‘group’. There are great folks and there are butt heads. I had a butt head on my tail and he’d probably enjoyed our little challenge. I don’t think he was trying to get me killed, though it had been dicey, but I also don’t think he considered the consequences. I would have liked racing him if it hadn’t been for the car…it was a good workout. I’ll just have to keep the incident in mind on future rides.
I reached State Route 534 on Windsor-Burton Road and turned south. When I reached a sign that notified me I was entering my fourth county of the ride, I was sure it was time to turn around. My legs remained strong throughout the ride with no cramping, but my shoulders and neck were problematic for the final 90 minutes of a four and a half hour-75 mile ride.
Any bout of aerobic exercise that takes over three hours will have the muscles craving glycogen…the muscles form of sugar. I needed it…and got it by consuming…in record time…three sticky buns that Holly had made earlier in the day. I could have made a smoothie and accomplished the same thing…but time was a consideration and I wanted it now. I’d burned close to 4,000 calories during my ride, so I suppose I could live with the transgression.
Bike Duration: Four hours and 30 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 3775.
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