Sunday was a 5 hour bike ride and it felt like a 6 hour ride with the wind. I was tired and sore from the day before and tried to just put that in the back of my mind. The plan/course was to bike from home and head out 125 past Georgetown, Ohio and come back with a small 10-mile loop up 133 towards Owensville.
I left the house at 2 pm and felt fine once I started cycling. I did take a turkey sandwich with me unlike my last long ride where I relied on PowerBars, GU, Peanuts, Snickers Bar, Gatorade and Water for nutrition. The first 10 miles were pretty smooth and I focused heavily on the road as there were a lot of potholes that I had to avoid on 125 through Amelia. Once my swerving was behind me it was pretty smooth the rest of the way and the roads were quite good. The weather was in the 60s with a bright sun poking through beautiful clouds and winds that were pretty brutal (I would soon realize).
The first 33.5 miles were with the wind although I didn't quite realize it at the time. I was hitting speeds of 25-30 mph on flat spots which was amazing. I normally average 18 to maybe 21. It was pretty uneventful heading out to Georgetown which was kind of nice as I was able to absorb some of the serene countryside and enjoy the ride. Once I turned around beyond Georgetown the wind hit me a like the force of 3 jet engines 1 foot from my face. It was everything I could do to average 10 mph. I have read that wind training is equivalent to climbing hills and I believe it. I stopped at a UDF in Georgetown to fuel up on Gatorade, Water, Turkey Sandwich and a Snickers Bar (about mile 40 of the ride) knowing what was ahead.
The ride out of Georgetown goes down a steep hill to a creek bridge and then back up a steep hill. I found myself holding on to the bike very hard as the wind was pushing me around going down. I even slowed down quite a bit to make sure it didn't knock me over, which in turn killed my momentum going up the other side. I was being safe and I knew I wasn't setting any records today with the wind in my face.
Once I crested that hill the wind persisted the rest of the way with 20-30 mph gusts at times, which were fun. I continued to just crawl along and it kicked my butt hard. As I came into Bethel my left foot under the toe clip area was throbbing bad and got progressively worse with each pedal push. I thought about stopping at East Fork Lake but pressed on in hopes of making it home.
Well, one mile after East Fork I couldn't pedal anymore and just pulled off the road around mile 63. My foot was just throbbing and I couldn't bare the pain. I was thinking I am going to have to call Kristin to come pick me up. I still had 17 miles to go and really wanted to make it home so I decided to massage my foot and take a short 5-10 minute break. I ate a PowerBar, drank a Gatorade and had some Water. It then dawned on me that I brought an extra pair of socks thinking it might rain along the way. I slipped the new thin socks on first and then my old socks back on thinking that extra padding might just help. I stood the bike up and clicked my shoes in place. I began to pedal and surprisingly it didn't hurt anymore. I was amazed and it was a great lesson to not be afraid to stop and try things to help alleviate any pains.
The wind was still strong but seemed a bit less now that the foot pain was gone. I just stayed focused and covered the last 17 miles to finish the 5 hour ride (80 miles total). As I pulled into my neighborhood I kept saying "Wow, that absolutely kicked my butt." I was very satisfied to have completed this weekend's workouts as they were the hardest yet.
As typical, my 4-year old son Braden, who has no comprehension of time or distance, wanted to play and race when I got home. So, he had me running laps around our family room in a race. He won as he is really fast. At least that is what he says and I fully agree.
I think I will go lay down now.
I now, officially, think you're nuts!
Posted by: Paul | May 20, 2008 at 08:55 PM