Tour of Hermann Lap 4

BIKE 53 miles in about 4.75 hours, on the Puppy!

I almost didn't do this! It's a long drive to Hermann (80 miles) and it just seemed an awful long way to drive. And I'd miss out on spending the day with DH. I think that if I wasn't pre-registered, this would not have happened for me. It was cloudy and cool, with the promise to warm up to a whopping 55-60F. So not that warm. That was the other factor making me doubt this.

But the real doubt was coming from self doubt. I honestly didn't think I could do this! I had all the excuses: my hands will hurt, my butt will hurt, my feet will hurt, I'm not used to this bike, I'm not used to these shoes, I haven't ridden outdoors much this year, I haven't ridden this far much at all so far this year....blah blah blah. The self doubt was LOUD in my head on the drive out.

But then there I was in the parking lot, a small lot with a small field of riders prepping. I found my group, learned how hard yesterday was (I did good by delaying a day!), learned that there would be no gas stations on the route (I'm sure my question provoked an eye-roll to the guy gearing up in the next car over), and realized I might be under-prepared with only 3 water bottles. Why didn't I brink the Cbak?

I was also realizing that I was probably going to be over-dressed, but didn't care. I've been too cold too long to complain about being too warm!

We started off and were soon enough on a wonderfully soft, pleasant, shaded, protected trail. TH informed me (another eye-roll moment, lol) that it was the Katy! Heh, duh. So the first 18 miles were perfectly flat and talkable. I was having fun, and being mindful over changing positions on the bike. At the first stop, I started on my new rice fuel -- a squished wad of rice in a sammie bag. Another ride showed me her jelly/fruit-filled rice wad, I might try that next time. Can't be any worse or flavorless than what I had.

Off to the hills! The other rice rider pointed out two major hills on the map, one coming right up. It wasn't bad, but it was just the beginning. TH had better gears than I did for this, but her bike was heavier so we had a mix of advantages and disadvantages. Another advantage for me was that I've been doing lots more cardio this year while she's been healing. So if this was tough for me, it was waaaay tougher for her!

To my surprise my hands, butt, and feet did NOT hurt all that much in the end! I'm not sure why that was - is Puppy fit better? Was my position changing a factor there? I know that my first few rides on Frea aren't this comfy...so it'd be nice to figure this out.

The rice kinda worked, needs more ... something. And I'm not sure it will work for a harder intensity. Certainly not for racing or running.

I loved it, it was like ultra running on a bike! Off in the midst of nowhere, no hurry or pace, casual, just-finish-it goals -- oh, I'm so glad I came out! My season opener! But it's an eye-opener too, a great gauge of early season non-fitness and lack of climbing strength.