I rode 13.6 miles this morning in cool, fresh sunshine. Warmed up for the first 6, stopping to eat a peanut-butter-and-jam and chase it with a double espresso at the Starbucks in Safeway at Tanasbourne. It was 8 am when I left the parking lot, heading south on 185th. 45 minutes later I was home, stopping only to pencil in mileage on my photocopied map.
I've been "training" since March, with the idea of riding 80 miles on my 80th birthday, which is September 28 (2011) and it's been a gas. The Hillsboro area is perfect for cycling, and since most of the roads around my home have a bike lane, I just ride my bike out of the garage and I'm on my way.
I rode 64.1 miles on the "Tour de Parks" ride last Saturday sponsored by the WashCo BTC(Washington County Bicycle Transportation Coalition) which was my longest by far. I started at 8am and finished about 4pm. Not bad, in a way, but at that rate I would take about ten hours to go 80 miles, and my butt was sore enough after eight. So I'm dropping back to shorter distances, riding faster, and hoping to develop enough stamina to do the 80 miles in the same time it took me last Saturday to do 64.1.
So today I did 7.6 miles in 45 minutes which is 10+ mph, right? So now all I have to do is keep that up for 8 hrs? Piece of cake.
I'll be logging my progress (or lack of it?) here for the next two months, so that anyone else contemplating getting off the couch can learn from my experience. I'll hope to keep it lively and to the point, but -- fair warning -- this is my first attempt at blogging, and right now I'm feeling a little technologically challenged by the interface. 'Til tomorrow...
Hugh, are you wearing bike shorts with a chamois pad? With all the hours you are spending on the saddle, you might want to smear some chamois lotion on to protect those tender areas. I think most people apply the lotion to the skin where the body meets the friction areas.
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