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06-27-10, 06:56 PM
Some of you may recall I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was going to be doing a 75 mile ride. Today was the day. Advertised as a 120k/75 mile ride. Actual distance 77.65 miles. My longest ride to date. Averaged 16.9 mph (moving time--total time 4:58:19 ). I was very happy with that. Here (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/38412748) are the details for anyone interested.
First, the weather. When I went to bed last night, the forecast was 70% chance of precip with thunderstorms and 15-25 mph winds. Didn't know if we'd even be able to ride. Woke up today--not raining. My friend & I drove to the ride-- 75 miles away. Still not raining. No rain till about 3 miles left and that only lasted 10 minutes. some wind, but not too bad. Very humid, thick air. Temps low to mid 70s.
The ride itself is pretty flat. Very pretty & well marked. About 10-15 miles of very rough roads we could have done without. About 5 or 6 rest stops. We only stopped at 2. One had hamburgers & ham sandwiches! We passed.
One strange aspect to the ride was that there was a 3 hour window to start (7-10 am). We started at about 9:45. So there was no big group. We registered, went out into the parking lot and started. No fanfare. Also meant we didn't see a lot of people riding.
My friend is a little stronger rider than me, so he did more pulling, but I did a good amount. My hr was high during the whole ride-- averaged 163 bpm. I attribute that to the atmosphere. We pushed, but not that hard. Overall good ride. I'd do it again.
Oh yeah, the fall. Happened at the end of the ride, back in the parking lot after I had turned off my computer. Just cruising to the car. The parking lot had some speed bumps. I tried to squeeze between the bump and the curb. I hit the curb and down I went. Got a nice owie on my elbow. I must have also hit my ankle with the chainring as I have a small tatoo with blood. Didn't even notice that till I got home. I also hit my hip. No external damage, but I know it will be sore tomorrow. A good day. I'll sleep well tonight.
First, the weather. When I went to bed last night, the forecast was 70% chance of precip with thunderstorms and 15-25 mph winds. Didn't know if we'd even be able to ride. Woke up today--not raining. My friend & I drove to the ride-- 75 miles away. Still not raining. No rain till about 3 miles left and that only lasted 10 minutes. some wind, but not too bad. Very humid, thick air. Temps low to mid 70s.
The ride itself is pretty flat. Very pretty & well marked. About 10-15 miles of very rough roads we could have done without. About 5 or 6 rest stops. We only stopped at 2. One had hamburgers & ham sandwiches! We passed.
One strange aspect to the ride was that there was a 3 hour window to start (7-10 am). We started at about 9:45. So there was no big group. We registered, went out into the parking lot and started. No fanfare. Also meant we didn't see a lot of people riding.
My friend is a little stronger rider than me, so he did more pulling, but I did a good amount. My hr was high during the whole ride-- averaged 163 bpm. I attribute that to the atmosphere. We pushed, but not that hard. Overall good ride. I'd do it again.
Oh yeah, the fall. Happened at the end of the ride, back in the parking lot after I had turned off my computer. Just cruising to the car. The parking lot had some speed bumps. I tried to squeeze between the bump and the curb. I hit the curb and down I went. Got a nice owie on my elbow. I must have also hit my ankle with the chainring as I have a small tatoo with blood. Didn't even notice that till I got home. I also hit my hip. No external damage, but I know it will be sore tomorrow. A good day. I'll sleep well tonight.