Week #35 400 miles in 24:54:05

 

Week #35 - 585 miles

I managed to accomplish my goal of getting 400 miles in. The first 3 100s went really well. I felt really strong and I seemed to get my nutrition right. Josh came out and road the 3rd lap with me. It helped to have someone there for at least part of the day. The last 100 started out ok, but the temperature started to drop fast. I had a few extra clothes with me, just didn't turn out to be enough. I had to stop quite a few times to try to warm up on the way back.Very pleased with how my body held up and I know I would have been a lot faster at the end if I had not got so cold. It looks like there are a couple races still scheduled in October but I am still debating on doing them. The last big thing I would like to do this year is get the ride from Kansas to South Dakota border.

Week #34 Some good, Some bad

 Week #34 - 520 miles

This was my 7th week of 500+ miles for 2020 and yes my legs are a bit tired. I was able to mix things up a bit this week with some more time at the new Van Dorn Mnt. Bike trail. I rode the fatty for about 25 miles on Wednesday and that was a workout and a half. I think my legs are still feeling it! I also bought a mountain bike (Kona Unit X) and hopefully it will be ready on Tuesday. Looking forward to mixing things up even more the remaining of the year. The ultimate goal is to do some bikepacking on it - hopefully in Colorado next year. I would really like to do the Colorado Trail, just need to find someone to join. Saturday was supposed to be a big day of 180ish miles. I felt a bit sluggish from the start and then when I met up with everyone who was doing the GW course. At first I thought things were going ok but the pace was fairly quick for my tired legs. Once I got to around 100 miles in for the day, the wheels fell off. I decided to bail and ride to Denton and refuel. After getting some cold liquids and food in me, I felt ok. Made the decision just to ride home and glad I did. I was a bit beat up from the ride and went to bed early. Today I needed 80 miles to get to my goal of 500 miles for the week. Told myself once I got to 40 miles I would decide if I wanted to go for my 47th 100+ day. Legs were feeling good and glad I did. Met up with Josh (glad he is back on the bike) and rode the last few miles with him. I think I will try to do a big day on next Saturday. Looking to get at least 24 hours in. The goal is 4 times to Beatrice and back. This gives me a chance to come back to the house to refuel and let Roxanne out. We will see how that goes.

Week #33 I do believe fall is coming

 

Week #33 - 451 miles

Hopefully the weather is starting to cool a bit. This has been a strange year and the weather has not been normal either. It seem like the wind has blown more this year and lots of hot days. The good thing is I went over 90K Strava miles this week and my legs are starting to come back around. Saturday was a great day even though the gravel was loose and there were lots of climbing. I haven't rode up by Prague enough this year. I really enjoy the climbing and hopefully will get a few more rides up there this fall. I know that there may be a couple races trying to happen this fall, but I am still planning on a couple big rides to pass the time. I really need to get this Kansas to South Dakota ride in!

Week #32 My legs are still trying to recover

 

Week #32 - 407 miles

My legs might still be in recovery mode. I went down to Beatrice on Saturday to do another one of Joe's courses. It was great to see some new roads and ride a few MMRs also. I started a little after 4am, which is one reason my legs were tired, so I got a couple hours in the dark. The clouds stayed in until later in the day which made for a "not too bad" of a day. There was a little more wind than expected, but it is Nebraska. I hit 13,000 miles for the year this week and it was my 8th week of 400+ miles. Another reason I may be a little tired. Still debating what is next for me. I know a couple of the races may be happening, but I still want to get in another big ride this fall. Hoping the Kansas to South Dakota route takes place. I just need to get it figured out.

Week #31 Our Epic ride was just epic in other ways

Week #31

Week #31 - 439 MilesWe set off from Denver on Friday morning at 3am to do this epic ride. The first 80 miles were awesome and uneventful. When we go to Colorado Springs and headed up to Pikes Peak things took a turn. The road was closed so the police could investigate a homicide. We had to reroute and ended up taking some gravel, which would have been great but I was on a road bike. The gravel was fairly smooth but with some steep pitches. After the big gravel climb, Clayton was having some back issues along with his stomach. When we got to 140ish miles we took on another gravel section but this time it included some single track. Finally we had to double back to Divide and decided that Mt Evans was also going to be out of the question on that day. I ended up riding back to Denver with Andy and Jonathan and getting in 250 miles. Unfortunately, Clayton had to stop at 160 miles because of his back issues. I will be back to take on at least one of the climbs and maybe as soon as this fall. We did have a great day on the bike even though it did not go as planned. I am not exactly sure what my next adventure is going to be. I still want the ride from Kansas to South Dakota to happen, just have to figure out some logistics.