Back in the saddle again

[rhiannonstone]

Like last year, I did the 30 Days of Biking challenge in April. Unlike last year, I didn't lose momentum after April 30. To encourage myself to keep it up, I signed up for the Denver Century Ride--well, a quarter of it, anyway.

Before I moved to Denver, I was doing ~50-mile event rides a few times a year. They were challenging, but I was riding regularly enough and long enough distances that they weren't insurmountable challenges. Lately, my weekend rides have been ~5-12 miles, and as recently as last weekend I was having second thoughts about having signed up for a 25-mile event ride--y'know, where I have to ride with hundreds of other people at a reasonable pace while exhibiting basic group riding skills.

Yesterday I set out to ride 12-15 miles with a friend from work, and ended up doing 23. It kinda sucked! But that was mostly because of the brutal heat (91degF in direct, unmitigated sun), and because it had been so long that I had forgotten the important lessons I learned the first time around about longer rides. To wit:

• Eat a food you idiot
  
• You need more water than that
  
• Cycling gloves exist for a reason
  
• Just wear the shorter bike shorts already, no one cares about your fat knees

Of course once I was done, I felt great. And astonishingly, the only thing that hurts today is the sunburn and my head from the slight dehydration.

So now I know I can do it. I just need to spend the next couple weeks practicing doing it with the right fuel, hydration, and weather-appropriate gear so I don't want to die, and within a reasonable amount of time.

After that's under my belt, the next biking goal will be rebuilding some climbing endurance, because anywhere else I want to go from here involves riding at least partway up the side of a damn mountain.

Comments

[joycec]

Go you! :)

[randomdreams]

Ooooooh. I might go along on the DC. Coolness!
And, yes, although there are some okay places to ride out to the east of here, where it's not quite as much HILL.

[rhiannonstone]

Woo! I'd love to see you there. :D

And please do tell me of these less-hilly places to ride.

[randomdreams]

I quite like (as in, I'd come along with) exploring out the cherry creek trail down to the cherry creek reservoir itself and around it. There are also some neat associated trails that wander well out into Aurora. I was riding one of those when I ran across a young lady of roughly six years of age, out walking with a chicken that may have been all of three weeks out of its egg, on a leash made of yarn.
The South Platte trail goes way south, beyond the built-up part of Denver, and goes north up to Brighton. There are some loops you can build around it, as well.
The C470 trail isn't flat. It has a couple SRS hills. But if you ride out the bear creek trail to the C470, south on it, then back up the Platte, I think that's 50-some miles. Some parts of bear creek aren't particularly well-marked, but it's a nice trail and close to flat all the way out to just before bear creek reservoir.
I have made platte -> sand creek trail -> some magic happens -> cherry creek trail -> platte into a loop. There's a little awkwardness in the middle but it's not bad, and it may be better now than it used to be.

[randomdreams]

Frinstance. From your place over to the south platte, north up to sand creek, aaaaaallllll the way out sand creek including the dirt path until just before havana, then a bit of wriggling about over to moline, south on that, hit the highline canal trail, all the way down highline until it hits the cherry creek, then back up the cc to the south platte. I've ridden about 80% of that and enjoyed it.

[rhiannonstone]

The ride we did Sunday was South Platte -> Sand Creek -> accidentally went sightly further than we intended and hit the unpaved part -> turned back around and found Stapleton Link -> took a lunch break at Northfield -> then back the way we came. It was really nice, if a bit smelly near the waste treatment plant (whoever named that segment on Strava aptly called it Buttsmell Sprint).

That's the farthest I've taken South Platte in that direction, and Overland Pond Park is the farthest in the other (because there's a great coffee shop down there and coffee is motivation).

I take bits of Cherry Creek frequently (and even had the distinct pleasure of catching it half underwater last week when they did the thing that flooded it, whee), but have yet to go beyond the bougie Cherry Creek shopping neighborhood part because I usually branch off before there to get to whatever park my coworkers have claimed for weekend park days. Cherry Creek All the Way is actually on my (very loose and nebulous) training plan for the next couple weeks!

Bear Creek from here to Morrison looks like the sort of route that once I'm in slightly better shape will feel seriously intimidating but then I'll do it and I'll hate myself for a bit but then be happy I did it. :)

[randomdreams]

What does your training schedule look like?
Would you mind someone coming along?

[rhiannonstone]

Commutes the long way 'round on most weekdays, and one long ride and one short ride on weekends. That and some tentative routes is about as much of a schedule as I have.

I'd love to have you along! If you're OK accompanying a slowpoke whose average speed is 11-12mph and still requires frequent breaks. :)

[xandy_12]

so proud of you kid