October 6th Rides

[HillSlugger]

My first ride outside since my 8/19 triathlon. Right afterwards I stopped riding to do knee PT. Easy pedaling on the flat Eastern Shore of MD, perfect place for a rehab ride. No knee pain; it was all good

17.25 miles at 16 mph.

[mimitabby]

Manastash Metric Century ride; from Ellensburg, Washington to Cle Elum Washington and back...

I agreed to do this ride because not only were a lot of our friends doing it, but my son and his buddy came along too.

The weather was supposed to be very bad in Seattle, and the forecast for eastern washington was better; this ride is famous for not having rain. THeir website is dryer-ride.org, and this was their 13th consecutive year of no rain (YAY!)

The first half of the ride was into a 20 mph headwind. It was absolutely brutal. Somehow I was able to ride 30 miles into that wind. Somehow I never turned around and said "scr3w it" Somehow I managed to ride 32 miles at 10.9 mph average. There were some hills too.
The hills were strange. I'm not fast on hills but i'm "good" so when we'd get to a hill, i'd get down into a nice hill gear and toodle up the hill. Then at the top, there was that $%#$% wind again and instead of a nice sail DOWN the hill, i'd have to struggle with holding my wheel and pedaling just as hard as i was going up the hill. There was no break except for a few big clumps of trees that silenced the wind for 50 yards at a time. My DH was very frustrated because I could not maintain a comfortable pace (for him) but he stayed with me for most of the ride.
We stopped in Cle Elum and had lunch; even though the cafe was heated, it felt cold in there. After I ate, I got up and my legs were screaming!
Walking was unpleasant, not only were my muscles sore; they were stiff too.
my arms(triceps), neck, and quads were all toast.
I got back onto my bike and headed back to Ellensburg, with the wind at my back. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. but each little hill now was painful. After about 15 miles, I stopped and took advil. Another member of our bike club suggested that the two of us Evade the nasty hill waiting for us (12% grade) and take a short cut (actually 2 miles shorter) so I did. I challenged Raleighdon to beat us back. He really deserved to ride at least partway at an enjoyable for him pace.
He and another very fit crazy man took off like rockets but I beat him back to the car by about 1 minute..
Came home had great leftovers and took a hot bath. AHHHHHHHHHHH