78fujis10s

I am just now getting time to write this. Last weekend (June 5, 6, 7) I took a ride with a group that calls themselves the "Bad Bikers". It is a very loose group based out of Grand Rapids Michigan that takes a ride every year from Cedar Springs, Michigan to the base of the Mackinac Bridge. About 40 people started the ride at 8:00 am on the fifth and about 15 finished at the base of the Bridge on Sunday the 7th. I have never done a multi day ride of this magnitude before. I must say it was a very pleasant experience. The first day was 82.5 miles (Cedar Springs to Cadillac). I spent about nine total hours on the road, mainly because i had two flat tires that day (someone found a shard of glass in the tire after the second one). I was exhausted after that first day. I was very nervous that I would not be able to make it the rest of the way. However, the next morning when I woke up in the hotel. I had no leg pain. I felt really good. When it came time to get on the bike and start riding, I was full of energy. We did 80 miles that day, further north to Bellaire. When we reached the hotel that afternoon I honestly could have ridden another 20 miles (The beautiful scenery in the Bellaire area had a great deal to do with that). Sunday started slow because it had rained all night nobody really wanted to ride wet roads. This is where we lost most of our group. Almost all of the younger (30 and younger) people just packed into cars and went home. The rest of us rode north into unseasonably cold weather. This was the day of big hills (well at least what we call hills in Michigan). I still felt really strong, After about four or five hours of cold wet riding the sun came out and made things pleasant. After 70 miles of this, I still felt really good, so for the last 15 miles I rode as hard as I could. With four miles to go I finally felt real soreness in my legs. We all met under the south end of the Mackinac Bridge, took pictures and said our good-byes. Yes, I do have pictures, but i am having a problem with Olympus Master uploading them to the Internet. Back in March I asked this 50+ board for advice in how to train for such a ride. For all of you who gave me such good pointers, THANK YOU! It really helped and I had a very pleasant experience.

Mojo Slim

I have had the same experience on my once-a-year multi-day ride (see: "San Francisco to Los Angeles - 7 days - Serialized"), that is, feel stronger as you go along. You're glad each day is over, but ready to go again in the morning. It's a combination of fitness, bike fit, good shorts, good scenery, good friends. Congratulations. Get those pictures posted!

And I love it that the 30-somethings packed it in. Ha! Old guys, indeed.