Saturday, April 26, 2008

Day on the Ride

Every year, ALC hosts Day on the Ride - which is an approximation of what a typical day on the actual ALC ride will be like. There were tons of people, lots of them familiar and we had a great time. Our ride was from Golden Gate park, up to Nicasio Valley Reserve and back. There were rest stops, sweep vehicles (vehicles that patrol the ride route and pick up those who have mechanical trubs and get them to the next stop) and fun, fun, fun.

Unfortunately, I had to utilize the sweep vehicles not once, but twice! ARGH. My back tire trubs continued, and I popped a tube about 8 miles outside of the lunch stop in Nicasio - which was the half-way mark. Some of you may ask, don't you know how to change your own tire? Well, yes... I do. But the external tire I had on the wheel set was so tight on the rim, I broke 3 tire irons trying to change it myself. I got swept into lunch and the bike tech tent managed to change my tire.

I ate, rode out again and then popped my back tire AGAIN about 3-4 miles outside of the final water/rest stop in Fairfax (about 3/4 of the way through the ride and only about 25 miles from home). I didn't have a spare tube and knew I'd not be able to get the damned tired off anyway, so I got swept again. At Fairfax, there was a great bike shop and I hoofed it across the street and $60 later, I had new rim tape, a good tube and a new puncture-resistant external tire that fit my rim better. PROBLEM SOLVED.

So I rode back into the city on my own and that was sort of nice to just ride solo. I always love riding with others, but sometimes it's nice to be out on the road alone... :)

Here's my stats:

Day - Saturday, 4/26
Ride Type - Onroad Training
Ride Distance - 72.45 miles
Ride Length - 06:02:11
Avg Speed - 12 mph
Avg Cadence - 76
Avg Heart Rate - 144
Max Heart Rate - 193
Calories burned - 5546
Total Training Distance To-Date: 1000.21 miles

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