112 Days Remaining - 50 Mile Bike Ride - Longest Ride of the Year

What a beautiful day! I must first say thanks to Amanda for allowing me to get out right in the middle of the day during all the chaos of three kids and neighbor kids to go ride. I headed over to the I Wireless Center to ride the Great River Trail on the Illinois side. My original plan was to ride straight to Fulton, Illinois, but our day was just too busy with things to get done so we did not go to her parents. Instead I just rode half the distance and turned around. It turned out to be a great ride doing it this way and next weekend I will ride to Fulton.

I look like I just smelled a fart. Not intentional!

I started out ready to rock not really sure what to expect. I have completed 40 mile on the trainer before, but riding outside this week I realized outdoor riding is completely different.



In order to get the ride in I did have to miss my monthly swim class that I enjoy. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made and I felt that this ride was more important right now in my training. I headed off on the path and at first it was crazy busy. There were people everywhere either riding, walking, running, or just hanging out along the river at the parks. At first I was getting a little frustrated because I had to keep stopping and going, but after the first few miles things started to open up and I was able to just ride.

You can tell I am a rookie with snacks duct taped to the frame

I could tell my legs were still tired from the run yesterday. My legs were starting to fatigue around mile 10 and I knew I just had to work on fighting through it. Along the way I consumed some electrolyte mix along with water.



At mile 24.5 I stopped as my training called for 48 miles and I rode just a little further to hit the 3M sign. I called Amanda to tell her I would be a little later than expected. I consumed a Bonk bar(very good) and talked with a super sweet old lady who was loving the weather.

Me at the turnaround spot.

I really enjoyed the ride. I rode much better on the way back despite having to really push myself to keep going. The ride went pretty smooth. I ate some GU Chomps about 10 miles into the ride back and kept drinking water. I need to work on refueling my body on the bike so that I am ready to run come 70.3 Racine. My stomach held up good for the most part. A small cramp around mile 35 but  nothing major.

With about 5 miles left I passed a guy heading into the busy park area. He decided to ride my tail(I am assuming he was drafting). I am not sure if he was quite expecting who he was drafting off of because it made me nervous. Little did he know that this was only my second ride outside of the year. Anyways, I was cruising around 18 mph when this little 3 year old kid comes sprinting across the bike path. This guy yells and and I slam on my brakes and skid sideways. It was a scary moment. Needless to say the guy quit drafting and I did not stop to hear what the parents had to say. The kid was oblivious to everything. He was happy as can be and never noticed the split second moment where he about became a stopper for a big man on a bike. I am sure my HR shot up at that moment. Other than that it was a good ride. I felt great.

I am proud for getting this ride in. I know my riding is my weakest sport right now. I just need to keep cranking away and it will improve. Based on this ride this would put me around a 3:15 bike time for the 70.3 race at Racine. Ideally, I would like to really lower this time. I don't know by how much and obviously I have not rode the course to know how that will affect things. This is a good measure at this point in my training and gives me something to work on.

Lastly, I learned two things. One, it is easy to get lost coming back despite being on a bike trail. Hence the reason I rode 50 miles because I rode down the wrong road to a dead end and had to turn around.

Second, I need to bring money with me because in Hampton, IL there is a little shop called Remember When... that is an old school soda shop that serves ice cream and candy. That will be visited by me for sure next time. There were about 20 bikes in front when I drove by.

GETTING IT DONE! was back on track with a great week of training. I have two very, very sore legs that need to recover quickly as training starts again Monday with some serious swimming. Off to mow the yard and get ready for Lego Robotics. Enjoy the rest of your day.