Weekend: Two days, two rides
I had agreed to meet Nils at Quad Cycles Saturday am for the 9.30 ride. It was a bit chilly and overcast, which is kinda nice, actually.
The first piece of the ride is from Arlington out to Lexington and then we hook into the MinuteMan Bike Path. At Bedford, we regroup. There’s a scary fast group that takes off to ride 60 miles at like 18-20mph. Then there’s a middle group that’s still fairly quick. And, a slower group. There’s like 3 routes to follow … one flatter, one hills, etc.
The second gathering site is where the groups further split to ride flat or hilly routes. So Nils wanted to follow the hilly route (Strawberry Hill). We missed the main group’s departure because I was slow getting to the first pit stop and I stopped to eat some Sharkies. 😉 So Nils and I set off to ride the route and at the last piece he was insistant the we turn left when I was pretty darn sure we needed to turn right. I figured it would only add four miles onto the 36 mile route, so I went along. We eventually popped out on some road only to see a bunch of the people from the ride go by.
At first I thought we were on 4/225 which takes up back to the bike shop. Normally at this point in the ride we should have stopped at Ferns (this cute little country story for a berverage or snack and a trip to the porta-potties). Nils wanted to ride with the others, so I said I didn’t mind if we skipped Ferns (because I thought we we only had like 8-10 miles back to Arlington).
We started riding along and I saw a sign that said Chelmsford. UH OH. We were heading *away* from Arlington, not toward it. I tried to call Nils’ phone (I stopped and was thinking to turn around thinking we must be with the 60 mile route or something). Nils phone was dead. I rode a bit thinking he’d turn around at some point. We caught up and he said “yeah I know this route … it’s called the Dinosaur route … it’s roughly the same mileage and takes us back to Arlington.”.
Ok, so we rode away.
And, then the hills started. I got to learn the hard way that that’s why this is called the Dinosaur route … long, slow, long, on-going hills. Swell.
We finally got to another meeting point in Lexington Center and Nils (who I knew was running late to get home to his wife and daughter) said he was just going to take off and go home. So I rode with the pack back to the bike trail to head home.
Then, I just wasn’t thinking. I followed the pack off the bike trail. But then I saw a road sign that said 2A. I thought “uh oh, I don’t know where these people are going … why did I leave the bike trail??” So, I turned back around and got back to the bike trail. Realizing I’d added a lot of extra miles (overall I rode 10 miles miles … I expected 36 and rode 46 instead), I decided to stop at the Starbucks and have a machiatto and a banana. MMM There I saw the people that I had ridden with to 2A. CRAP. I could have stayed with them and gotten here, had I known. 😉
I sat and enjoyed my coffee break (it’s like drinking a chocolate milk) and then toddled back down Mass Ave to my car. I felt good. Long, but productive ride. I am getting faster which means fitter and more efficient.
I had said to Michelle that it would be fun to do longer, more leisurely rides with pit stops. So we cooked up an idea for a “breakfast ride”. I could not stop dreaming about pancakes and maple syrup. Perfect high carb/fast burn foods. I decided to throw in bacon for good measure. Normally, I fear the calories so much that I have a hard time enjoying foods like this. Well, we bike at 15-16 mph these days … so that’s like burning about 900 calories per hour. BRING ON THE PANCAKES!
I got a text from Michelle saying to meet at her house in North Andover at 8.45am on Sunday to ride with her and Rafael … we’d do like 12 miles, stop for breakfast in Boxford, and then ride another 12 miles. Sounds good to me. We rode the 12 miles (average speed 16.9 … I did draft Michelle a bit … hee hee) and then stopped for breakfast.
[I was definitely feeling a bit sore from riding on Saturday. The muscles in my legs and butt were sore from the work. My shoulders were sore … I need to get refitted to fix that! … and I have a new/smaller/less padded saddle so I was feeling a little sore from that, too.]
After a nice breakfast break we went out to ride home. That turned into a 16 mile ride instead. There were no back-breaking hills, but lots of short climbs or long, rolly sections. I made a conscious effort to slow down so that I didn’t feel sick from the food, or overtax my body. Michelle and Raf were riding about 16.5 – 17 avg and I took mine down to 15.5mph avg and it was so much more comfortable. I wasn’t huffing and puffing to keep up with them. I like that!
So, two day total: 46 + 28 = 74 miles. 4.45 hours of biking = ~3,600 calories (online calculators vary). Now, it’s Monday. I don’t hurt anywhere except my tight shoulders. I can feel my muscles, but everything is ok. I’ll get to yoga tonight to stretch out and then plan to ride 20 miles Tuesday night with a local women’s group that teaches paceline and bike handling.
Wheeeeeeeeeee!
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