Monday – Rode 47 miles with Joel and Jen NW of Albany with
some hills and finished in the dark along the trail from Bowlus to Albany. So
much fun riding with good friends!
Tuesday – Rode 19 miles SW of Richmond with the group. Turned it into an interval training exercise by sagging back and/or waiting for the slower riders, then blasting it to catch the riders up front. Felt great with no after effects of my hard ride on Saturday.
Wednesday – Worked until 10:45 p.m. to get ready to leave on my trip. Not the best preparation for a long ride.
Thursday – Drove to Manistique, Michigan on my way to ride ODRAM. Enjoyed my updated songlist on my phone that kept me entertained.
Friday – Drove from Manistique to Muskegon, but enjoyed an easy 25 mile pre ODRAM warm up last Friday along the West Michigan shoreline trail overlooking Lake Michigan between Charlevoix and Bay Harbor along the way. After all the driving, I wanted to stretch my legs before riding 145 miles the next day. Picked up my ride packet in Montague, then early to bed.
Saturday – Wakened at 5:00 to get to Montague to be ready to
ride at 6:00 a.m. Hit the road at 6:30 in the early dawn with wet roads (spray
for many miles, but no rain the whole way), about 100% humidity but temperatures
below 70 (which didn’t get much warmer until after noon with a high of 75 –
pretty lucky in terms of temps).
Rode the 146.2 miles in 10 hours
and 5 minutes of riding (12:15 total elapsed time arriving at 6:45 p.m.) with
at 14.4 mph average with Anne and Glenda. They were great riding companions and
their husbands played SAG with a wonderful supporting spirit, meeting us every
20 miles or so (15 miles near the end).
The hills early on were not as
much an issue as the profile would indicate, with few very steep or very long. The
mile 72-95 stretch was the worst, with crappy roads, some hills and a nasty
headwind. At 95 miles, we were not especially looking forward to another 50
miles of this. But, the next 20 were great, with smoother roads, lessening
winds and no hills. What a morale booster! After that, it was just a matter of
grinding it out on 30 miles of flat roads at an easy pace. I was glad to be
done, but nowhere so tired that I could not have gone further. Another milestone passed – in fine fashion.
Bring on DALMAC with 4 centuries back to back planned – another test.
(Sorry, I don't look too happy in this photo.) :)
(It was a long day, getting up at 5:00 and not
getting to bed until the next 1:30 a.m. after the bus ride back to Montague.)
Sunday – Drove back home in nine and half hours. Walked the 4
miles around Cleary Lake with Linda to stretch my legs and get the blood
moving. Felt pretty good, with little stiffness and soreness – a great sign
that I am getting in shape.
Goal: 80-100 miles during the week, plus whatever on the weekend
Total week miles: 91 during week plus the 145 mile ODRAM on Saturday. Weekly goal achieved.
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