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Archive for August, 2009

Well that went badly. Clearly a diet of pizza and hamburgers is not conducive to speed and aerodynamics on a bike. After 40 minutes I was ready to throw in the towel and call for an airlift back to the house. As I stood at the top of the mountain, ok, not really a mountain, more of a hill at the entrance of a neighborhood, I pondered my fate. Ok, not really pondering my fate, just how was I going to get my lethargic self back home? But more on that in a minute.

First, things got off to a shaky start when I got stung on the lip by a bee within the first 10 minutes of the journey. I was building up speed on the long straight when something hit me in lip and there was a throbbing sensation. So I had that tingle going on for the next 3 hours.

The humidity was dreadful. It wasn’t warm outside, but the air was thick. No, it was not sultry. It wasn’t bad at first, I thought I was doing pretty well actually, but after a couple of hills and trying to get some speed on the flat parts I felt like I had no energy at all. I felt sluggish and could barely get the strength to turn the pedals. Oh it was ugly. But fear not, I looked marvelous in my new Australian bike jersey. And as we all know, it’s better to look marvelous than to feel marvelous. Since I also had to get back home, I needed the feeling marvelous part to come back.

Back at my precipice: I did take a break and have my granola bar and a healthy amount of Gatorade. Maybe I didn’t have enough for breakfast, or all that pizza really was weighing me down. Either way, I sat there staring out over the long road waiting for my senses to return.

After a few minutes I gave it a whirl to see if I could make it back home. Again, it was only 12 miles but it felt like I’d gone 40. The gasping and panting were not attractive. I coasted down the hill from my lofty perch and took it easy for the next mile or so. I started to feel better and was soon pedaling like someone who knows how to ride a bike.

In about 15 minutes I was back on track. I felt a lot better and had my energy back. The power of granola compels you!

I even hit a top speed of 45mph as I sailed down a hill on Dam Road (how ironic). Although I could have done without the second bug smashing me in the face at that speed; a dragonfly pummeled me in the cheek. Not a pleasant feeling I assure you.

To make a long story short (too late), I felt fine after completing the 30 mile loop and decided to give it a another run. There are plenty of places to peel back and head home, but I was able to make the run without too many problems. I got 60 miles done with several stops along the way. It was better to take some breaks and get the miles done rather than topple over in the grass and pass out.

It was ugly but I finished it. Yeah, the pizza diet isn’t exactly working in my favor.

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Donna is getting ready for a triathlon so we went for a 10 mile to get her back in the swing of things. The weather was really good (cloudy with mild temps) so I went back out to get in some more miles of my own. Yesterday’s group ride showed me several new routes that had plenty of good riding, but minimal traffic. There were some good rolling hills (I need to work on my hill climbing) and plenty of long straight patches. I was rolling along nicely and before I knew it I’d done 20 miles and since I still had to get back that gave me a total of 40 for the day.

Combine today’s efforts with yesterday and I have 80 miles for the weekend. It’s not earth shattering but still pretty good for me. I think with a just a little bit of work and looking at the map I can make a nice 60 mile loop that keeps me away from the traffic about 90% of the time. That would be fantastic!