8/5/06 Today's Ride
Route: 41.39 miles, 2006 Tour de London course (as of today, anyway).
Weather: partly cloudy, 89 degrees, 3 mph wind.
Performance: average speed 15.9 mph, time 2:36:17. Average HR 146 bpm.
Motionbased.com link: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.mb?episodePk.pkValue=1155472
Comment: My second running of the (revised) Tour de London route. I paced myself the whole way due to the midday heat...the object of this run was more or less just to feel out the route as a whole. I rationed my Gatorade pretty well, although despite the ravenous thirst that develops when you ride a long way on a hot day, 80-degree Gatorade is pretty raunchy. I also got to experience a sinking feeling that I hadn't felt in quite a while. The heat had apparently made me so delirious when I rolled up to the church at the intersection of 586 and 638 that I forgot to unclip. I felt that sickly wobble that comes when you're stopped but you can't put your feet down, and promptly met the asphalt. Thankfully I quickly learned the art of the soft fall and distributed the force between my elbow and knee. So instead of the usual dime-sized knee skin souvenir for the road I only gave up a couple of minor abrasions. I'm not sure what hurt worse -- the fall or the 10 seconds I spent lying on the skillet that is unshaded black concrete in the summertime.
Despite my best intentions I started to fatigue a little at about 30 miles. I think it was the heat mostly, as my legs still felt ok but my heartrate wasn't coming down as quickly as it usually does. Then when I started to get back into town and made a turn I felt something rubbing in the back. I looked down and sure enough it was my back tire. It has been leaky for quite a while now, turning up flat the next day after I pump it up for a ride. But I have taken it on longer rides than this and haven't had it go flat. The good thing was it wasn't totally flat, just a little deflated. When I made it back to my car I checked it and it was just squishy.
Redneck heckler sighting: None, but I did have an interesting encounter yesterday. As I rolled up to the intersection of 25E and Commonwealth Avenue by Arby's, I stopped behind a girl in a white Cavalier. When she saw me behind her, she promptly reached over and rolled up her passenger's side window, then eyed me repeatedly until the light turned green. Intimidating, me.
I noticed these helpful spray painted stencil directional arrows throughout the course. There must be 50 or more of them before, at, and after every turn.
Ahh, scenic London!
Weather: partly cloudy, 89 degrees, 3 mph wind.
Performance: average speed 15.9 mph, time 2:36:17. Average HR 146 bpm.
Motionbased.com link: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.mb?episodePk.pkValue=1155472
Comment: My second running of the (revised) Tour de London route. I paced myself the whole way due to the midday heat...the object of this run was more or less just to feel out the route as a whole. I rationed my Gatorade pretty well, although despite the ravenous thirst that develops when you ride a long way on a hot day, 80-degree Gatorade is pretty raunchy. I also got to experience a sinking feeling that I hadn't felt in quite a while. The heat had apparently made me so delirious when I rolled up to the church at the intersection of 586 and 638 that I forgot to unclip. I felt that sickly wobble that comes when you're stopped but you can't put your feet down, and promptly met the asphalt. Thankfully I quickly learned the art of the soft fall and distributed the force between my elbow and knee. So instead of the usual dime-sized knee skin souvenir for the road I only gave up a couple of minor abrasions. I'm not sure what hurt worse -- the fall or the 10 seconds I spent lying on the skillet that is unshaded black concrete in the summertime.
Despite my best intentions I started to fatigue a little at about 30 miles. I think it was the heat mostly, as my legs still felt ok but my heartrate wasn't coming down as quickly as it usually does. Then when I started to get back into town and made a turn I felt something rubbing in the back. I looked down and sure enough it was my back tire. It has been leaky for quite a while now, turning up flat the next day after I pump it up for a ride. But I have taken it on longer rides than this and haven't had it go flat. The good thing was it wasn't totally flat, just a little deflated. When I made it back to my car I checked it and it was just squishy.
Redneck heckler sighting: None, but I did have an interesting encounter yesterday. As I rolled up to the intersection of 25E and Commonwealth Avenue by Arby's, I stopped behind a girl in a white Cavalier. When she saw me behind her, she promptly reached over and rolled up her passenger's side window, then eyed me repeatedly until the light turned green. Intimidating, me.
I noticed these helpful spray painted stencil directional arrows throughout the course. There must be 50 or more of them before, at, and after every turn.
Ahh, scenic London!
Labels: cycling, today's ride
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7:37 PM
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