Long ride

I was feeling ambitious and decided to go on a long ride yesterday. This was the longest planned ride I've done since November 9th. Except that ride didn't include the kind of hills I rode yesterday. Yikes. It was like the last 25 miles of the MS150 ride, never ending hills. I enjoyed the ride but was glad when it was over. I was also missing my GU2O. That is what works the best for me and I remembered yesterday morning that we are out - DOH! I was running late and couldn't stop and pick some up. Had to make due with some watery Gatorade; not terrible but definitely needed something different.

I spent some time near the front and in the back but most of my time was spent in between the groups. Not quite fast enough to consistently stay with the guys in front but faster than the folks behind me. It gave me some time to think and realized there was one person I like to ride with that I was missing. She and I have had some good long rides. Actually, several of my longest rides last year were with her. (I am so glad I keep a training log so I can go back and see exactly what I did!) Here are the highlights from one of our more interesting rides:

1. My longest ride ever! Great ride, great riding partner and conversation. :)
2. Got stung by a yellow jacket....while moving! It buzzed my right arm and stuck! Ouch!! Yeah, that hurt.
3. Made it to the end of the trail, having never been out that far before that was pretty cool.
4. My nutrition plan kept me feeling strong the entire ride and that makes me happy.
5. Weird pedophile guy on a kid's bike. Why would some 40+ year old guy be riding a kid's bike? Hellooooo?! Weirdo!!!
   
6. A random woman had a wreck and definitely seemed like she was in some major pain; we didn't see any major damage but her friend was holding a towel to her leg. (Seriously, who keeps a towel with them?)
7. Getting buzzed by a hawt guy on a tri bike who said "Hellloooo Ladies" as he went by.
8. Showing off my mad skills in off-roading because as I got fatigued near the end I swerved off the trail and didn't panic and was able to recover without any bodily harm.
9. Seeing a sign way out near the end that said "Welcome, Thanks for visiting Polk on purpose." It cracked me up.