68 miles on Skyline Drive. Only the middle section from Thornton Gap to Swift Run gap was open. I way, way, way overextended myself. I am pathetically out of shape for any decent amount of climbing. The Garmin measured just over 7000 feet.

It was colder up at the higher elevations than down in the valley. I had the balaclava and heavy gloves on. Mostly I did OK, but man I froze on the descents! The road was also covered in a mix of fine gravel, sand, and salt so I had to be very cautious cornering on the downhills. Also I didn't have nearly enough food for that long (timewise) of a ride. It took me 5.5 hours of ride time, and all I had all day was one Powerbar, one Trader Joes granola bar, and a small baggie of trail mix. I could seriously have used a GU (or five) during the last ten miles.

It's really shocking when something you could have done fairly comfortably when in really good shape almost pushes you to the limit. And not in a good way. I was riding up 4 and 5% grades in my 34/28 gear, and could barely turn the pedals over at times. I seriously considered thumbing a ride back down to the ride start, and I've never, ever done that.

I did enjoy myself for the most part. The day was gorgeous, if chilly, and the wind wasn't too bad. I'll just need to remind myself not to dive into the deep end of the pool next time...