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05-19-03, 01:23 PM
Hey everyone,
Yesterday (May 18) was the annual Bloomin' Metric bike ride put on by the Sound Cyclists. The options were 25 miles, 75k and 100k. Since my previous max distance was 22 miles, I didn't want to just do 25, but I surely wasn't ready for 62, so I decided to go for the 75k (46.6 miles). However, I figured if I was going to be that close, I was going to go for 50.
And keep in mind that I'm still on my mtb, though I'm thinking I'm going to buy a Fuji Finest that I can get a great deal on (2003 for $460 instead of $600) next weekend though I'm not sure right now.
Anyways, my father and I arrived at about 7:45 and didn't get riding until around 8:15. Until today, I never realized how good a rider my dad is. I know he's done an incredible amount of rides (across the country, Ireland, France, Italy, England, and Spain among the annual local rides he does), but he was smoking even the arrogant roadies up the hills! Of course, we did ride together but he prides himself in climbing so I really wanted him to go on up the hills without me.
I would say I did pretty well. I averaged 13.8 mph which is not good by any means, but for an mtb and more than doubling my max distance, I think it's acceptable. I did better on the hills than anywhere else and actually managed to pass a decent number heading up.
However, there was one hill that I couldn't make it up on. It was the second steepest on the route and followed the steepest with no downhill. I almost made it up, but I lost my cork right before the top. Maybe next time. However, other than that, I really felt right at home and did find out that I was the youngest rider on either the 75k or 100k rides though there were a few younger on the 25 mile.
Still, it felt pretty accomplishing.
However, I know I'm not going to do 50 again until I buy a road bike, which might be this weekend. The riding position and added weight on the mtb just aren't suited for long distances and after 20ish I started developing back pain and cricks in my neck, which just kept getting bigger as the ride went on.
As for the actual ride, it was a little bit different than I thought it would be (but this was my first organized ride so I really didn't know what to expect), but overall I would say it was pretty well organized though the large turnout proved to be a hassle. I will say that I got more nutrition (and a few other) tschotsky's than ever: Bear Naked Granola, deoderant, 2 razors, a ClifBar, a SoBe, a frisbee, Gu, a tee-shirt, and other things I can't remember right now.
Overall, it was a blast and felt very gratifying hitting 50 miles just six weeks after I bought my new bike. And considering that before then I had never done more than 3 miles on a bike, I think it's quite an accomplishment! Anyways, that's just an overview of my day at the ride.
Shane
Yesterday (May 18) was the annual Bloomin' Metric bike ride put on by the Sound Cyclists. The options were 25 miles, 75k and 100k. Since my previous max distance was 22 miles, I didn't want to just do 25, but I surely wasn't ready for 62, so I decided to go for the 75k (46.6 miles). However, I figured if I was going to be that close, I was going to go for 50.
And keep in mind that I'm still on my mtb, though I'm thinking I'm going to buy a Fuji Finest that I can get a great deal on (2003 for $460 instead of $600) next weekend though I'm not sure right now.
Anyways, my father and I arrived at about 7:45 and didn't get riding until around 8:15. Until today, I never realized how good a rider my dad is. I know he's done an incredible amount of rides (across the country, Ireland, France, Italy, England, and Spain among the annual local rides he does), but he was smoking even the arrogant roadies up the hills! Of course, we did ride together but he prides himself in climbing so I really wanted him to go on up the hills without me.
I would say I did pretty well. I averaged 13.8 mph which is not good by any means, but for an mtb and more than doubling my max distance, I think it's acceptable. I did better on the hills than anywhere else and actually managed to pass a decent number heading up.
However, there was one hill that I couldn't make it up on. It was the second steepest on the route and followed the steepest with no downhill. I almost made it up, but I lost my cork right before the top. Maybe next time. However, other than that, I really felt right at home and did find out that I was the youngest rider on either the 75k or 100k rides though there were a few younger on the 25 mile.
Still, it felt pretty accomplishing.
However, I know I'm not going to do 50 again until I buy a road bike, which might be this weekend. The riding position and added weight on the mtb just aren't suited for long distances and after 20ish I started developing back pain and cricks in my neck, which just kept getting bigger as the ride went on.
As for the actual ride, it was a little bit different than I thought it would be (but this was my first organized ride so I really didn't know what to expect), but overall I would say it was pretty well organized though the large turnout proved to be a hassle. I will say that I got more nutrition (and a few other) tschotsky's than ever: Bear Naked Granola, deoderant, 2 razors, a ClifBar, a SoBe, a frisbee, Gu, a tee-shirt, and other things I can't remember right now.
Overall, it was a blast and felt very gratifying hitting 50 miles just six weeks after I bought my new bike. And considering that before then I had never done more than 3 miles on a bike, I think it's quite an accomplishment! Anyways, that's just an overview of my day at the ride.
Shane