chinarider

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 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.

cyclinfool

Well done. Your elbow may hurt more in the AM but you will still feel great about the ride.

The Weak Link

Most big rides in this area have staggered starts to avoid mass tangles and vehicular chaos.

The crash sounds karmic to me. Perhaps you've done wrong, in this life or a previous one.

Anyway, congrats on a fine ride.

chinarider

I asked my wife. She confirms this is the case.

Metric Man

Nice job.

163 HR for an average? I usually average higher on century's, but it's still in the 145-148 range.

doctor j

Congratulations on the ride! Sounds as if you did your homework and were well prepared. You really should get a pic of the chain ring tatoo!

chinarider

My hr is high, so it's not that unusual, but I really didn't feel like I was riding hard enough to warrant that high. Based on how I felt, I would have guessed 10 bpm lower. I guess that's why the powertap devotees think that method is more accurate. Watts don't lie.

RepWI

Congrats....I was hoping your ride would happen. You had been concerned about the wind a few days ago.

fat biker

chinarider,

Well Done!
Sorry about the owies's.

Jeff, still fat

Terrierman

Good job.

Pat

Good job, decent avg too. A nice well written report. Also, I hope that your karmic slate is clean now.

chinarider

Thanks to you and everyone else. I figure the fall was a good exchange for the decent weather. I'm no worse for the wear and, more importantly, no damage to the bike.

stapfam

Good ride and in not too bad conditions for what was promised. Well done but pay attention before- during and AFTER the ride next time.

If this was your longest ride so far you did well. So how are you feeling today? Hope you got a recovery ride in to calm down the muscles and get the elbow and ankle working.

Just remember that for a couple of days you will need Liquids. If no rides planned- then a couple of beers will not cause a problem. So when I have my medicinal pint down the pub tonight-- Hope you will be joining in and reflecting on what was a bl**dy good ride.

chinarider

I actually feel pretty well. I can feel the ankle, elbow & hip if I press on them, but otherwise they don't bother me. My muscles were a little tired yesterday, but not excessively so. I took yesterday off, but plan to do the Tuesday group ride tonight.