Weekend Wrap-Up

Our ride Sunday morning saw an earlier start then last week since I made sure to go over my bike the night before the ride. Regardless of our earlier start, though, it was still incredibly hot. A nice wind provided a bit of cooling, but that was quickly overshadowed once we turned into it to ride uphill. I had mentioned that we would be riding around Pinnacle Peak; instead we rode the Mayo area and then headed West into Paradise Valley. At just about our halfway point, we came to Sanctuary and ground out this hill that had me close to puking. It’s probably the steepest climb I’ve gone up since getting my bike last month.

We stopped at a Circle K and got ice and Slurpees, loitered for a bit too long and then started to head back home. I started to cramp after our pit stop and had a really hard time keeping pace with my buddies. Eventually, I dropped and kept chugging along with intermittent calf seizures. After about four more miles, I made it back to our start point where the guys were waiting. We ended up completing 34 miles and averaged 17 mph. That is now my longest ride, and I’ve got some things I need to work on. The cramps were probably the worst part about the ride and I had a really hard time driving my car for a while, as I couldn’t push in the clutch without seizing up. I’m sure I looked pretty funny as I stalled my car and dropped in my seat to try and straighten my legs. Eventually things settled down and I made it home safely.

Today, I had an appointment to get a follow up fitting on my bike to make any adjustments. I had been feeling like I was too far back to maintain a correct aero position, but it ended up being all in my head. My stem got dropped a bit and I’m in a lower position now but that’s about it. We talked about training aides and I’ve got some research to do before I shell out another couple hundred of dollars.