Crushing Souls

For the avid readers of this blog, you may have heard me talk about my friend Brian.  While Brian and I don't hang out that much anymore now that he is new father, we still manage to get out for a ride every now and again.  This weekend was one of those times.  Since it was going to be extra warm and humid with chances for rain, we figured it would be a good time for a big ride. 

As per usual, Brian identified a nice long ride that had a few brutal climbs and plenty of rollers.  Also, to keep things interesting, our route would include very few places to stop for food or water so we had to take extra sustenance with us.  This is the typical kind of ride plan that we end up with so I shouldn't be surprised by it, but for some reason I still am.

So the long and short of our day was this: we left just before noon so we could enjoy the heat of the day.  We climbed over several mountains and rolled through several valleys.  We somehow managed to dance around what must have been a severe thunderstorm and only had periods of drizzle with wet roads.  We logged 112 miles, 6000 feet of climbing, several cases of water over the road, and spent about seven and a half hours in the saddle.  

It was a long and grueling day to say the least.  I spent an hour and a half cleaning all the grit off of my bike but after it was all said and done, I have to admit that it was worth it.  Of course, I haven't been able to feel my legs for two days so maybe that has something to do with it too.

Happy Memorial Day!