Distance: 47 mi / 75.6 km
Time: 4 hours 2 minutes
Route Taken: Cedar Prairie Loop (x2), Greenhill Trail
When I started off today, I was already sore. I set a goal of 40 miles, but I wasn't honestly sure if I would get that far. I certainly was going to try, especially after not making my goal on the last long ride.
It has been windy the entire week, aside from today. I rode anyway, mostly commute to work, which is why I didn't bother to post it. I did make most of the training goals on the guide that I'm following, save for one day. I think I was only a few miles short though, and I had a bit more on a previous day.
There was rain in the forecast, but it looked like it wasn't going to hit us until later, so I decided to go anyway. As I said, my legs and butt were already sore, but nothing major. I find that the soreness in my legs tends to go away after a few miles anyway, as I get warmed up.
There were tons of people on the trails today. It seemed that, for the first 20 miles anyway, I was always following some other biker. These are just some examples:
-A middle-aged guy with an oversized tshirt. I caught up but he was going too fast for me to pass him.
-An overweight woman with two mirrors (like a car would have). She didn't look like a biker but props to her for getting out and riding.
-A guy, probably my age, who was obviously training for a race. He had the racing handlebars and everything, and was FLYING along the trail.
-Two women, coming down one of the underpasses, almost hit me because they took the turn too fast.
The person I met that gets special mention is an older guy, probably in his late 60s or 70s, who was wearing a ragbrai jersey. We started chatting at one of the stoplights, and he paced me for about 10 miles or so. He gave me some tips for riding and training, and said that I will really enjoy myself. He had all of his previous years wristbands wrapped around the handlebar tube. It was pretty cool, seeing that.
I took the Cedar Prairie loop twice, a decision that ultimately took me further than my planned mileage. It started raining a bit for the last hour or so, but nothing that bad at all. I honestly expected to get dumped on, but it seems that the rain missed us yet again.
I had to push myself hard to make it back, though. I went 7 miles farther than I've ever gone, and with only one major break. I kept telling myself "Only a bit farther". Sometimes I repeated it like a mantra. I rode the last bit of the trip along the same route I use to commute, which actually helped me. I felt my brain lock on to the routine and take me back home like I had ridden 5 miles, not 47.
My butt hurts more than anything. The new shorts are good, but getting time on the saddle is probably the more important part. I will have a couple days to rest it, at least, before my next ride. Not sure how my legs will do, as I am working 12 hour shifts the next two days. As I don't ride my bike to work for those kinds of shifts, it will be a sort of break, although not a very good one.
In other ragbrai news, we found a group to ride with. Cedar Valley Cyclists is a local group that I heard about at Europa. They will bus us out there and have camping spots at each town, and bus us back. I talked to one of the coordinators on the phone earlier this week, and he seemed enthusiastic about it. I will be registering and paying the fees after I finish typing this, so it will be official in a little while.
See you after the next big ride.
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