Today was the infamous overdistance ride. 120 miles of just me and the bicycle. With houseguests coming for the weekend, the ride needed to be done today, so I took a day off work.
Miles 1-11: Maybe ignorance is bliss? This isn’t so bad. Whee, I’m cruising along. Long day ahead though, let all the men with big egos sprint past me.
Miles 12-25: Hills, hills, hills. Still feeling OK but am I sure I want to keep doing this loop? Damn, it’s warm out here early today.
Miles 26-50: Long out and back up and down Foothill Expressway to Woodside and back to my car in Cupertino. Those last 7 miles on Foothill HURT. Uphill, headwind, slow going.
Mile 51: 0.5 miles from my car and I get a flat rear tire. Change it out as fast as I can and head to the car to refill my bottles.
Miles 52-59: Decide to ride all the way home. Worry endlessly about the flat tire and if I changed it well enough and if it will flat again. Legs feel dead tired after the stop. I am in a dark place.
Miles 60-65: Grab hold of Susan’s idea and start singing 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall. Decide that I will do what it takes to work self into a better mood.
Miles 65-72: Get home, guzzle water and refill bottles, ask Jeff to check my tires, ride 1-mile laps around the neighborhood. Wonder if I can do 48 more 1-mile laps and not get sick of it.
Miles 72-90: Take the long way through Los Gatos and downtown Saratoga back to Cupertino with Jeff along just for this leg. Tell the whole world how much I love it while cruising fast up Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road at 20mph (slight downhill).
Miles 90-104: Another out and back on Foothill Road, this time feeling strong in headwind and enjoying the subsequent tailwind.
Miles 104-116: Ride home since Jeff picked up my car from Cupertino. Tell every car that goes by what a rockstar I am and that they’d better not kill me now that I’m into my longest ride ever.
Miles 116-120: Laps around my neighborhood to finish it off. Feel like my fueling plan must’ve gone pretty well based on how I am cranking. Is it time to run a marathon now?
Or I could just lie here and rest for a minute…
I can’t believe I did all that and I still really really like my bike (a new development this fall, believe me!). But maybe I can take a day off from riding her.
Thanks to Soon-to-be-a-120-Miler-Virgin-No-Longer Barb for the encouraging text messages all day, and thanks to Jenn for going out and leaving me a note on the road!
15 comments:
Had I known you had your cell phone w/ you, I'd have left text messages too! Great job! (Mile 50 is always a low point for me...)
But you didn't see my note =( Dammit - I should have taken a picture and sent it to you =). You rocked it! Great job!!! Very proud of you! You should be an expert at changing flats now, my friend!
Way to go!!! I'm jealous of your chance to still ride outside. Soooooo jealous.
Very nicely done! That 60-70ish mile range is always rough for me. Once I hit 80 I feel like I'm over the wall.
That's pretty impressive that you were doing loops towards the end near your place, that'd be very tough for me mentally.
You are one hot superstar!! Nice job chicka!!
You have the BEST friends ever! They know how to move you! You did a super ride with some encouragement from your pals and Jeff! You did it!
you don't look like your lying down in the picture, you look like you're dead! congrats on the MILEstone!
Woo-hoo. Can't wait to see you race!!!
Nice ride, chica! but does your hiney still like the bike? :-D
wow, ROCK ON ! ... love that we both took off work to train this week :)
Great job on your long ride!!
Way to play those mind games to keep going on your own. Well done.
congrats. I need me some of those Chipotle shorts, even tho i rarely go there:)
You have made so much progress in these past few months, Molly. It's because of your hard work ethic and your positive attitude. Any challenge I throw at you, you come back with a "how do you like me now" attitude when you download that power file. Thank you for being YOU!!! :)
OH MOLLY, Way to GO!!!! Holy crap! I'm so proud of you AND happy for you! You wacked it out the park, girl! Woo-hoo!
"Wonder if I can do 48 more 1-mile laps and not get sick of it."
I almost spit out my tea when I read that. Too funny... but very relatable!
You did 120 miles on your own?? You are a rockstar for sure! Nice job!!!
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