Miles: 77
Powerbars: 1
Starbucks Coffees: 1
Coke: 1L
Fun: 1 ton
It was time for the real training rides to start, and for today's ride I had mapped out a 77 mi. route that I knew would put a little jolt into everyone's program. Our nine-man group started out with 30 miles or so of flat paceline, taking us from Abita Springs through Bush and Sun and back West toward Enon. Then the fun began. We turned North away from the Bouge Chitto river and into the low rolling hills and at the same time picked up the pace a notch or so. Though much of our ride was on smooth asphalt, we also blasted through Sie Jenkins Rd. and Moore Rd., the latter qualifying as a road only on a technicality. For some reason, I love that slightly out-of-control feeling of riding down this stretch of curvy, battered macadam as a faster-than-recommended speed. The group was riding strong today, and someone attacked almost every climb and sprinted for every town sign.
By the time we stopped in Enon, just past 50 miles, I could feel the burning in my quads. The Enon store was closed, with a sign taped to the door that said "closed because of cold weather." It was around 55F. We didn't hang around very long and started out on the last 25 mile leg with a nice little tailwind. As usual, things kind of came apart on the climb up the watchtower hill as a couple of riders were starting to feel the effects of the hills and pace.
I felt good about this ride, and although I'll probably be a little sore tomorrow, it was definitely worth it.
As I got back into town there were already crowds of people staking out their spots along Veterans Blvd. in anticipation of the afternoon's Mardi Gras parade, and shortly after I got home a long line of floats went past on its way to line up for tonight's parades on St. Charles Ave.
Looks like it's Mardi Gras Time!
2 comments:
Randy,
I like your posts alot. For us riders considering going with you, can you tell how long it took you to do the 77 miles and how often/long you took a break? Also your week day rides on the levee, how long do you normally go. When you say Tues/Thur is long rides, how long miles and time?
Thanks.
For the Sunday ride, we left Abita Springs around 8:15 I guess, and got back around 12:30. A typical average speed for these rides is usually around 20 mph. since we do a lot of easy double paceline for the first hour or so. We stopped at the store in Enon for maybe 10 minutes while a couple of the guys ate energy bars or whatever, and, as often happens when it's chilly, we had a few little "nature breaks" for those who had coffee before the ride. The "long" levee rides are around 21 mi. each way on the levee, depending on where you meet the group. If we start at 6:15 and there aren't a bunch of flats, we're usually back around 8 a.m. A few minutes earlier if it's really fast; a few minutes later if it's slow.
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