Yesterday's ride

Prep for the Gut Check can begin to take on new form now that we've had a taste of warmer weather. We'll still be yo-yoing a bit between spring and winter for a few weeks, but I've had two road rides now and I am pleased with where my condition is. I'm down about 13 pounds from where I started around Christmas (and from where I was most of last season) and have spent much more time on the trainer than I have in off-seasons past.

Yesterday's ride was one that I knew had the potential to be fairly long and might hurt a bit. I had blocked out three hours to ride with Bryan Brinkman and when I met up with him I discovered that Mike Dunlap would be going with us as well. That's when I knew that it was not going to be an easy, early season, rolling kind of ride. At least not for me.

Mike and Bryan both are very fit and Mike is in full preparations for this summers Race Across America (RAAM) which he qualified for last year. For those unfamiliar, RAAM is a full race across the country where riders all start at the same time and ride their own pace, on their own schedule until they reach the other coast. They often sleep in 3-4 hour blocks and some of the stories to come out of the race are absolutely epic. You can follow Mike on his blog and see what he's up to.

I didn't make any excuses and just sat third wheel the entire ride. Both guys are significantly stronger riders than I am, but if I want to become stronger, these are the kind of guys I need to be riding with. My only goal was to hang on and not get dropped. It was tough, but I hung in for 48 miles, only bobbing off the back for the last three, before they needed to turn west and I needed to turn east for home. Our average at that point was probably around 19 mph and Mike never looked the least bit uncomfortable while Bryan looked strong as well for an early season ride.

After I turned, I just concentrated on keeping moving. My legs screamed, my back and neck were a bit sore and I hurt so bad that it almost hurt to blink. I limped home muttering under my breath and then dragged my carcass into the house. All told, I had finished with 58 miles, averaging 17.8 mph (I'd obviously dropped off the pace after leaving Mike and Bryan), burning 3232 calories with an average heart rate of 162. I was pleased with all of this except the heart rate. I need to get some more base miles at a lower average heart rate to really prepare for a race like the Gut Check, but I will need rides like this to push me to improve my overall quality as a ride. And to teach me how to suffer.