Holy Smokes! We went THAT far??

[Tali]

So, my DH and I just got new bikes, cross bikes we set up as our around town bikes. We went out on a ride on his birthday Wednesday, but neither of us have computers yet, so we didn't know the distance. I just routed it out on gmaps-pedometer and it was 23.5 miles! Now, there were lots of stops, including a stop for lunch and a beer at the Kennedy School, then one to our LBS to buy him a new seat. (Sore sit bones on the racing seat that came with his bike.) But I'm pretty excited! There's a club ride of 40 mi on Sunday, but it includes some biggish hills. I don't know if I should attempt it or not. The 23 miles were pretty flat, with just a few short climbs. Any thoughts on the Sun ride?

This is the link to our birthday ride map:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=491590

ETA: no soreness or other probs from the ride on Wed. Bike/saddle seems to be fitting me well.

[KnottedYet]

Congratulations on the ride! And cheers for longer rides!

Does the club ride have lots of rest stops? How about a halfway point you could end it at if the hills are too much?

Hey, I'm not gonna discourage anyone from going for the gusto! (just have a back up plan in case something isn't going well, like his new bike seat)

[Tri Girl]

Great job on the ride! It sounds like you were amazed at how far you went! Congrats! And stopping for lunch and a beer- my kind of ride!!!
Go for the ride on Sunday. I agee with Knotted, just have a back-up route if you need to bail out and head back. Otherwise, go for it!!


btw- I like your new pic Knotted!

[BeeLady]

Congrats on the nice ride! My longest ride is 36.5 so far, a supported ride like the one you are considering. I completed it ok although there were quite a few hills and a tremendous headwind the last 12 miles, along high heat and high humidity close to the end.

There was some discomfort near the end, especially with my flat handle bars and getting enough hand positions. You might want to add some end bars before the ride. I was on a hybrid for that ride.

There were only two rest stops that ride, and I really amazed myself with how far I could ride without a break! I did stop one other time at the top of a big hill to catch my breath and, of course, could have stopped any time I wanted.

The ride gave me a lot of self-confidence and was very positive! I'm 51 so I made sure I was well rested the day before the ride and had a "recovery" day the day after, took some gel, in addition to the goodies at the rest stops, and drank a good sport drink all during the ride.

You oughta go for it!