Yesterday, Team Oakland's women's team director, Mel Schultz, led an 80-mile ride. Although I've only been riding my bike once a week (yeah, yeah, I know...bad cyclist), I figured I still had the fitness to do a long ride. I was relatively well rested (had some residual thigh soreness from Thursday's weight training) and enjoyed a good breakfast before the ride.
The proposed route was as follows: Cycle Sports in Oakland, Redwood to Castro Valley, Palomares to Niles Canyon (Sunol), Foothill all the way to Danville, back to Oakland via St. Mary's trail, up North Pinehurst and down Sheperd's Canyon.
It was a small but strong group that showed up for the ride: Mel, Anthony (honorary TO male member), Laura (potential future racer), Amy (strong triathlete), and yours truly. Given that I can put out more power on the flats than on climbs, I was the one trailing on the climbs. I didn't mind though because I knew that I was riding with a strong group of riders and trying to follow them as closely as possible could only make me a stronger rider.
Throughout the ride, I found myself experiencing different physical sensations and mental thoughts. On some parts of the climbs, namely Palomares and Pinehurst, I briefly considered getting off the bike and walking because my legs were so tired (of course I didn't!) There were other parts of the rides where my legs felt fresh and I was really focused on maintaining smooth pedaling strokes. I think it was the combination of being relatively well-rested and constantly refueling that helped me finish the ride. (I did have to ice my knees that night but I still felt well enough to do some minor chores when I got home.) All in all, it was a great day of riding!
Speaking of fuel, here's what I ate and drank throughout the ride:
Castro Valley: Vegan Bar (164 calories) + 1 Gu (100 calories)
Sunol: CA Vegan Suncake (376 calories) + 1 Banana (100 calories)
Danville: Vegan Bar (164 calories) + 1 Small Soy Latte (90 calories according to Peet's Nutritional chart)
Moraga: 1 Gu (100 calories) + 1 Gatorade Propel Fitness Water (30 calories)
Pinehurst: 1 Hammergel (84 calories)
Total Calories Consumed = 1,210 calories
I drank 3 bottles of plain water, 3 bottles of water with Nuun electrolyte tablets, and 1 bottle of Fitness Water; each bottle holds 24 ounces so a total of 168 ounces of water (4.97 liters / 1.31 gallons). Yet, I only peed three times (small amts.) during the ride (Sunol, Danville and Moraga). Guess my body was soaking up those fluids.
2 comments:
what time did you guys make it back to oakland?
I was back at my place by 4:45 p.m. After we separated from you, we escorted Amy to the Walnut Creek Bart (where we chatted some). We later stopped at the Moraga gas station for a final bathroom & gu break before heading up Pinehurst.
How did your party go? Meet any single gals?
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