Date: July 8Mileage: 25.1
July mileage: 206.0
Temperature upon departure: 54
The Fireweed 400 wrapped up this weekend. Geoff crinkled his face as I read him the results. "Who would want to ride on a road for 400 miles?" he asked. I would! I'm pretty bummed I couldn't get healthy in time to train and plan for this ride. I thought in passing a week ago about buying a plane ticket just so I could go out there and try to survive it, but I shed the thought pretty quickly. Luckily. But still I wonder ... how would it feel to be completely wrecked right now? Even if I ended up sprawled on the finish line, drooling and moaning, it would still feel so great to go full-bore into something and not worry about long-term consequences. Of course I would, though. That's why I'm not there.
As it is, I'm still trying to limit my recreational riding to four days a week, tops. It helps me avoid repetitive-motion flare-ups, and also build strength through other activities. I'd like to get out more often on my mountain bike, but the trails are starting to become icky. The rainy season approaches. And as fun as they are, I'm going to have to limit Sugar's BikeSwim outings if I want him to last another season. But the touring bike just keeps on plugging and plugging away, even as rust creeps across the bolts and bearings. It would have performed brilliantly in the Fireweed 400.
As for the rest of my "season," I'm shooting for a full-12-hour ride by the end of July, the 350-mile Canada loop in mid-August, and then more hiking to prepare for the Grand Canyon in September. None of that is racing, so I guess it's not very interesting. But it gives me enough goals to keep the edge on while I think about taking up Ultrasport training in October. Scary.
When ya'll coming up in Sept?!
ReplyDeleteThat sunset shot (below) is brilliant.
You said.."...None of that is racing, so I guess it's not very interesting..." Just take lots of pics and write up your experiences. Races are great, but any bike ride or travel adventure is a lot of fun to read about.
ReplyDeleteRaces limit the experience in so many ways. No wandering allowed. Hamster loops. Crowds of agro-goo suckers. Give me a determined partner and a swath of woods any day.
ReplyDeleteHey Jill, sorry for commenting on an old post. Feels kind of like walking into a conversation I wasn't invited into...but I saw your note about the Fireweed 400 - it was a crazy ride, but good times. Unfortunately, I had an ulcer issue I was unaware of before starting the race. About 7 hrs into the race I was in bad shape, worse at 12 hrs...and useless after that. But I finished. My crew posted photos and updates along the way alaska400.blogspot.com. Also have done LOTOJA a few times - always a great ride/race. It's gaining in popularity which has made it harder to get registered the past year.
ReplyDeleteLove reading the blog!