Happy Birthday To Me
I did it.
Maybe that's all I would need to write here, but if you know me at all you know that won't be the case. I must document every moment of my glorious and courageous effort to ride my age on my birthday. And at my age, that was no easy feat, especially considering the weather conditions.
There it is.
The final product.
62.35 miles.
It is 'the morning after' as I write this. I have never NOT posted right after a ride, but Wednesday was a long day, capped by a delicious reward, a rib dinner dinning outside at The Red Ox. I could think of no better way to replenish calories than ribs, fries and a beer.
Make no mistake, I had thought about attempting this prior to the ride. When I saw and felt the weather I figured there would be no chance. Sunny. A high temp of 91 degrees. And wind. Yes, wind, my old enemy, was blowing at a steady 12-15 mph. Not ideal.
I rolled out on this adventure at 11:15. It ended at 5:55 with stops along the way, including to take pictures of the journey.
We start at Mile 10...
I decided to stop every 10 miles to snap a photo and post a short video clip documenting it all for my PhilCast show listeners.
The first 14 miles out of town were all into a headwind. I tried best I could to not use up too many matches in my legs, but you have no choice at times when it's gusting over 15. This was NOT the start I wanted. Onward.
Mile 20
By mile 20 I had at least been able to make a turn now, and was into crosswind rather than headwind.
Plus I was taking my Woodland Loop, and this portion of the ride was the prettiest, with the large trees in one section providing some needed shade. It was hot, but I do not mind the hot. The wind had tired me more than I wanted, considering I still had the big 62 on my mind at this point.
Mile 30
Before I got to this mile 30 point I had made my first stop, and I would like to thank Cranked Bike Studio for their help. As I rolled back into town I knew I would need some gels to help my legs along the rest of the way. I had eaten a Cliff Bar, but that's not the same as a gel.
One of the shop guys, when he heard me say it was my birthday ride and that I was trying to go 62 miles promptly said, "You DO know it's the hottest day of the year out there."
Indeed I did.
They gave me two gels and fresh water in my bottles. I was off.
Mile 40
I got to the familiar Menasha lock at almost 40 miles in. At this point I was hot and tired. I sat down on a bench across from this picture and poured some of that water I had gotten over my head and onto my legs.
The cooling effect of the water helped to lower my body temp, which I could tell was not optimal. After spending almost 40 miles baking under the sun, I was starting to feel a bit toasty. Another rider rolled past me while I sat dripping with my head down and he said, "One of those days, huh?" Onward.
At this point I am thinking the goal here is to now ride longer than I had done all this season, which is 43 miles. Sure, I could do that. My consolation would be a new season record, but not riding my age on my birthday. People couldn't blame me. Not in this weather. Whooooosh, more wind howling in my ears as I headed home.
My first stop home had me quickly throwing some turkey slices on bread, eating a little fuel to have something more than gel and water in my gut. I took a swig of Diet Pepsi for a little pop, told my wife the update, filled my bottles with ice water and took off.
Mile 45
The afternoon was starting to grow long in the tooth and the water on this stop looked so refreshing.
This was a quick break for me. New season record, but I felt there was a little more in me. I would keep going. I headed out to the west thinking I would take one of my routes and chalk up more miles. This didn't work out. After several miles going in that direction I felt bad. It almost felt like I was going to bonk, the worse thing that can happen to a rider out on the road. One of the issues was Mr. Wind again in my face going in this direction. The wind was relentless all day long, a much bigger issue than the sun beating down on me at 92 degrees now, with a dew point of 64.
I did NOT want to be suffering or unable to continue out in the middle of nowhere next to corn fields, so I turned around. I rode back to my own neck of the woods, taking a detour along the way to add some miles. I figured I would be better off sticking close to home now, no matter how far I had gone.
Mile 50
I hit 50 miles while riding my Lake Loop route now. This is the little pond along the trail I have talked about before.
Now at 50 miles invested in this day, I once again had the thought that perhaps I could do it. Maybe I COULD ride 62 miles today. You become obsessed at this point. You do things you probably should not. But by GOD I was going to try now.
Having dumped more water over myself while riding (just like the Tour de France riders do on hot days I thought) I would need more H2O. By the way, the cooling effect of dumping water on yourself while riding in these conditions is wonderful. It gave me a brief shot of energy each time, but it also brings burning eyes from sweat and water washing over your face.
I stopped at home again to fill my bottles, and my poor wife saw my dirty legs, somewhat burnt skin, and I am sure my tongue hanging out. She wished me well as I said I am going to go out one more time in search of getting the 62 miles.
Now staying even closer to home, I would limp around my neighborhood crit course to see if I could complete the deed late in the afternoon.
The issue became my left quad. That same long muscle that runs from the groin down across the quad to the knee began tweaking. I know the feeling well. I also know that if it indeed knots, you are DONE. D. O. N. E. DONE. There is nothing you can do. I had to avoid this at all costs while doing what would be the needed four laps.
FOUR LAPS..that's all I need I told myself.
But that muscle was going and going fast.
I would pedal about a half dozen strokes in the easiest gear the bike had, then coast as much as I could. Stretching along the way out of the saddle, all I needed to do was baby this thing to the finish line.
As I studied the computer I was amazed at how slowly those little numbers would change. It seemed to go on forever, but there was a shot of adrenaline when I saw 60, and I knew I was going to do it. If I had to crawl, dammit, I was going to do it!
And I did.
Unbelievable to me. I never thought I would be able to pull it off in these weather conditions.
But I did it.
Did I mention I did it?! And I'm damn proud of the accomplishment.
Happy Birthday To Me.
RIDE ROUTE
Woodland Loop, then everywhere!
62 miles *Season personal best*
Average Speed= 11.5 mph
Sunny, HOT, Windy
92 degrees, dew point 64
Wind 15 mph (yikes)
2020 SEASON MILES
Indoor: 125.6
Outdoor: 1,459