Yesterday I took part in Brett's Ride, a local charity ride that raises money/awareness for a rare form of pediatric cancer.. There were several rides to choose from, the longest being a 52 miler that I elected to do.
http://brettsride.org/
It was a very cool, windy but beautifully sunny Sunday morning when we set off and I was feeling pretty good. I was with a few cycling buddies and within 5 miles or so we found ourselves with a pack of about 10 riders that were going at a good clip. We were having so much fun riding the paceline, I didn't even notice that we polished off the first 22 miles in just under 1 hour! After blowing by the first rest stop we stopped at the 2nd at about mile 32 to refill water bottles and eat a banana and fig newton.
Then the climbing began with the last 20 miles being a series of toughish climbs into a 15-20mph wind. Before I knew it we crossed the finish line. My time was 2:51:54 at a moving avg of 18.4mph over the 52 miles which featured almost 3,330 ft of climbing. Though I have felt strong riding lately, frankly I was amazed at the pace. This ride has really got me pumped up and ready for another, perhaps the Tour de Pig this Sat.
Here is a link to the Garmin data.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/118709817