Miles travelled: 114.5 in 7 hours 53 minutes of bike time (plus time stopped at lights, lunch/navigation breaks, etc.) - avg speed 14.54 mph. Calories burned roughly 6000.
Level up!
Well, today was a fun (long) day. I left my house this morning and did
this ride, more or less, about twice as long as my usual Nyack run, with stops at the Runcible Spoon on the way up and back for bagels and clif bars along the way. The weather was cloudy but I dodged the rain luckily, but I woefully underestimated the time it takes to ride that distance. I was planning on getting back midafternoon but I didn't pull into home until after 7pm. Grah. I also went further than depicted on the map, because I rode to and from my home in Brooklyn, instead of starting from Central Park.
Now this was my first century distance, and I learned a few things. Previously my longest trip was 66 miles. And for extra grins, this wasn't a flat century or easy trip like out to Montauk or along the shore.. it was pretty hilly, including a nice climb up Bear Mountain and an introductory climb on the vicious little River Road, which is all pleasant and woodsy and then bam.
My climbing ability is better than last year but still slow. I went 7-9mph up the steeper hills, but I didn't have to stop and catch my breath. In fact my cardiovascular system is aces right now. My HR generally stays below 170 even at heavy power output and my breathing is hard but steady. It's my muscular system I need to develop, and my positioning - my back started to hurt after about 35 miles and towards the end of the ride my quads and hamstrings were seriously complaining, borderline going on strike at one point. But they delivered me home. I ate quite a bit during the ride, to wit: 4 e-gels, 2 bottles sports drink, 2 clif bars, 1 nut bar thingie, 1 PBJ bagel, 1 banana, 1 turkey&swiss panini. All told, probably a third of what I burnt during the ride. Man, I do this kind of thing once a week I'll be pretty skinny and no mistake.
A funny thing happened about halfway in. I was on some hill on 9W or another, up by Haverstraw, and there was a tempting little voice in my head. "You've already gone 51 miles.." it said, evidenced by my bike computer. "Even if you turn around now, you're going to complete the century distance, which is what you wanted - you don't have to go up Bear Mountain. Look, it might rain. You're tired, and late.. you really miscalculated how long you'd be out here and Axiom is probably worried. Just turn around.. or go to Bear Mountain bridge and turn around there."
FUCK that voice. I didn't go all that way to pussy out. I was tired but not cooked. So before I could listen to that voice and wimp out, I was pulling up to the Bear Mountain turnoff and I just slammed up that little access road, and it was too late to turn around. I had to go do what I came out to do. But boy that was a tempting voice. How did I shut it up? It was true, I didn't HAVE to go up Bear Mountain. I didn't have to do ANY of this! I'm not out there to earn brownie points with Axiom or with my LJ or my mom or with some mythical external judge. I'm out there for me. I said to myself, "I could go home having ridden a century, or I could go home having beaten Bear Mountain. Am I a cyclist, or am I out here wasting my time?" I shut it up by not listening to it.
I may be wasting my time, but I'm doing it for myself, not for anyone else.