First ride for July on the 2nd.
Next ride the 4th.
Next one on the 6th.
First try for a gran fondo, made 95km
Shorter ride for a little recovery.
I’d intended to just ride out to the park and back because we were beginning a heatwave. I got to the park and decided I could get away with climbing Antonio for a bit without finding too much heat.
About the time I got to Crown Valley Parkway, I’d binned the original plan and had decided to ride to Santa Margarita.
I had of course headed out with only one bottle, with a Nuun tablet in it, and only a bag of Jelly Belly go beans. I was going to need hydration. and fuel.
Nothing to be done but stop at all the water stops, fill and drink. The plan became ride to the Rock ‘N Road where I could buy some treats that would get me home. More stops for water and shade and my July gran fondo was in the bag. 102km on the day. Some cramping once I got home thanks to not quite enough electrolytes, but plenty of water. I’ll be prepared the next time. The temperatures did get hot. I saw 100°F as a high with 64°F as the low.
I was sitting in the shade eating a Cliff bar as my mid-ride meal when I noticed these reflectors on my shoes. 107 km for the day over 4:45, including one lap of the 1894 Olympic road course. Vista Del Lago was steep. Last time I made a lap I was using a triple, so I had granny gearing. This time it was without, so I stopped at the first relief in the climb and let my HR drop back to around 110. No shade up there and temperatures hit 38°C, (100°F). This time I was armed with both large bottles, a tube of four Nuun tablets, one bag of Jelly Belly sport beans, the aforementioned Cliff Bar and a tube of GU.
I burned some matches chasing riders who were faster than me at various points and chasing one RAAM rider later resulted in my decision to shortcut retracing my route home to avoid more climbing and distance. I am getting stronger and my endurance is improving. Three more rides possible this month then I’m off for a week or two on travels.
Totals for the month:
Distance: 512.74 km
CLimbing: 3,939 m
I managed three long rides, two of more than 100km and that third one nearly was. I need to buy more food and cycling treats. But, I’m off to ride the motorcycle for a couple of weeks into August. But, here’s hoping I can build on this months restart.
Along The Way 