Week #31 Last big week before the Long Voyage - BIG July!

 

Week #30 - 612 miles

Well July turned out to be a big month. I got in 2,878 miles and averaged 92.8 miles per day. This is up 501 miles over July of last year. My big goal was 3,000 miles but I actually "rested" to much on the rest days of the Tour. Maybe next year! It is three weeks out until the Long Voyage. I feel like I am pretty prepared but still have to stick to my race plan. Since Cannonball 550 is the end of September, I want to be ready for that. In the next two weeks, I hope to finish riding the Long Voyage course. I am actually excited to ride that part because I haven't been down in the southern part of Nebraska. It is always good to find some new roads to explore.

Week #30 Tour de Plains GRVL Challenge DONE!

Week #29 - 589 miles

Well the Tour de Plains GRVL Challenge is in the books. Thanks to everyone who came out to ride and supported me along the way. This has been a really fun challenge and I hope to continue with it next year. I got really lucky with the weather for the most part of the 24 days. It was nice to go to different locations to get the rides in. Hopefully I was able to raise some money for the trails. We are really lucky in Lincoln to have such a cool trail system throughout the city and surrounding area. 

I was able to meet some big goals this month - 722 miles for one week and July will be my biggest month ever. I hope this will translate to a good Long Voyage in August and then carry on into September for Cannonball 550. Time now to recover a little!

 

Week #29 Two weeks down & one to go of the Tour de Plains GRVL Challenge

 

Week #29 - 689 miles

This was another big week of the Tour de Plains GRVL Challenge. Over 1,400 miles in the last two weeks but the legs are still hanging in there. We had a good group on Saturday roll out from Bike Masters over in Omaha. This was a big weekend with 122 miles on Saturday and then 126 miles today. Also a good amount of climbing both days. Today Tobin joined me for the first half but he had to head back since his legs just were not feeling it. Ended up reconing the last 88 miles of the Long Voyage and it is going to be hard. The last 60 miles are hilly (over 3,000 ft) and exposed to the sun. If it is hot, the course will be very tough after all those miles. With a rest day tomorrow, then only two days of 100+ miles to deal with. It has been really fun so far and hopefully we can get a good turnout on the final day.

Week #28 First full week of Tour de Plains GRVL Challenge

 

Week #28 - 722 miles

The first week of the Tour de Plains GRVL Challenge was great success. The up first few days I ended up riding at least part of the day in the rain. It was actually nice to have the cooler temperatures since doing this Challenge in July could be pretty miserable. A big thanks to Eli for coming over from Omaha to ride for a few more days. The biggest day was Thursday with 136 miles. Heading down the trail to the Kansas border in the rain was a challenge in itself. The trail was soft and slow going. Friday through Sunday were in Lawrence which was a nice change of pace. Friday was with Joe up around Leavenworth and Saturday was with Roger over to Topeka then up to McLouth for a little more climbing. Today was with the Sunday Chug group. We headed out for the first loop at 5:30am then circled back to meet the 8:30am group for the second loop. Got in some new roads, there were some crashes and mechanicals but overall a good time. Ready for the second rest day tomorrow.

Got in my biggest week yet with 722 miles and over 45 hours of saddle time. Pretty happy since Monday was on 36 miles. This coming week will be a little less but a big weekend with 121 miles on Saturday and 124 miles on Sunday.

Week #27 Tour de Plains GRVL Challenge starts!

 

Week #27 - 563 miles

June - 2200 miles

Tour de Plains GRVL Challenge started on Friday, but before that, June ended up with 2,200 miles. This was my biggest month so far and 3rd one over 2,000 miles. Had a nice turnout for the kick off on Friday. It was only 8 miles, so tried to enjoy it. Saturday was 123+ miles and it started out in the rain. It actually felt nice to get a little wet and the roads were not in that bad of shape. As we go further south, it did stop raining but the roads were wetter. We found some MMRs that were not passable, but did manage to find some new roads along the way. On Sunday, it was cloudy and cooler to start. Actually the fog was pretty good for the first hour or so. Legs were a bit tired and seemed like the day did drag on. Got in 113+ miles and tomorrow is a rest day. A little spin in the morning and lots of napping in the afternoon.

Check out www.tourdeplains.com for all the details.