Road Cycling · Public discussion

My longest ride to date!

Started by Ken M · · Last activity · 3 posts · 370 views

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Road Cycling
Published
13 July 2005
Last activity
15 July 2005
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Ken M
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  1. My God I can really ride farther than I ever thought I would be able
    too! After not riding that much for a bit I decided to really push
    myself today. Up until today the most I had riden was 48 miles. So I
    thought today would be a good day to try for 60 miles. The first 12
    miles were well you know "I am out here and I am riding" kind of
    feeling. The next 27 miles or so were more like " Yeah okay now I feel
    better" kind of miles. Thoses are the kind of miles I enjoy the most,
    they are the kind of miles where your body is well into the rythem(sp?)
    of cycling, and then the mind clears and I more or less get to think
    about other things, and not worry about stupid day to day stuff. Those
    27 miles are why I just enjoy getting out on the old cycle and riding!
    Then I was "Blessed" by the Florida Thunderstorm God! Normally I might
    have said well this is it and headed for home. But then I figured "what
    they heck by the time I get home I will be wet anyway so just keep
    riding!" While I was being blessed, I saw something I have never seen
    before. I saw a golf cart with rain gear! Yeah! It looked like it was a
    white canvas type cloth, with that thick clean nylon / plastic for
    windows. I drafted this vehicle for a bit then passed it and waved to
    the driver with a big smile on my face. She looked at me like I was
    crazy! Finally I rode out of the thunderstorm, without being hit by
    lightning. Perhaps my fear of lightning is overblown! So at this point
    I am about at mile 43 or 44 I didn't really notice on the computer what
    it said, but who really cares. I know I didn't care that much at that
    point. Then the sun came out! Yeap welcome to Florida, if you don't
    like the weather wait a few minutes it's bound to change! The rain felt
    good, but then when the sun came out I was wishing it was still
    raining. The sun pushed the humidity way up, but also dried me off just
    a bit, especially my pants which seem to hold a lot of moisture. But
    then again they probably wounldn't if they were cycling pants or
    shorts. But oh well! So now I am back to sweating, any my water is
    almost gone, and I notice that my head is starting to ache a bit,
    probably need some powerade or similar fluid. Maybe I will bring some
    on my next long ride. Any way it's just a few more miles till I get
    home anyway. And now I remember that all of this is why I enjoy my
    rides! Pulling into driveway. The End!

    Ken

  2. Ken M said:

    Then I was "Blessed" by the Florida Thunderstorm

    I hope you were mighty careful in that storm. The one thing that will
    get me off my bike and into a car instantly is lightning. And IIRC,
    Florida leads the nation in lightning deaths. Do us a favor and don't
    become one of them.

    Bill

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  3. On 13 Jul 2005 13:25:41 -0700, "Ken M" <[email hidden]> wrote:

    |My God I can really ride farther than I ever thought I would be able
    |too! After not riding that much for a bit I decided to really push
    |myself today. Up until today the most I had riden was 48 miles. So I
    |thought today would be a good day to try for 60 miles...

    Way to go! I thought I might tell my story by way of contrast:

    I'm about 50 pounds overweight, in lousy shape. For me, the most I've
    done in one day is 15 miles. But I may have reached too far too
    soon. Now I run an even shorter route, 9.7 miles. I live in Rockbridge
    County, Virginia. They say this is some of the best bicycling country
    in the US, and I believe them. There's a road not far from where I
    live that I love to ride down: Poor House Road. One of these days I
    will have enough strength built up to go UP it instead. Going up, the
    first mile is paved, then you go through an old tunnel built over a
    hundred years ago, when there used to be a railroad. A creek runs
    through the tunnel along the left side. After the tunnel, the road
    becomes unpaved. Then it becomes rather steep. My guess is the
    gradient is 15 percent or perhaps more. It's also very bumpy, rocky,
    and with lots of loose gravel. The steep part is less than a mile
    long, but for me, it's like my personal l'Alpe D'Huez. I take the
    long way around to get up, which is like an escalator ride in
    comparison, but it's still enough to make me wheeze and shout. At
    least, I don't stop. And I shave a little more time off each day.
    When I finally manage to go up that hill, I will feel like King of
    the Road. I like to look at a map of the county and dream. I know
    there are roads nearby, like the ones which climb the Blue Ridge,
    which are like Poor House repeated 10 times over. It's nice to have
    a goal.

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