Week #21 DIYXL

Week #21 - 514 miles

So 300+ miles is hard no matter how well you are prepared. I would say overall, I had a good day. There were so rough patches along the way, but I would like to think of it as a great learning experience.
The first 100+ miles were just down the trail past Beatrice starting at midnight. The rain had stopped but the trail was a little soft in places. I felt real good and the miles went bye fairly quick. On the second loop I rode most of it with Ean Kiddoo. We headed northeast of Brainard and did most of the climbing during the day. My legs were struggling a bit on quite a few of the climbs. Between mile 150 - 180 seemed to take forever. As I was getting back into town, I started to feel a little sick to my stomach. I stopped into a gas station and had a Sprite and some food to get me home. Once I was able to get home and get more food into me, began to feel a bit better. For the next 60+ miles Josh Shear joined me and we headed out on MoPac. We kept the pace steady the whole way, but I was having a hard time eating much. I stopped and got another Sprite and had some solid food on the way back into town. Just the little pick-me-up I needed. Once we got back into town, I had a nice surprise and Kris Hartner was going to get to ride the last 35 miles with me. We headed down the Jamaica Trail and picked up a little bit of gravel in the middle of the ride.
So I ended the day with 302 miles at 18:36 ride time (16.2 mph) and 20:42 overall (14.3 mph). I probably took a little longer at the stops than I had originally planned, but then I was trying to set any records during this ride. Always a good day when you get to push the boundaries of your body. I feel that I learned a few good tips on what I need to do differently the next time I tackle something like this.