lphilpot

The weather has been atypically nice here for the last couple of weeks, so I wanted to make the most of it today. My longest ride to date was 40 miles and I wanted to beat that today. I started around 7:30 and after a missed turn and a couple of minor tweaks to the route, I was at 47 miles when I got back to van at the end of the loop. Being that close, I couldn't stop so I went down the road a bit and came back, giving me 54 miles (I'm 53.x, so I guess I'm covered).

Here's a map of it: https://www.sportstracklive.com/track...y-/781025/full

Given my work-in-progress physical shape, I'm pleased. The last few miles were a bit of a grind, but I intentionally held my mediocre pace down even a little slower from the outset and it made a big difference. No way I could have done this if I had started off at 18 MPH like I usually do (for a while at least ). Suprisingly, my legs were shot but not my lungs, and it's usually the other way around. I guess that's due to the slower pace.


Some gratuitous cellphone shots along the way:



I missed a much better 'sunbeams' shot just a little bit back. It was a beautiful ~60F morning when I started, and the ground fog was just starting to burn off.




Another shot from Tiger Lake Road (same as above).




River Road - Nice and deserted except for a tractor and one farm truck. It parallels the Red River through this area.




Uh-oh... I don't want to turn around halfway through the ride!!




But, when there's a will, there's a way (besides I have a cross bike, right??).




And fortunately, sometimes when there's a need, there's a means!




Taking a break under the railroad trestle at Lloyd Bridge Road...




...and taking off again.




My last rest of the morning...




...in the parking lot of First Baptist Church in Lecompte. That's OK - I know the pastor.



This was a really enjoyable ride (until the last few miles!) since I made a point of stopping often and intentionally enjoying the ride. Plus, the beautfiful weather didn't hurt. My only minor disappointment was that my friend Bart couldn't make it today. But he's been sick all week and I know if he felt up to it, he definitely would have been along. As it was, it was still a team effort: me and God. He provided the ability and I just kept pushing the pedals as instructed...

What's next now? A metric?

JanMM

So close to a metric.........would be a piece of cake for you. Or pie.

Nice pics.

lphilpot

I think cycling is like relativity... As you approach the speed of light, things slow down infinitely. Likewise, when I'm getting tired, the "close" distances get longer and llllooooonnnnggggeeeerrrrrr

Thanks!

DnvrFox

Go ride another 8 miles, and you will have your metric

qcpmsame 

Great ride for you LP, nice symmetry to the distance, I suppose. Enjoy a good piece of pie as recommended and pat your self on the back.

Bill

lphilpot

Thanks. Probably no pie, but wife, daughter and I are about to head to a good out-of-town Mexican restaurant for dinner. It didn't take much persuading for any of us...

qcpmsame 

Mexican will work, we did it last night and will do it tonight if I cook!!!!

Bill

doctor j

Congratulations on a great ride, Len. You could have stopped by Lea's in LeCompte for pie and coffee

lphilpot

Yeah, that thought occurred to me as well, but Lecompte was about 2/3 through the ride, not at the end!

Closed Office

I thought it was 'when there's a hill, there's a way.' Either way, you made it.

I also like the +1 part of the topic title. It's sort of like n+1. After so many years we keep getting a compulsion to add another one...

John_V 

Nice birthday ride and I enjoyed the pics. I have a 66 mile birthday ride coming up on the 15th of next month. I've done several metric centuries so I don't foresee any problems except for prior injuries or weather related issues.

rumrunn6

looks like a nice quiet mix of roadways! that first picture though looked like a potentially hazardous route due to winding road and no shoulder.

lphilpot

Louisiana has lots of VERY straight roads... way too many! But if you rule out roads without shoulders, the only place you'll be riding is on the busier roads. Virtually none of the country roads have shoulders of any kind.

Dudelsack 

Enjoyable post, made better by not telling us your average speed (forbidden unless its less than 12.8 MPH). Detours are for sissies. I'm glad you did your cross bike proud.

Dudelsack 

Shoulders on roads? I've heard about them. What are they like?

lphilpot

Thanks, and if you really have to know, you can get a pretty good idea on the map view of the route (link is also in the original post).