80 Mile "Pancake" Ride (sans pancakes)

Yesterday marked Day No. 23 of my experiment. I started the day out with a bowl of black beans topped with cheese and a couple of cups of coffee. My plan was to ride 80 miles...I prayed that this meager meal was enough to get me to our breakfast stop which was 40 miles away.

Garmin Connect keeps track of my PRs

In keeping with my base training, I set my Garmin to "bike" and programmed my maximum heart rate to 148…anything above this number would cause my watch to beep. Since HS had LASIK surgery the day before, he would not be riding with me. I was not alone though…Paul (aka Schlitz), Mojo, Rosa, and Nancy were all riding out of Stockton with me.

We started at an easy pace, but eventually Paul had to take the lead…I don't think he can go slow for too long. I picked up my pace to try and keep up but my Garmin chirped so I eased up. We made it to Coach James' ranch and did not waste any time chit chatting. It was going to be a long day for some of us and we wanted to get on the road.

At Isleton, we picked up a few more riders and were once again on our way…

Isleton rider pickup

We finally made it to Korth's and were at the mercy of our less than happy waitress who was not anxious, like we were, to get back on the road. My breakfast consisted of two eggs, two sausage links, and hash browns (hey, they're aren't a grain!) Eventually we finished our meal and set off again.

We said goodbye to some riders in Isleton (this was a 20 mile ride) and kept going. James and Matt dropped off at the ranch (53 mile ride) which left me, Paul and Mojo to continue back to Stockton. I was worried that I was going to be holding the guys back because of my HR restriction but they had no intention of leaving me behind. Paul rode up next to me and told me that he would take the lead. He then added "Let me know if you beep and I'll slow down". We rode in relative silence the rest of the way to town, but we made it. It was my longest ride to date!


Pancake+  by tpengilly at Garmin Connect - Details