april 12 Rides

[kelownagirl]

Went for an easyish ride after my swim today. Rode an easy 10km to watch my son play baseball, then did a hard workout on the triathlon bike route and upped my avg speed from 25 kmh to 27.5 kmh this time, then rode back to the Y. 31.5km in total. Can't wait to try to triathlong route without having to stop at street lights...

Oh, and it was beautiful out! Sunny and warm - up to 21 C by the end of the ride!

[redrhodie]

I ventured out in the morning mist, fog horns still blowing. It was cool, and the gound was still wet from earlier rain. The clouds dropped below the top of hanging rock, and the beauty of it all was surreal.

I forgot to fill my water bottle, and stopped a woman who was heading into her house to ask for a fill from her outside tap. She was nice and offered to fill my bottle inside, but I was happy with the hose. I have to say, it was the best tasting water I've ever had. Must be the relief of not having to head back home, or the kindness of strangers that sweetened it.

A good day.

[makbike]

I'm exhausted! I joined the club for a century today - "Roam to the Dome." We were promised hills and hills there are in southern Indiana and I think we hit them all. The ride started in Corydon and made its way to French Lick to the West Baden Hotel. This is were we ate lunch and an expensive on it was. I had a garden salad, a hamburger w/chips, a diet coke and a cup of hot chocolate and it came to.... drum roll please.....$25.00! Next time I'm stopping at the Subway! Back to the ride - it literally was one climb after another. On the way to French Lick not only were we climbing but fighting a strong headwind (10-15 mph). Literally at mile 40 I was ready to call it quits but had not a soul to call to come rescue me from the mean hills so I kept pedaling. There is comfort in numbers and each person I rode with was equally as miserable as I if that is any consequence. At the lunch stop (mile 56) my average speed was a whooping 14 mph.

The return trip was a bit better in that we were treated to a tail wind on numerous occassions but the hills kept coming. They were relentless! My legs were shot by about mile 70 and each hill I climbed after that was done on determination and grit for my legs kept telling me they were finished. I refused to walk so we crawled up each hill - at a snails pace of 4 mph. In end I was one happy gal when I returned to my car - legs are very, very tired! Ankle is talking to me and my neck and shoulders are very tight.

In the end we logged 107.76 miles and I finished with an average speed of 14.14 mph. Though I'm very disappointed in my average speed and very happy I finished the ride and have now added it to my "never repeat list!".