Davidsonville, MD Ride
September 15th, 2007 by matt
Today I rode 78 miles. I hurt. Actually, I don’t hurt as much as I thought I would, but I’m damn tired.
The ride went very well for me. After starting the ride in cloudy and threatening weather, the sun poked through the clouds and we had a nice day. Not too hot or humid and good visibility. I rode with the pack leaders and didn’t have any trouble keeping up. In fact, I was leading the pack at times. And while I was leading I was holding back a bit because I didn’t want to get too far ahead of the rest of the riders. Considering I don’t really ride, that felt pretty good.
The ride took around 5 hours total, and that’s a long time to be on a bike. I got a new pair of cycling shorts with a gel insert, and that helped with the inevitable ass soreness. I was still a little sore, but not nearly as sore as I was last week.
I made sure I drank more this week and that seemed to help to avoid cramping. I also found out I was nuts for not having spare tubes and a pump with me as I ride, as I would be stranded if I didn’t have the ability to change a flat tire in the middle of a ride. It’s a good point, and one I hadn’t thought of before. So now I’ve got a shopping list for cycling paraphernalia that I should have. Damn sport is expensive.
I’m going to miss next week’s ride because I’ll be up at Juniata. It’ll be bad to miss the ride because it’s the longest one we’re doing before the Sea Gull Century. But with the way today’s ride went, I think I’ll be ready.