Long in the saddle...

A week has passed since my last post. It went by very quickly, what with the preparation for the century ride I did on Sunday, work, and sleeping. Creative writing energy has waned. A little.

This past Sunday was the longest ride I've done in several years. In fact I can't remember the last time I did 100 miles in a day on my motorcycle.
The weather was beautiful all weekend.

The Daffodil Classic started about 5 miles from my house, and I was toying with the idea of riding from home, doing the 40 mile loop, and then cutting off the 60 mile loop and heading home. It would have been about the same mileage. But a friend convinced me to do the 60 mile loop first so I could ride with her. My wife came to see us off, then came back again later with my daughter to meet me after the 60 mile loop, take what clothing I cared to discard, and see me off again to the "unknown mileage" beyond my longest ride.

I met one of my old team mates, and he towed my along for a good 10 miles after the 60 mile loop at well over 20. I told him I hope he wasn't expecting me to pull through at that speed. I may have paid for that little 2-man TT later on, but it was a lot of fun while we were flying along the highway.

Until I hit the 80 mile mark, the uphills were the best part. Well, except for the downhills.

But that last hill? Fighting quad cramps the whole way, in my bottom gear and standing, riding that ragged edge of cramp vs. making forward progress. I was a good 15 miles past feeling good on uphills. And this last one is cruelly placed and even more cruelly steep. But once past it, it's downhill and flat all the way back.

I've been on a bit of a quest for new bike shorts of late. NOT bib shorts (and I know, SO many people will ride in nothing but bibs), and not all high-waisted, and a chamois that isn't all multi-thickness and gel-filled. And if it cost less than $80 that would be a bonus as well. Surprisingly hard to find. Anyway, I wore some older Performance brand shorts on Sunday, and they worked out fairly well (though the waist could have been a little lower -- I guess I could alter them myself). Experimenting can be expensive.

I ended up averaging a little over 17 miles an hour on the bike for the 103+ miles -- not bad, though I longed for my old racing days when that pace would have kept me going all day.

Monday was an exercise in avoiding stairs. Up or down. Though up was worse.

So when's he next century?