I decided to ride the route in reverse and take advantage of the forecasted winds. It was 60 degrees and humid when I left the house which meant no additional layers for the first time this year. I did some quick math and set a goal to finish in 8hrs. The winds were at my back heading west and the body felt good. I was eating breakfast on the bike and riding at a 14mph avg. As I turned north I didn't get the expected tailwind. I'm sure I had some help but it wasn't the 20mph northern ride I expected. Just outside of Redfield, I did have a cool moment with this herd of horses. They came running over to check out what I was doing.
I concentrated on riding steady and didn't bother stopping in Adel. I think it was 10:30 when I arrived in Perry for lunch. Lunch was a little over 20minutes and then I saddled up for the hardest part of the ride. I did add a slice of pizza to the items below for lunch. Not the healthiest, but it works for me.
The winds had not yet shifted to the west, so I had a headwind or side wind for the next 30miles to home. This was the toughest part because I was sure that I wasn't going to hit my goal. It's funny how your math skills go out the window when you are exhausted. As I got closer to Granger, I realized that I could make it to the 100mile mark in under 7:30, so I set that as a goal for the next 10miles. The picture below was to remember my numbers at 100miles exactly. Overall, a result that I can be happy with.
The total ride distance was 104.34 and the GPS info is here:4700feet of climbing and I think that most of it was in the 1st 30 miles. In fact, if anyone is looking for a 50mile loop, the first 1/2 of this to Adel and then into Des Moines would be a good one.
I do have a few more pictures on Flickr, but not much as I was just concentrating on riding on this day.
2 comments:
You are a crazy man.
Great ride Griz. I was wondering if you got your hundy in for the month. :)
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