My first metric century
I had a slow start to the weekend with only 28 miles on Saturday. I made up for it Sunday with my longest ride yet, 64 miles, my first metric century. It took me about 5 hours and ten minutes. This was a self supported ride by myself, just going around the nearby research center. I never got more than ten miles from home, so I could have bailed at any time, but I kept going. I was out in the late afternoon till near sunset, it was sunny and warm, near 90, but not too humid with the dew point around 60.
I had some trouble with my stomach being somewhat knotted up most of the ride, which is unusual for me. Maybe it was the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I ate shortly before the ride. I was fairly hungry and figured starting a long ride famished would be a bad idea. Or maybe I was drinking too much ice water from my CamelBak. I’ve only had it a few weeks and I’m still trying to get used to it. It loaded it with plenty of ice and still had ice left after the ride. Near the end of the ride I added about 12 oz of warm water to the 100 oz reservoir to help melt some of the remaining ice. I’ve learned too much ice means sucking dry on solid ice is a possibility and too little means warm water after a few hours.
I consumed about 500 calories of snacks during the ride, maybe not as much as I should have. I doubt I could have done much better with my stomach unhappy. I kept wondering whether eating or drinking more or less would be best.
I’ve done a number of 52 mile rides in the past few weeks. I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever manage to break that barrier. I almost feel like it’s just a matter of how much misery you can endure. Maybe misery is a strong word, how about discomfort? Somewhere between 20 and 40 miles for me it becomes an exercise in cycling while semi exhausted. Saturday I rode 25 miles and was still feeling strong at the end. Yesterday by 25 miles I was feeling worn down. Of course, Saturday I was out in the morning when it was a little cooler. Last Sunday I rode 52 miles in the lower 90’s with high humidity. That was fairly miserable; yesterday wasn’t too bad for August in Maryland.