Epic Bike Day

Today I rode my bike the farthest I've ever ridden in one day - 80 miles!

I set out this morning on a ride with the Fleet Feet group. There were 4 groups of riders today - those going 20, 35, 50 or 80. Only 3 of us were crazy enough to attempt 80, but what the heck?! Sounded like fun, right?

First, it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, grass was green, the air was warm...it was absolutely perfect. It was topped off by very little wind and not a cloud in the sky!

The ride heads west towards Sauk City and then south into Roxbury and Mazomanie. This part of the ride is mostly flat with a few rolling hills. The guys dropped the girls for this portion of the ride, so it was just Ali, Rebecca and myself riding along.

Once we hit Mazo, we connected back up with Ryan, Jim and Jesse. We then headed south towards Cross Plains. At the 40 mile point, it was the plan that Ryan, Steve and I would break off and do the Ironman loop in reverse while the others headed back in to Fleet Feet. Steve disappeared on us, so it was just Ryan and I attempting this craziness.

The IM loop backwards is punishing! I am certainly glad we are riding it the other way on September 9th. Ryan and I made good time into Mt Horeb. We rode the hills strong but steady and still managed a good pace on the flats. We stopped at Kwik Trip in Mt Horeb and decided we needed food! I filled up both water bottles with water and gatorade. I also purchased a snickers ice cream bar and a coca cola which I promptly ate and drank. We met a few other ironman bikers here, as this is a popular stop for anyone riding the loop.

Heading out of Mt Horeb, though downhill, was all into the wind. After getting out of the wind, we had a climb that lasted for several miles. By the time we hit Verona, we were cached and still had another 14 miles or so to go.

We gutted it out and got back to Fleet Feet. Neither of us felt like eating Chipotle at that point, so I headed home. A few lessons learned:

1) I developed some hot spots in one of my shoes about 60 miles into the ride
2) You shouldn't drink coca cola mid-ride - you'll only need to drink constantly for the rest of the time!
3) A snickers ice cream bar does wonders for the spirit, if nothing else.
4) 80 miles on the bike less than 6 days after a half ironman - HURTS!