This was going to be an interesting day………..I hadn’t ridden more than a few hundred miles all year, and hadn’t ridden more than about 25 miles in one shot this year. So……I brilliantly let my brother (flyboy) talk me into riding from my house to the ride start and following the 75 mile ride, to ride home again. This way we could get approximately a full hundred miles in.
The morning started out great! Felt good, and it wasn’t too hot yet when we left the house at about 6:30am. The official ride began at 8a.m. and by 9a.m. it was already 90 degrees!
The ride was good with about 500 riders participating. Lot’s of support and good rest/food stops out on the course.
At about the midpoint of the ride we hit constant hills. Nothing super steep, but just long grades and continuous climbing repeats. Not real good for a guy who hasn’t ridden much this year. However, I felt pretty strong until we got about 60 miles into the day. Then the 100 degree heat and lack of ride time started taking its toll. My rear end took a few days to forgive me for this one.
The last 15 miles of the 75 mile route was tough on me, but could’ve been worse. Then, we left the ride start and headed back to my house. That’s when the ‘wheels fell off’ for me. We headed into about a 20mph headwind w/ the temps hovering around 100+. It felt like I would put my head down and ride for about an hour, then look up only to find I’d moved about ¼ mile!
I don’t ever remember being more fatigued or closer to a full on ‘Bonk’. Somehow made it to the house and stepped out of the furnace into the A/C inside and laid down. WIPED OUT!
Thanks to my brother for pulling me along and letting me draft most of the day. Couldn’t have done it w/out him out in front.
The good news was that the next day I had zero sore muscles, just very fatigued.


Note to self: Don’t ride that far again in that kind of heat w/ that few of miles logged for the year!