cycling...of course
so i don't really have much to talk about lately other than cycling. i'm getting ready to go back to school in a week and a half. work has been slow lately. so, i have had time to cycle.
basically all i am trying to do before i go back to school is build up miles. i want to get fast, but that's not my first priority right now. even if i have a bad day, as long as i get out there and ride i'm happy.
as some of you know, i had a hard ride on saturday. i took sunday off. monday i decided to do some more hills for about 24 miles then when my dad got off work, we went out for another 35. we like to go out east as it is a nice ride out there, then there is one good hill that we like to climb. he's teaching me tactics as he said i should never stop at the top of a hill, but keep pushing. that way, opponents see that they're at the top of the hill and naturally want to relax, but if you keep pushing, it's a great place to break away. so as we approached this hill, he told me to push hard up it, then keep going for awhile longer. i did and almost regretted it as i was extremely worn out after. it was good though.
the other night i started reading a walk across america, by peter jenkins, and i kinda got an exploring spirit inside of me. yesterday, after reading some more of the book (which i can't put down and will probably finish it soon), i decided to take off riding at 12:30 and ride east for a few hours then turn around.
i think there was a slight wind out of the east as it felt like it. i had my one waterbottle with me and was ready. i passed through windsor and kept going on 392. i had always turned at 257, but never knew what was on 392. i found myself on a farm road with corn, cows, ranches, and workers. it was what i was looking for. i loved it. everyone from compact cars to semis would switch to the left side of the road just to pass me. one car coming at me even pulled off so a semi could switch lanes and pass me. that's the farming generosity i like. i decided i should stop in lucerne (14 miles past windsor) to fill up my water bottle. there were no stores. i went into a post office, but no one was there. i decided i could make it 12 miles to the next town before i needed water. big mistake.
as i came to the next "town" there were merely houses, but no stores. i was hoping i would come across something soon as the temperature was reaching the high 90's, but i had been out of water for 12 miles. i kept riding down the road (which was still great scenery in eastern colorado), but i found no water. i decided i would stop at a house and ask for water from the garden hose. i was approaching 45 miles and 20 without water. once, twice, three times. no one was home. i kept on going. i saw a house in the distance surrounded by trees and hoped i was onto something. i stopped. mrs hardy answered the door hesitantly as i'm sure she doesn't see many cyclists out that way. she filled my water bottle though. i was on my way after drinking about half of the bottle right away. i kept going and ran into briggsdale. now, i was in familiar territory. on one of my first rides of the season, we had ridden through briggsdale and stopped at a campsite to get water. i knew where water was. i finished my one bottle, drank another then another and had a snack. i filled my water bottle again and was off. i had gone 52 miles so far and knew ault was 24 miles away then fort collins 14 after. i could do it.
i turned onto highway 14 and headed west. everything seemed so slow. it seemed like i had a headwind and uphill the whole way. i could have sworn i could have walked faster. i was still thirsty, but tried rationing my water until ault. i knew there was one good downhill, but the headwind seemed to slow me down so the downhill was virtually ineffective. finally, i saw the dense trees telling me that ault was near. i was out of water. i saw no less than 12 empty dasani bottles on the side of the road. i kept going. i started feeling really weak. at that moment, i came across some cow farms (if you've never been by a cow farm - which i'm sure most people have - the smells will take you off guard. i normally don't mind the smells, but this time was different). i thought i was going to throw up. i decided there that ault should be my final destination.
fortunately for me, my dad happened to be on the same road coming back from business he had to do. he caught up with me in the middle of ault (a unique little town - no joke, there are signs in the town with this written).
heat exhaustion. dehydration. i don't know what happened to me that day, but something kept me from going on. i knew i had to refuel and get ready for the next day. 75 miles is the farthest i've ridden in one day, although i didn't feel like i deserved it. i didn't even complete my trip i had set out to conquer.
basically all i am trying to do before i go back to school is build up miles. i want to get fast, but that's not my first priority right now. even if i have a bad day, as long as i get out there and ride i'm happy.
as some of you know, i had a hard ride on saturday. i took sunday off. monday i decided to do some more hills for about 24 miles then when my dad got off work, we went out for another 35. we like to go out east as it is a nice ride out there, then there is one good hill that we like to climb. he's teaching me tactics as he said i should never stop at the top of a hill, but keep pushing. that way, opponents see that they're at the top of the hill and naturally want to relax, but if you keep pushing, it's a great place to break away. so as we approached this hill, he told me to push hard up it, then keep going for awhile longer. i did and almost regretted it as i was extremely worn out after. it was good though.
the other night i started reading a walk across america, by peter jenkins, and i kinda got an exploring spirit inside of me. yesterday, after reading some more of the book (which i can't put down and will probably finish it soon), i decided to take off riding at 12:30 and ride east for a few hours then turn around.
i think there was a slight wind out of the east as it felt like it. i had my one waterbottle with me and was ready. i passed through windsor and kept going on 392. i had always turned at 257, but never knew what was on 392. i found myself on a farm road with corn, cows, ranches, and workers. it was what i was looking for. i loved it. everyone from compact cars to semis would switch to the left side of the road just to pass me. one car coming at me even pulled off so a semi could switch lanes and pass me. that's the farming generosity i like. i decided i should stop in lucerne (14 miles past windsor) to fill up my water bottle. there were no stores. i went into a post office, but no one was there. i decided i could make it 12 miles to the next town before i needed water. big mistake.
as i came to the next "town" there were merely houses, but no stores. i was hoping i would come across something soon as the temperature was reaching the high 90's, but i had been out of water for 12 miles. i kept riding down the road (which was still great scenery in eastern colorado), but i found no water. i decided i would stop at a house and ask for water from the garden hose. i was approaching 45 miles and 20 without water. once, twice, three times. no one was home. i kept on going. i saw a house in the distance surrounded by trees and hoped i was onto something. i stopped. mrs hardy answered the door hesitantly as i'm sure she doesn't see many cyclists out that way. she filled my water bottle though. i was on my way after drinking about half of the bottle right away. i kept going and ran into briggsdale. now, i was in familiar territory. on one of my first rides of the season, we had ridden through briggsdale and stopped at a campsite to get water. i knew where water was. i finished my one bottle, drank another then another and had a snack. i filled my water bottle again and was off. i had gone 52 miles so far and knew ault was 24 miles away then fort collins 14 after. i could do it.
i turned onto highway 14 and headed west. everything seemed so slow. it seemed like i had a headwind and uphill the whole way. i could have sworn i could have walked faster. i was still thirsty, but tried rationing my water until ault. i knew there was one good downhill, but the headwind seemed to slow me down so the downhill was virtually ineffective. finally, i saw the dense trees telling me that ault was near. i was out of water. i saw no less than 12 empty dasani bottles on the side of the road. i kept going. i started feeling really weak. at that moment, i came across some cow farms (if you've never been by a cow farm - which i'm sure most people have - the smells will take you off guard. i normally don't mind the smells, but this time was different). i thought i was going to throw up. i decided there that ault should be my final destination.
fortunately for me, my dad happened to be on the same road coming back from business he had to do. he caught up with me in the middle of ault (a unique little town - no joke, there are signs in the town with this written).
heat exhaustion. dehydration. i don't know what happened to me that day, but something kept me from going on. i knew i had to refuel and get ready for the next day. 75 miles is the farthest i've ridden in one day, although i didn't feel like i deserved it. i didn't even complete my trip i had set out to conquer.
4 comments:
hey, that's an impressive effort! no worries...that heat is a killer.
Sean, Marian's got a good point - in addition to H2O you should put a few cliff bars or granola bars in your jersey pocket. Hey, don't worry about a tough ride. If you can climb Everest, multiple century rides will be a breeze on your pre-school tour. Just take it easy and enjoy the ride.
Not, of course, that you're headed to preschool. BTW, I mailed the tent on Wed., and the shipping clerk estimated a Monday arrival. Sorry, I forgot a stuff sack, but you could probably pick a cheap one at Jax (around $5, I think).
very impressive sean!
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