Week #39 Another solid week on the bike

 

Week #39 - 527 miles

As the weather gets a little cooler, there has been some nice days on the bike. It was really chilly on Saturday morning, but it warmed up nicely and I got in 102 miles with the group. Sunday was another 100 miles to get me close to 10,000 miles for the National Bike Challenge. Last year I missed it by about 80 miles so it will be good to have it done this year. It also looks like Lincoln will win again for its size of city.

A couple of things are happening in the next couple weeks. Sto Mil is on Saturday - I may ride up there and do the first lap and ride home. That should be around 140 miles. The week after that I am going to Kansas to ride the Flint Hills Nature Trail with JR. That day should be around 180+ miles. Should be a fun time and hopefully the weather cooperates. 

Week #38 Rolled over 15K today

 

Week #38 - 494 miles

Got over the 15,000 mile mark today. Been a good year, even without trying to put in a ton of miles. It helps when 3 of your races are over 300+ miles and there have been 3 training rides of 200+ miles. 

Yesterday Kevin and I rode down to Marysville and it turned out to be a really nice day for it. The wind stayed down and when we headed home there was a little tailwind to help us. My back was a little sore from staying in the aerobars for most of the day and there was basically zero climbing. It was good practice, since I am planning on doing the Flint Hills Nature Trail (180+ miles) in a few weeks. I do think there is a little more climbing in that ride but still not much.

Week #37 Pony Express Gravel Dash 3rd Overall

 

Week #37 - 473 miles

Saturday was my 3rd time down at the Pony Express Gravel Dash and was able to pull off a 3rd place overall. I wasn't planning on racing real hard but my legs felt good early on so I stayed with the lead group. There were about 5 of us that traded pulls for the first 50ish miles. Once we got past the second checkpoint things started to break up. Lee took off from the front and I wasn't able to hold his wheel anymore. Kevin caught back up with me soon afterwards but my legs said they were done for the day. The last 25 miles I tried just to keep a steady pace incase either one of the guys had a mechanical but that never happened. Happy to get a hard ride in but I can honestly say it is more fun to go for a lot longer at a slower pace. Now I have finished on all three places of the podium which I am not sure anyone else has done. Next up is Sto Mil 100 miler in October and I am also planning on riding the Flint Hills Nature Trail round trip (180 miles).

Week #36 So I decided that this was a good idea

 

 

Week #36 - 562 miles

August - 1836 miles

Saturday I wanted to ride the entire MoPac Trail into Papillion. Once I got back home to let the dog out and get more food, I headed south towards Beatrice. My original goal was to go to the border but the legs had a different idea. At Beatrice I made the call to just make it 100 for the afternoon. This gave me 208 miles for the day and my 6th ride of 2021 over 200+ miles (3 training rides / 3 races). Luckily I caught up with Frank on the way back past Cortland and was able to roll back to Lincoln with him. I also made it over 14,000 miles for the year this week. I won't surpass 2020 mileage but it's still going to be a good year on the bike. Next week is Pony Express 120. Probably not going to race it full on but it will be fun to ride the roads down there and see some folks again. I am planning on doing a big ride in Kansas on the Flint Hills Nature Trail in October. We will have to see if the weather will cooperate.