67 Miles

Ok - so when I set out on Saturday morning in with my toe warmers, long sleeves, skull cap and gloves (it was a chilly 45 degrees), I figured I'd ride 42-45 miles and feel rather accomplished. After all, my longest ride so far this season (on the trainer, mind you) was 32 miles.

I made it from our house to Creve Couer Lake in a little over an hour, 20.3 miles, much of it uphill and into the wind. Timing was great, as I pulled in just as the rest of the Mavericks were congregating and Mark started to rally the troops and describe the rides. I opted for the long ride of ~22 miles, with the expectation that Jessica and the boys would meet me for the picnic afterwards and we would all drive home together.

Well, the best laid plans go by the wayside. After a strong ride and hard finish to the 22 miles, I arrived just as the first burgers and hot dogs were being placed on the grill. I put in an order for a Boca burger and checked my messages. Jessica had just put Isaac down for a nap and wasn't going to make it to the picnic. Hmmm....

I thought I might catch a ride back with Marsha, but she was planning on riding home. So, I tagged along at a more leisurely pace of 15 mph and cut off towards the city when we hit Clayton and Price. Clayton, by the way, is a nightmare with all of the traffic re-redirected from 64/40. Anyway, I made it home after a full 4 hours of riding and 67 miles on the odometer. It wasn't pretty and it wasn't fast, but it was the longest ride of the season.

It is evident that I need to put in some longer rides and start to get my speed up. Only 2.5 months to Racine and only 1.25 months to Rockman if I choose to compete there. Better get cookin'.