I can't take iron, my blood clots too easily.

I haven't been on a weight loss diet for more than a year now. I lost my weight in 2010 and 2011. In fact, I gained 10 pounds over the last year and will work on that this winter.

I have been thinking about how tired I was yesterday and the last time I did back to back rides of similar mileage. Part of the problem is that I have an old dog with colitis. She sometimes has bad nights where you have to take her out a couple of times in the middle of the night. This really interrupts my sleep. The night before yesterday's ride was such a night. I think the same thing happened the last time I did back to back rides. Last night it was my spouse's turn to take care of the dog and I slept like a rock and today I feel like I could ride again.

The other issue is that yesterday I took my Terry because I needed wider tires to handle the eight miles of gravel. It is a comfortable bike but over longer distances it gets borderline. The saddle on it stinks, I've ordered a new saddle. Those last eight miles I was not only tired but my rear end was almost numb and my hands were getting really sore from the poor road. This added to my fatigue, almost to the point of calling spouse for a rescue. I should have but I am extraordinarily stubborn.

Today I am taking a rest day partly because I have to go to a birding event. I have another event on Wednesday. Thursday I'll do what Rekmeyata suggests, I'll do twenty miles, the next day another 20 and the next day 45 and see how it goes. I'll try to have dog watching duty only on one of those nights. I'll decide at that time.

One issue is how slow I am. I average only about 13.5 on long rides. If I reduce my speed for the event by a couple of miles an hour that will be mighty slow. I have to think about that.