I have been so worried about having good enough road conditions for my January
Metric Century Challenge ride! I wanted to get out there for it on the first possible day. I checked and compared
three weather forecasts last night and was feeling optimistic about getting an outdoor ride today, maybe even the century. I decided that if I was able to go around my short loop once, I'd do laps of it 'til I got the necessary mileage. I know it's not adventurous, but felt I had to not be choosy about a route and just do it. It was wet, quite slushy in spots and windy. Fortunately the temps weren't bad, about 40F. I rode my cx bike and decided at the outset to just go at a comfortable pace (I'm good at 'saving' myself, must get better about working harder!). It took a long time and as the temps dropped in the last hour, my soggy legs got cold and I was getting stiff around my neck and shoulders as my collar let a draft in. My right foot had gotten wet in the first 3 miles, so that was very cold and my pedaling got pretty slow. But hey, it's January and I got in a big outside ride. It's more miles in my legs and there's lots of room for improvement! So, I'm not going to complain any more about it! Actually I'm pretty happy about it and enjoyed being out there =)
Here's the elevation profile for the ride. You can see my repeated laps...
January Metric Century
63.47 miles
4:38 hours
13.7 mph average
I didn't get off the bike at all, though I did pause to make a quick phone call once. I did dab and shuffle over some icy bits, straddling the bike still. So, no real breaks.
Felt good 'til the cold started to really get to me for that last hour.
Oh, probably should have eaten something! Only drank a Gatorade.
This pic shows the trickiest bit and it was very dim like this for the whole ride.
14 comments:
That doesn't look the nicest for riding in so well done getting out there. I better hurry up and get on with my first one or I'll be getting let behind.
I was very happy the roads were decent today for a ride, but I'm afraid the storm on Tues. night and Wednesday may mess things up again for a while. This winter is turning out to be much harder than last year!
impressive...just impressive!!
I hate being stuck in the office all day. :(
that last picture says it all-well done!
Added the link, I really must get out, looking at that ice I have no excuse!
well done, heard about the century challenge and will be trying to hold up this side. well done on getting the first one in, even with the conditions.
Well done Sarah!!!
(I followed the link from Trios Blog,)
I hate cold wet feet. I don’t think I would have been able to resist the lore of returning home for dry socks / shoes.
4:30 sounds very quick to me looking at all that ice!
Yea for riding outside...that road looks bad! I am heading out for a 2 hr jaunt today - the temp hasn't got over 30 yet - this should be good - using toe warmers and hand warmers.
Congrats Sarah!! One down!
And RATS - I *totally* forgot about the challenge on Sunday when I did 60 miles. 2 more miles woulda done it!
They have to be "miles on the same ride" eh? Oh well. I have the rest of the month...
Over 4 hours on the bike with only a gatorade, I am surprised you made it through the fijnal hour...You must eat...and I usually try to have complex stuff earlier and the simple sugars for later (just to get you through), and you can eat energy bars, gels, I like rice bubble bars, they are sugary but have a bit more to make them last in the system a bit longer. You will feel much better if you drink and eat more......dont ant to sound like I am preaching but I have suffered a bad hunger flat where I struggled so hard through the last 3 miles of a ride, I will never suffer it again. You need to find what works for you, everyone is different and we like different foods....
Thank you for all the comments! It really helped me keep riding knowing I'd be reporting my mileage here ;)
Buttsy, you are so right about the food! I was in a tricky situation with fueling that day as I went out not knowing if the road conditions were going to be good enough for even 2 miles! I didn't want a big dose of calories or sugars if I would just be turning back right away. I did have a cliff bar with me just in case, but it was in my seat bag out of reach. If it had been in a pocket, I'd probably have eaten it. I hate to take my gloves off to get at food in winter, so I need to learn to keep it accessible and maybe start a tear in the wrapper before the ride. Rice bubble bars, are those the same as Rice crispy treats? I think I would *love* those on the bike! Thank you for the advice!
S
That looks like First Beach. The road was not much better when I rode it in June.
Midnight Rider,
That's actually by 3rd Beach and the road has been freshly paved, not that you can tell in this pic ;) There is usually sand blown across the road and huge puddles if it's rained or the tides come up high. So Hanging Rocks Road is usually a better route for road bikes and gets you to the same place.
S
Post a Comment