the memorial, so it was an interesting experience to be able to see it in person. As we kept traveling from road to road and went further out into the middle of nowhere I started to notice that the department of transportation didn't make it a high priority to install road signs at the intersections. It was at this point that I came to the unsettling realization that even though I was carrying a copy of the cue sheet that told me every turn we needed to make, those directions weren't going to do me much good if there were no road signs to follow on my way back home by myself. So, I was left with the choice of turning around and guessing my way back with the strong possibility of getting lost, or continue along with the group and end up doing more miles than I should or could do. I decided that riding 75 miles was a better option than getting lost on an unknown road in the heat for who knows how long, so I kept pedaling. Around mile 50 we stopped at a small country store to refill our wattle bottles and catch our breath. The brief stop helped me recover enough to feel like I could keep going. Another 10 miles or so later we stopped briefly because a cyclist heading in the opposite direction had crashed in the road after a dog ran into his bike. He was knocked unconscious and had a few cuts on his face and arms. We stayed until paramedics arrived and then headed on down the road. The closer we got to the end of the ride the more I wanted to be off the bike. My legs were tired and my shoulders and neck were very sore. The distance to and from the starting point made the 75 mile ride a total of 78.6 miles and took over 4 hours to complete with stops. It was a humbling feeling knowing that the ironman race was going to require me to ride another 30 plus more miles than I just did and then run a marathon. It seems like there is so much more training needed to get me ready. The one positive note from this ride was that I woke up the next morning with very little soreness at all.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
More Bike Than I Bargained For
I've recently started doing outdoor bike rides with a group of people on the weekends. This weekend I was informed that the group was planning on doing a ride of around 75 miles. My training schedule had me doing a 50 mile bike ride this week, so I knew that anything close to 75 would be going too far too soon. I was emailed the cue sheet for the bike route that gave me all the roads we would be traveling. I had told a few of the people on the ride ahead of time that I was considering riding with them for the first 25 miles and then turning around to come back so I would end up with the mileage I needed to do. Everyone was supposed to meet at one guy's house which was a couple of miles away from mine. I met up with one of my neighbors and we rode our bikes over to the house for the start. A group of eight of us started the ride around 8:45 am on what was predicted to be a hot day (close to 90 degrees). After we completed the first 10 miles, a lot of the roads we were traveling on started to be ones I was not familiar with. We made a brief stop just north of Greensboro at a "ghost bike" memorial on the side of the road for an area cyclist that was killed in a hit-and-run accident last fall. I had heard about
the memorial, so it was an interesting experience to be able to see it in person. As we kept traveling from road to road and went further out into the middle of nowhere I started to notice that the department of transportation didn't make it a high priority to install road signs at the intersections. It was at this point that I came to the unsettling realization that even though I was carrying a copy of the cue sheet that told me every turn we needed to make, those directions weren't going to do me much good if there were no road signs to follow on my way back home by myself. So, I was left with the choice of turning around and guessing my way back with the strong possibility of getting lost, or continue along with the group and end up doing more miles than I should or could do. I decided that riding 75 miles was a better option than getting lost on an unknown road in the heat for who knows how long, so I kept pedaling. Around mile 50 we stopped at a small country store to refill our wattle bottles and catch our breath. The brief stop helped me recover enough to feel like I could keep going. Another 10 miles or so later we stopped briefly because a cyclist heading in the opposite direction had crashed in the road after a dog ran into his bike. He was knocked unconscious and had a few cuts on his face and arms. We stayed until paramedics arrived and then headed on down the road. The closer we got to the end of the ride the more I wanted to be off the bike. My legs were tired and my shoulders and neck were very sore. The distance to and from the starting point made the 75 mile ride a total of 78.6 miles and took over 4 hours to complete with stops. It was a humbling feeling knowing that the ironman race was going to require me to ride another 30 plus more miles than I just did and then run a marathon. It seems like there is so much more training needed to get me ready. The one positive note from this ride was that I woke up the next morning with very little soreness at all.
the memorial, so it was an interesting experience to be able to see it in person. As we kept traveling from road to road and went further out into the middle of nowhere I started to notice that the department of transportation didn't make it a high priority to install road signs at the intersections. It was at this point that I came to the unsettling realization that even though I was carrying a copy of the cue sheet that told me every turn we needed to make, those directions weren't going to do me much good if there were no road signs to follow on my way back home by myself. So, I was left with the choice of turning around and guessing my way back with the strong possibility of getting lost, or continue along with the group and end up doing more miles than I should or could do. I decided that riding 75 miles was a better option than getting lost on an unknown road in the heat for who knows how long, so I kept pedaling. Around mile 50 we stopped at a small country store to refill our wattle bottles and catch our breath. The brief stop helped me recover enough to feel like I could keep going. Another 10 miles or so later we stopped briefly because a cyclist heading in the opposite direction had crashed in the road after a dog ran into his bike. He was knocked unconscious and had a few cuts on his face and arms. We stayed until paramedics arrived and then headed on down the road. The closer we got to the end of the ride the more I wanted to be off the bike. My legs were tired and my shoulders and neck were very sore. The distance to and from the starting point made the 75 mile ride a total of 78.6 miles and took over 4 hours to complete with stops. It was a humbling feeling knowing that the ironman race was going to require me to ride another 30 plus more miles than I just did and then run a marathon. It seems like there is so much more training needed to get me ready. The one positive note from this ride was that I woke up the next morning with very little soreness at all.
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