It's hard to know whether to brag about a 15-hour 100-mile ride. I watched Ymte Sijbrandij ride about 93 miles in three hours this spring, and Fast Freddy Markham went over 50 miles in an hour this summer. The guys in the Tour de France put in 100+ miles day after day. Still, I'm happy to be able to ride 100 miles in one day. This year, I did the ride on the day before my birthday because of the opportunity to combine it with two group rides. The St. Paul Classic normally attracts some 7000 riders, but a cold drizzle kept some of the crowds away this year. The Calhoun Cycle recumbent ride has exceeded 100 riders, but only a couple dozen showed up, and the ride was shortened. I rode our Greenspeed 20/20 GTO trike, averaging about 10 miles per hour, including rest stops, on the 30-mile route of the Classic. Dale and I rode over to Calhoun Cycle in the Cab-Bikes, getting in about 4 miles, but he had a sore foot, and I decided to switch back to the Greenspeed for further riding. The Cab-Bike felt slow and heavy after riding the Greenspeed. Oddly enough, I was actually not riding any slower, but open trikes just feel so fast. I didn't want to stress my knees on the hills by trying to keep up with lighter bikes. As it ended up, I missed the group and met them on the return loop. The last quarter of the 100-miles, I rode on the lake paths. Normally, they feel completely flat, but the little rises felt like mountains, and my speed dropped below 10 mph by the end of the ride. The odometer on the Greenspeed showed just over 100 miles when I pulled into the driveway. I had calculated that there was probably a 4% error, though; I figured that the 4 Cab-Bike miles would provide a guarantee that it was really a 100-mile day.
Monday, September 11, 2006
100 mile ride
It's hard to know whether to brag about a 15-hour 100-mile ride. I watched Ymte Sijbrandij ride about 93 miles in three hours this spring, and Fast Freddy Markham went over 50 miles in an hour this summer. The guys in the Tour de France put in 100+ miles day after day. Still, I'm happy to be able to ride 100 miles in one day. This year, I did the ride on the day before my birthday because of the opportunity to combine it with two group rides. The St. Paul Classic normally attracts some 7000 riders, but a cold drizzle kept some of the crowds away this year. The Calhoun Cycle recumbent ride has exceeded 100 riders, but only a couple dozen showed up, and the ride was shortened. I rode our Greenspeed 20/20 GTO trike, averaging about 10 miles per hour, including rest stops, on the 30-mile route of the Classic. Dale and I rode over to Calhoun Cycle in the Cab-Bikes, getting in about 4 miles, but he had a sore foot, and I decided to switch back to the Greenspeed for further riding. The Cab-Bike felt slow and heavy after riding the Greenspeed. Oddly enough, I was actually not riding any slower, but open trikes just feel so fast. I didn't want to stress my knees on the hills by trying to keep up with lighter bikes. As it ended up, I missed the group and met them on the return loop. The last quarter of the 100-miles, I rode on the lake paths. Normally, they feel completely flat, but the little rises felt like mountains, and my speed dropped below 10 mph by the end of the ride. The odometer on the Greenspeed showed just over 100 miles when I pulled into the driveway. I had calculated that there was probably a 4% error, though; I figured that the 4 Cab-Bike miles would provide a guarantee that it was really a 100-mile day.
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1 comment:
Congratulations Mary!
i also would like to cycle to Giessen this year, 2 days 180 kilometres and then 1 day 160 kilometres (and vice versa after 1 day of rest).
Up and down the hills with a quest. But, as you know we are very busy with our child. So the priorities have moved. It could be some time before we can have these kind of trips again. I am very envious...
Greetings from sunny Holland,
Jack
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