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brotherdan
 
<iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;time=&amp;date=&amp;ttype=&amp;saddr=2128+tremmel+ave,+ann+arbor&amp;daddr=42.247327,-83.765259+to:sturgis+michigan&amp;mra=dpe&amp;mrcr=0,1&amp;mrsp=1&amp;sz=11&amp;dirflg=h&amp;sll=42.237669,-83.733673&amp;sspn=0.240966,0.462799&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;ll=42.237669,-83.733673&amp;spn=0.240966,0.462799&amp;om=1&amp;output=embed&amp;s=AARTsJotIpfAxrQYi4DIFqSvqpA4mkVfDQ"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;time=&amp;date=&amp;ttype=&amp;saddr=2128+tremmel+ave,+ann+arbor&amp;daddr=42.247327,-83.765259+to:sturgis+michigan&amp;mra=dpe&amp;mrcr=0,1&amp;mrsp=1&amp;sz=11&amp;dirflg=h&amp;sll=42.237669,-83.733673&amp;sspn=0.240966,0.462799&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;ll=42.237669,-83.733673&amp;spn=0.240966,0.462799&amp;om=1&amp;source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small>

So I'm going to try to embed a google map of my route, but if that doesn't work, here's a link (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&saddr=2128+tremmel+ave,+ann+arbor&daddr=42.247327,-83.765259+to:sturgis+michigan&mra=dpe&mrcr=0,1&mrsp=1&sz=11&dirflg=h&sll=42.237669,-83.733673&sspn=0.240966,0.462799&ie=UTF8&ll=41.922716,-84.572754&spn=1.937301,3.702393&z=8&om=1).

Yesterday I did an out and back route, from my home in Ann Arbor, Michigan to downtown Sturgis, Michigan. Google maps claims the distance is 102 miles each way. I biked the same route in 2004 on a tour and my computer claimed the distance was 106 miles. So I either biked 204 miles or 212 miles yesterday.

I left my home at 8:15am, just after the sun began to peek above the treetops. The air temperature was around fifty degrees when I left in the morning. Headwinds were brutal. The weather report predicted west winds of 10-20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph all day long. I was biking west almost the whole way to Sturgis, and I was really feeling that wind. About the only thing that kept me going was the expectation of a killer tailwind all the way home.

I reached downtown Sturgis and turned around at about 4pm. I refilled my water bottles in a gas station and headed for home. I didn't have a computer, but I think I was averaging around 22 mph for the first forty miles I traveled in the eastward direction. After that the winds slackened off, and I just had a slight tailwind to carry me along. I got enough of a push though, that my legs never really felt all that fatigued, even when I finally rolled into my driveway at 10:30pm, after riding for the final three hours with my generator engaged for my lighting system.

Total time, 14 hours and fifteen minutes. Average speed, around 14.5 mph. I was a lot slower than I had hoped, but that speed would be good enough to qualify for Boston-Montreal-Boston in a sanctioned brevet. So I'm not really all that unhappy.


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John Wilke
 
Well done!

I'd sleep for a week after that kind of ride.


ilmooz
 
Congratulations! That's a great accomplishment. How often and how much did you eat during the trip?

I always like starting out with a tailwind. Usually when I start with a headwind the direction invariably changes about the time I'm turning around so I have to battle it on my return trips as well.


brotherdan
 
I ate a lot less than I usually do on long rides. I ate two large granola bars that I make at work (I'm a baker), two cliff bars, an apple, and a large milkshake that I bought after the half way point. I thought I had brought along two more cliff bars, which I planned to eat over the last seventy miles. But I reached into my pannier to find that there was no more food. I thought about stopping at a gas station or something to get more food, but I decided against it. I was already going to have to ride at night, so I wasn't too worried about getting bonked and having to drag myself home. I would just have to spend a few more hours in the saddle in the worst case scenario. Luckily I never felt very depleted, so it wasn't an issue.


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