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06-29-09, 07:39 AM
My family threw Rachelle's wedding shower this weekend in Michigan, so we drove up for the weekend to see my family and do the shower. On saturday, Rach and I passed the time with 15 miles on the bike, and a mile in the pool, that was relatively slow, and completely uneventful other than some wind.
Sunday, during the shower, I needed something to occupy myself, so I decided to go visit my father (he has a part-time post-retirement job at Cabela's) at work to buy him lunch, and I decided to ride there from my parents. Their house is a little over 14 miles away from the store, so I knew I could do the initial distance to my dad's work, as I've ridden this far several times including during my most recent triathlon.
So, I got on the bike at 1:00 PM, and was at Cabela's at 2:06. It was a little slower than normal for me, because there was a gusting headwind on the ride for the 4 miles heading west that also affect me some heading north. Average pace was 13.4 MPH. Felt it was a strong ride through, and I had a great lunch with dad.
The ride home felt easier, and I'm sure it was a little wind aided on the eastbound segments, but it was mostly just that the gusts weren't slamming me in the face. I managed to get my average speed for the whole trip up to 14.1, so I'm guessing I averaged 15 or so on the trip home. The last couple of miles, I really cooked it, and even spent a good bit of the last mile in 14th gear, cruising between 18 and 21 MPH.
Then, as I turned into the driveway, doing about 10 or 11 MPH, I missed that there was a little area of sand at the base of the driveway. I leaned into the turn, and subsequently wiped out on the asphalt driveway. Thankfully, I had my gloves, helmet, and a pair of shorts over my tri shorts. Sadly, my right knee was the recipient of my first road rash. I had several decent sized pieces of gravel, and an object that was clearly a small stone embedded in my knee, but was otherwise unharmed. I put the bike away, drove to where the shower was being held (it was over by this time), and had my fiancee, a certified athletic trainer, take care of the injury.
When we got back to my folks and looked at the bike, I saw that the bike had similar minor injury. An "arm" or "elbow", a metal sleeve that keeps the brake line protected as it came into the front brake, and I'm sure functions to keep the correct tension, had been crimped. Also, the left grip on the handlebars was torn at the end. I've been wanting to replace that anyways. Hopefully I want have to order a full brake kit to get that piece.
Anyways, it was a really FUN ride, and I can now tell The Historian I did a ride longer than 15 miles in a day!! It ended eventfully, but there was no crying or permanent injury so all's good.
Sunday, during the shower, I needed something to occupy myself, so I decided to go visit my father (he has a part-time post-retirement job at Cabela's) at work to buy him lunch, and I decided to ride there from my parents. Their house is a little over 14 miles away from the store, so I knew I could do the initial distance to my dad's work, as I've ridden this far several times including during my most recent triathlon.
So, I got on the bike at 1:00 PM, and was at Cabela's at 2:06. It was a little slower than normal for me, because there was a gusting headwind on the ride for the 4 miles heading west that also affect me some heading north. Average pace was 13.4 MPH. Felt it was a strong ride through, and I had a great lunch with dad.
The ride home felt easier, and I'm sure it was a little wind aided on the eastbound segments, but it was mostly just that the gusts weren't slamming me in the face. I managed to get my average speed for the whole trip up to 14.1, so I'm guessing I averaged 15 or so on the trip home. The last couple of miles, I really cooked it, and even spent a good bit of the last mile in 14th gear, cruising between 18 and 21 MPH.
Then, as I turned into the driveway, doing about 10 or 11 MPH, I missed that there was a little area of sand at the base of the driveway. I leaned into the turn, and subsequently wiped out on the asphalt driveway. Thankfully, I had my gloves, helmet, and a pair of shorts over my tri shorts. Sadly, my right knee was the recipient of my first road rash. I had several decent sized pieces of gravel, and an object that was clearly a small stone embedded in my knee, but was otherwise unharmed. I put the bike away, drove to where the shower was being held (it was over by this time), and had my fiancee, a certified athletic trainer, take care of the injury.
When we got back to my folks and looked at the bike, I saw that the bike had similar minor injury. An "arm" or "elbow", a metal sleeve that keeps the brake line protected as it came into the front brake, and I'm sure functions to keep the correct tension, had been crimped. Also, the left grip on the handlebars was torn at the end. I've been wanting to replace that anyways. Hopefully I want have to order a full brake kit to get that piece.
Anyways, it was a really FUN ride, and I can now tell The Historian I did a ride longer than 15 miles in a day!! It ended eventfully, but there was no crying or permanent injury so all's good.