New Route = More Miles

After a two-day break from riding, it was time to get back on the bike. I woke hungry this morning, and it's my own fault. I went to bed last night without dinner because I had a large lunch and wasn't hungry. After packing our gear, bikes, and beverages, we had a few minutes, so we sat down for quick bowl of cereal. We grabbed a couple bananas, frappuccinos, and orange juice for the road.

This week, Dad said he'd like to go biking with us on Sunday. Pete and I picked up Dad and headed for the Woman Hollering Creek route. This is a new route for me. It's not far from the Cibolo route we've been riding regularly, so I'm not too worried about the route. Still flat(ish). Still out in the country. Same road surfaces. Minimal traffic. Pete enjoys the route, so I'm looking forward to it.

Pete and I have our routine down and are usually geared and ready to go at the same time. The three of us head out. We barely roll out of the parking lot, I begin to get adjusted into position on the saddle, and we head up a hill. It's not much of a hill, but when you're not yet in your groove, it slows you down. We cross over the highway with a couple of other riders and begin to get into the flow. I'm pedaling along when I hear a man say, "On your left." I don't recognize the voice, so I look over and it's a rider in a Velo Valero jersey. We exchange some quick pleasantries and he's on his way.

The further I pedal, the more I'm feeling the effects of my larger-than-usual breakfast. I thought I was going to have to stop at some point to leave some of it behind. I manage to drink more water instead and keep on pedaling. I share the thrilling discovery with Pete and he's not concerned. Sure enough, not much further and I've forgotten about it. This much exercise sure helps you to digest quickly. That, or my body was hunting for energy and found it.

There is a low-water crossing about a quarter of a way along the route. Pete had told me about it and then coached me through it again as we approached. As luck would have it, just as we begin the downhill portion of the narrow, low-water crossing a car approaches from behind. Thankfully, the car seems to know the road and hangs back, so I enjoy the downhill. Once I'm across the bridge I have a view of the road ahead and the uphill. I take off on my attack of the hill. Pete crests the hill and turns right, I can see the road is clear, so I signal the car by and wave my appreciation as he passes. We pull off and wait for Dad, on his recumbent bike, to get up the hill.

As I pedal along, I find myself enjoying the scenery a bit more. Is it because it's a new route to me? Is it because I'm improving at cycling? Is it because there are no trees (also no shade) to block the wind or the view? I'm not sure, but I'm enjoying the ride. Pete and I stop at the top of the hills to wait for Dad. He walks up some of them, as it's faster to walk the hill than ride a recumbent up a hill. Sometimes he takes a break with us at the top and other times he asks directions as he keeps on rolling by.

We stop after 14 miles and Pete tells me I need to eat something to replenish my electrolytes. I'm not hungry and I still feel full, but he has a point. My options are Gu or Clif bar. I cannot imagine eating a whole Clif bar right now, so I opt to try Gu for the first time. It was like sucking on an individual packet of icing. Talk about needing a water chaser! If I wasn't thirsty before I ate the Gu, I sure needed water afterward. Dad rolls by, we finish our Gu, and we're back on our way.

The road bends, and now we have a head wind. I don't know how much of a head wind it was today, but I sure didn't like it. Does that make me a wuss of a rider? Maybe. Ask me if I care! I found myself using my low "hill climbing" gears in an effort to struggle along the flat roads bucking the wind. Ugh!

Then the fun begins. We approach a hill and it does not look fun. Pete is too far ahead of me to offer any pointers, or words of wisdom about the looming hill. I start the self-talk to cheer myself on, but that devil on the other shoulder is whispering too. So, I decide to go for the "let's make a deal" tactic. The hill appears to be broken into three sections. There are two clear lines where the asphalt color changes. I decide I cannot slow down my attack until I get to the first line. I take the challenge a step further and decide I cannot shift into the small ring until the second line. Before I know it, I've hit the first line and I'm still working on my deals. So I decide to adjust and keep on the attack until the second line. "This hill isn't as bad as it appeared." But I look up and Pete is now out of sight. "Just keep on pedaling. Slow and steady will get you up the hill." I realize I'm going to run out of gears if I don't get into the small ring. But, the bike doesn't want to go there. I try sweet talking and that doesn't work. So, I down shift and the bike jumps to the small ring! I quickly up shift and probably only missed a beat or two in my cadence as I make my way up the hill. Finally at the top, I'm so excited that I didn't stop, handled the shifting issue, and realized that just because the hill looks bad, doesn't mean it's really all that bad.

I've discovered at some point on today's ride that I need to use the shoes and pedals to their fullest potential. After I attack a hill and I'm trying to maintain my cadence, I focus on pulling up on the pedals rather than forcing my feet down struggling to get the wheels to go around. Not only does this give the bottoms of my feet a break, but it changes the muscles I'm using in my legs and feels a bit energizing. I also notice when I do this that my cadence increases three to five rpms. I'll take it!

We turn the corner and I'm ready for a flat ride with a crosswind. This flat is a bit of a struggle though. I pedal up the little incline and think it'll get better at the top of that. No such luck! Now I've lost sight of Pete and we're entering a "town". I'm beginning to feel the burn, the heat of the sun, and my butt isn't very happy. I see an intersection ahead, a stop sign warning sign, and I'm hoping Pete stopped at the intersection. As I approach, I don't see him. Then I glance right through the empty lot and there he is under a tree just beyond the intersection. Yay! Shade and break time!

I jump off the bike and begin to get feeling back in my butt. I have to adjust the liner of my pants. It is definitely time to get some appropriately padded shorts rather than these capri pants with padded liner. I'll have to fix that this week, I think. I look at the bike computer and we've gone 20 miles. Oddly, I'm not tired. I don't like the sun, but otherwise, I'm feeling good about the ride. My hands are a bit numb, especially my right, so I stretch and shake a bit trying to get the blood flowing again. This only happens on the bike (so far) when I'm really tired and leaning on my hands. With the "false flat" we just finished, I'm not surprised that I was leaning on my hands.

Dad catches up and gets off the bike and lays in the grass. He is done! He says he's too hot and his knees hurt. He's been walking up some of the hills. He figures it'll take him just as long to pedal with us back to the truck as it will for us to pedal and come pick him up with the truck. So, we leave Dad to a nap in the shade and head out.

Pete sticks close and I try to work on maintaining a pace with him. It doesn't work as much as I would like it to. I suppose the end of the ride when you're tired is the wrong time to work on pushing yourself like this. We approach I-10 and I see an opportunity for a shade break. We pull over and hop off the bike one more time. After a brief break, and rolling hill coaching, I'm ready to finish this route.

We roll out and Pete agrees to stick to my wheel as I make my way, at my pace, up the rolling hills. I should mention these are big rolling hills, not the little rollers I've been conquering during the week. This is the busiest road we ride on for this route, so not only am I dealing with hills, but now there's traffic too. Pete coaches me along and it keeps me moving. I'm not worried about cars approaching from behind as he'll warn me if I'm too wide. The shoulder is full of gravel, and sometimes it's necessary to cross the white line. Slow and steady, I keep on moving. I enjoy the brief downhills and try to use the energy to help me attack the next uphill. Pete had told me as soon as you see the stadium, the uphills are over. What he hadn't said (or I hadn't remembered) was as soon as you see the stadium, you have a large downhill. Pete let out a cheer and I grinned and let the good times roll. I've been watching my cadence and speed (rather than distance) all day and I keep glancing down at my speed. No cars are passing me now, but I'm not speeding either. I brake a bit as I can see a break in the fence, but don't know if there is a blind driveway approaching. I maxed out on the hill at 30.1 mph!

A brief uphill and a turn, we pedal into the parking lot and I've made it! I'm so excited. I'm tired, but I'm thrilled. Pete parks his bike and runs over to give me a huge hug! It was the best finish I've had yet. I was celebrating. Pete was celebrating and proud of me. I'm amazed that I outlasted Dad. He's completed a 15o mile bike ride (on the recumbent) and is clearly in better shape than I. I'm glad that he knew his limit and wasn't too proud to say so. There is a lot of celebrating as we load up the bikes and I revel in the fact that I have just biked 26 miles in one day!

Goals
Today's Miles: 26.7
Total Miles Achieved: 210.4
Financial Investment: $863.55
Total Weight Loss: 0