Why Saturday is Best for Long Bike Rides

I usually do my long bike on Saturday morning, and my long run on Sunday morning. However, I spent yesterday helping my daughter move into her dorm at UNC.

Go Heels!

So, I decided to do combine the two workouts on Sunday into one long brick.

I had a great workout. One thing I learned tho, is that rural gas stations are not always open on Sunday morning! I ended up riding off course to find water today!

Planned a new ride

I plotted out a 50 mile bike route near Lake Jordan that covers lots of hills to ride with my swim buddy next week. I took parts of my regular training grounds, a bike club cue sheet I followed once – and I mixed in some unknown territory. Here’s what I came up with: http://veloroutes.org/bikemaps/?route=19433 It’s about 12 miles from my house to the start point of this route. That means the whole ride adds up to about 75 miles.

I didn’t want to ride that much today, but I wanted to work the kinks out of this new route, so I plotted out a shorter version: http://veloroutes.org/bikemaps/?route=19458

Riding out the door, tho, I just happily started riding the longer lake ride. Oh crap, I thought, I didn’t really want to ride THAT far today. Oh well, here I go…

I definitely ran into some kinks today…

Finding Water

About two hours into the ride, I realized I hadn’t planned water stops. Luckily, I knew where a gas station was, and rode about 6 miles off course to get to it. Damn, it was closed on Sunday. The only other place on my route was Frosty’s, which I know from past experience is also closed on Sundays. (actually, I passed Frosty’s later in the ride, and I think it is closed for good.)

I looked around the closed gas station for a water spigot. Nothing. There was a guy filling the air in his vintage Chevy Nova. He didn’t look too friendly. I asked if he knew where another gas station was. He seemed annoyed at my question, but pointed south down 54 toward Pittsboro. I headed that way, and about 1/2 mile down the road, there was an Exxon that was open. Phew.

Not Enough Money

I didn’t plan my day too well: I only had 3 Gu’s. Not enough for what might end up as a 5 hour bike ride. So, I better buy some food, in addition to water. I dug into my gear bag and only had $3. I went into the store and got a gallon jug of water and some Fig Newtons. I asked the cashier how much it would be with tax, showing her my measly three bucks. She rang it up and said “$3.04, but don’t worry about the four cents.” I thanked her and proceeded out the door to fill up my three water bottles and stow my fig newtons for later.

I checked my map, and the road next to the Exxon would take me back to my planned route, so headed that way. Since some of this was new territory, I had to stop about a dozen times to check the map. I did make a wrong turn once, only out of idiocy, not because my map was wrong. I figured it out after about 4 miles, when I hit Hwy 87. I knew I didn’t plan a stint on Hwy 87! I looked on the map and realized my mistake. Maps are so much easier for me to follow than cue sheets. If you make a wrong turn on a cue sheet, then your mileage count is all messed up. And if you get lost, how do you find your way back home?

Haw River & Lots of Hills

All in all, this was a fantastic route. I rode over the Haw River twice, once on E Greensboro, and again on Chicken Bridge Rd. Both bridges were high up above the “gorge”. I guess you’d call that a gorge. It was really neat, anyway.

There were so many great hills to tackle, too. I mostly rode in Zone 2, keeping it fun and easy, but did work the hills. When I finally got home, it was 82 miles and over 5 hours later! I made a pace of 16.3 mph, which is really fantastic considering how much I had to stop and look at the map. I’m really glad I struck out into new territory today. I was getting bored with old familiar routes.

When my ride was done, I was kinda tired, but…still had to go out for my long run.

Then, A Long Run

So, I drank a Boost, put my running gear on, and headed out for the 9.25 mile run. I ran the first mile at a “good solid pace” just to see what I could do after a long bike. I ran it in 9:22. I was pleased with that pace. The rest of the time, I kept it easy Zone 2 run. I’d check my watch every once in a while to make sure my HR hadn’t crept up, and sometimes had to ease off on my effort level. I felt strong for about 6 miles. Then I was pretty beat and just wanted it to be over. The last mile, a blister on my foot started hurting real bad.

I’m too tired and too hungry to write any more. After really long workouts, or really hard races, I float between states of exhaustion and hunger the rest of the day, and am not much good for anything else.