A long, sore ride...

Saturday, September 15, 2012
I was up early because I had big plans for the day.  I had to paint and do the lawn, but the weather was perfect for riding and I WAS going to do a long one.  I had the first coat on Jack’s room before ten and needed to let it dry.  I also needed to let the dew dry from the grass…so that meant it was time to ride.  I put in a call to Dan before leaving and left a message that I’d be riding his way and he could join me if he wanted to.  Then I headed out on what I meant to make a fifty miler.

I rode hard for the first hour even though I knew I’d be going close to another two.  I was riding along Pekin and out around 21 miles when I stopped the bike to check my voicemail for Dan’s reply.  He’d called and said he couldn’t ride, but alerted me to the fact that he had a watermelon in the fridge and I should stop by and help myself.  I thought about that offer, but decided I’d keep heading east to Middlefield and enjoy the serenity of Amish country.  That…and making a long ride even longer.
I finally turned around a little past the 30-mile mark, remembering that I wasn’t going back the way I’d come, so I’d be getting in closer to 65 miles of riding.  I hadn’t been close to that number in a couple of months, which meant I shouldn’t be trying it now…but I felt great and the day was cool, sunny and pleasant.

I continued to ride hard and feel good for about half of the ride home.  Then the reality of riding that far and spending close to four hours in the saddle began to set in.  My butt, shoulders, neck and quads were all beginning to rebel and by the time I actually reached my drive, everything but my eyebrows was hurting.  I had a freakishly heavy salt build-up on my face and had exhausted my water supply.  When I dismounted, I hobbled like an 80-year old man, but I was happy with the effort and had renewed confidence in my ability to endure.

We spent the evening with the neighbors around our fire pit.  It was cool and Holly had a blanket wrapped around her, but we kept a nice fire going for three hours.  I can’t think of much that brings me more pleasure than to sit around a crackling fire…outside and under the stars…with good friends and family.  I’m looking forward to more of it next weekend on Round Pond in the Adirondacks where my cousin Donnie is sure to try and build a fire that can be viewed from space.

Bike Duration: Three hours and 50 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 3250.