Century; 6500 feet, half a bonk and half a bug

[alpinerabbit]

Boy oh boy.

This was a major test ride for the 220 km round-lake Constance tour that we intend to do in September; as well as for the 100 km mountain marathon in 2 weeks.

So far, the bike and I have ridden max. 120 km together. Especially the SMP saddle was put to the test, performed admirably. I was a bit sore around the sit bones. At night I noticed some numbness around the front part of my girly bits but that’s gone this morning. Not optimal but negligible in light of the shape the rest of my anatomy is in.
This morning was a little painful on my commute but what the heck.

So. 45 km to the first mountain. It was getting hot, but whatever. Filled up the water bottle and started spinning up, 10 km total climb and at 8 I started bonking – no more power, goose bumps, slightly nauseous. I wanted to call it a day. I got up there with a rosy complexion – that’s a mixture of pale, red, and a bit of green
A soda, espresso and pastry later I was ready to go on. 15k later for the next climb, less long, less steep, was still HARD and up there I had shaky legs. Had to sit down for a while. Rewarded by a NICE view.



LOOONG descent and then 25k or so in the “flat”. One minor hill just zapped my strength. It was HOT and we had headwind. Boyfriend’s computer read 37 °C (98F). Then we got to ride a little faster in the flat for a while, at one point I just dunked my head into a fountain – NICE.
Another stop where I had a yoghurt shake and on we went, against more headwind, was like being in an oven, computer reads 104 F now. A nasty little climb that comes back at you three times and I was almost beaten.
In a brief moment of panic I cried a little and had DBF feed me some more energy goop. I gritted my teeth for the last climb which, at least, had some tree cover. Rewarded by a super nice view and nice descent.

The second-to-last part was on a yucky major inroad to the city, followed by a little bike path along the river as a reward.....
….and they’re in! 160 K. 21.5 kph (13.3mph) average, total time away from home 9 hours. Not great but sufficient for what we intend to do.
The air must have been horrible. I ended up with constricted airways which I get from the high ozone levels.
I wasn't even very tense, just a bit tired in the shoulders, and not really hungry with all the stuff we had on the way.
The night was HOT and therefore not very restful. I’m still BEAT, this morning’s climb on my commute was SLOOOOOOW and I was obviously hatching a bug that is now nesting in my throat. Well that explains some of it.

I lived on

Squeezy gel. It’s yucky and vanilla flavored. Never again. I bought a 120 ml bottle that I can reuse. When I rinsed the remainders out at home, some precipitate came out, that’s probably the complex carbs that would have prevented me from bonking. Some quality, that.

Some complex carb mixture in the bottles - but I hate the sticky feeling in my mouth, I need at least one bottle of pure water. This means I need a rack behind the saddle, as my frame has only room for one. Overall I did not drink enough and part of it was the goop in the bottle.

[crazycanuck]

Hey AP!

An espresso would get me a goin! I hope you can get the drink bottles sorted out!

Was this your first long ride in hot conditions? Urgh..riding in 35+ C is not my cup o tea but sometimes we must.

Good luck on the next event!

[motochick]

My jaw dropped when I saw that picture. Absolutely worth the sufferng you went thru, of course I wasn't the one suffering! Good luck on your future adventures, hope they go better then this one. What brand of gel were you using, some of them can be a little nasty but the ones I use taste very yummy.

Brenda

[mimitabby]

i have to echo what the others have said. what a gorgeous view. too bad you had to get back on the bike!

[maillotpois]

Gorgeous!!! Good job on the ride. Please take more pictures on your next adventure!!!

[alpinerabbit]

Boy did that bug hit. I'm sitting here, congested, sniffles and all, and if you brought a bike, or running shoes, or anything exercise related near me, I'd probably scream at you.

[lph]

WOW what a photo!!!

Great story. No wonder you felt like crap if you had that bug lining up to get you. Major kudos on doing it anyway. I don't know what kind of gel you have, but I've tried it once and almost puked - this from a woman who has been known to eat sugar cubes and pats of butter a couple of weeks into a really long hike.

[violette]

What a beautiful view. That hill looks STEEP!!! If you did that, you should be riding in the Tour the France and kick their butts.

Way to go!

[lph]

ps - how come your frame only takes one bottle, is it really small? My frame is quite small and has a heavily sloping top tube, but I can squeeze in two bottle holders but not full-size bottles. But I reckon 2 x 0.7 ml is still better than 1 x 1l. And I need both on a lot shorter (and easier ) rides than you're doing!

Another thing I thought of - I tend to have difficulty digesting yoghurt on the fly, but that's probably because I eat very little dairy products daily. Don't know if this might be the case for you or not.

[Kano]

So, I think you need to junk that computer on BF's bike. There are some things you just don't need to know, and that the temperature is 100+ is one of those things!

Looks like it was a lovely ride, though hugely challenging! Congratulations!

Karen in Boise

[alpinerabbit]

What a beautiful view. That hill looks STEEP!!! If you did that, you should be riding in the Tour the France and kick their butts.

aaah note - the hill on the pic is the descent. the climb was only about half of that because we came from a plateau on the other side.... I'll need to take a deep breath and a cooler day to try this side.

how come your frame only takes one bottle, is it really small? My frame is quite small and has a heavily sloping top tube, but I can squeeze in two bottle holders but not full-size bottles. But I reckon 2 x 0.7 ml is still better than 1 x 1l.

I should try. The frame does not have the setup to attach another, but I need to look into it. Maybe side-loader will fit somehow. As I said, a saddle rack is an option.

There are some things you just don't need to know, and that the temperature is 100+ is one of those things!

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