Friday, June 11, 2010

47.6 Miles


47.6 miles! The most I've ever done on my road bike! I feel great too. My back did better on this ride than on any ride I've done before. We did most of the 38-mile loop we did last week but added coming home on the Springwater by way of the river. As I rode I thought about the things I have learned since I started doing long rides:
  • Drink plenty of water before you leave. You can only carry so much.
  • Eat before you are hungry and drink before you are thirsty. We've started eating every 15 miles even if we don't feel like it.
  • Stretch while you ride. I do this on-bike stretch where I push my hips forward toward the handlebars. Then, I ride standing up for a bit and then stretch again. I do it every 5 miles whether I feel like I need it or not.
  • Change hand positions frequently.
  • Point out bumps or holes in the road to your riding buddy and signal if you have to slow down. Peter actually ran into me today when a kid swerved toward me and I had to brake suddenly.
  • It's amazing what getting off the bike and walking around for 10 minutes will do.
  • Rest days are important.
  • Shrugging up your shoulders and then dropping them down actually relieves pressure off the neck and low back. I do this repeatedly while I ride.
  • 3+hours of cardio makes me lose my appetite, but I can easily down a sports drink with protein powder when I get home. A couple of hours later I'll be ready to eat.
Today was the first day that I really felt like I could have fun on RAGBRAI. I could have easily done 60 today if I needed to. But, for now I'll just celebrate feeling this great after 47.6. Woo hoo!

1 comment:

  1. Congratulations on your longest ever road ride. Nicely done. Looks like you're ready for RAGBRAI.

    When it comes to water, the intake after the ride is very important as well. Be sure to drink 12oz for every pound lost out on the ride. Another important one is protein after the ride, but sounds like you've got that under control.

    Darryl

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