That is what I had intended of doing and from an energy expenditure point of view I did. This ride was a first of the season on a few aspects for me. First off it was my first ride alone. I did this a lot last year and forgot how much I enjoy my own company. I provide stimulating conversation, a great whistle to match my cadence up with and when I get mad and curse I can still be "lady like" since no one knows I'm doing it but me . I mapped out a round about course from my house. I'd post the link but I'm not too keen on everyone in the world knowing my home address. The course was a moderate flat with a few rolling hills and one or two short but steep ascents. The beginning was a moderate ascent for 5 miles so I just took my time, nice easy and warmed my legs up. I then hit some nice rollers which I would crouch down low, gear up and mash down the hill to try to get enough momentum to hit the top, most cases I fell just a fad bit short. About 40 mins into the ride and I'm out riding along the country side, I'm warm and it's misting and up to this point I'm having a great time out alone. About an hour in and the mist turns to rain....not a little drizzle, but full on rain! I just tell myself I've got an hour left, I'm already wet so WTF? Got to keep on keepin' on. I realized at about mile 22 that I went the wrong way an my ride was going to be cut short. Oops. So here is moment that I decide to make a stupid decision. Should I A. Go home with 25-26 miles or B tack on additional 8-10 miles. I figure I'm already wet and I'm in the inner suburban city why not just finish the extra few miles up? So I did. BAD choice, BAD, BAD choice. First off the extra miles I choose were rolling hills, with lots of lights. I would get up speed, plummet down the hill only to have to break hard in the rain and stop.....only to have to start with zero momentum climbing up a massive hill. Are you frickening kidding me? Nope, not at all.
1:40 mins in and I started to bonk, not enough nutrition, damn, damn, damn. Thankfully I had some cliff shot blocks and they helped the last few miles out. Which is right when the downpour started. The rain I was riding in turned into a 5 min massive downpour. For the LOVE of GOD! Have mercy on me. 34 miles later and I was VERY happy to be home. I took the hottest longest shower in my life, which was a very painful experience. I was frozen from the wet rains and yesterday I got a bit of a sun burn from the brick on my shoulders and back. The hot water hurt my frozen burnt skin but it's all I could do......
This ride was an easy-moderate energy ride. It was a mental battle, which I think we can all use now and again. Would I have done it again? Oh yea.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
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