I put yesterday's post prior to heading over to the association pool to do a 30 minute/1500 meter swim. It went well and as usual, heat is not a factor in the pool. I felt pretty good and swam at a respectable 48 yards per minute.
After some lunch and a stop by the sporting goods store to pick up some Gu Brew, it was time for the ride. Regular readers here know that I don't like to ride where there is much traffic. For that matter, what cyclist does?
So off I went to Aurora Reservoir which would serve as the start and finish for what I planned to be a 47 mile ride around the back roads of Arapahoe County. It's essentially the same course I've done a couple of times in the past, but instead of starting and stopping in Bennett, I went to the Res. This is mainly because school is back in session in Bennett and I didn't think I'd better use their parking lot.
It was, to put it mildly, a very warm day. Nevertheless, while challenged by hills and heat, I still felt pretty good. More than 30 minutes in, my insulated water bottle was still providing ice cold water and that was nice.
This was a typical view along the ride. Not much of anything out there at all. Fortunately, that was also true of cars which were infrequent and always gave me a nice wide berth.
After about 16 miles east on Quincy Avenue, it was time to turn north toward Bennett. That's a mostly downhill stretch which was good because I was hitting a head wind that was probably 20 mph! And yes, it was still hot.
Here you can see sunflowers and (faintly) the mountains in the background:
That, however, was about the only positive. The heat was starting to affect me, my water was running low and even my feet hurt at this point. Not wanting to have an incident, I called my wife to come rescue me in Watkins. When she got there, her car thermometer indicated an outside temp of 98*. I'm sure it was even hotter out on the black top.
That cut my ride to just 34 of the 47 I set out to do, but I still feel like I had a respectable ride and no doubt, in cooler weather I would have completed the whole thing. New rule from now on, long rides are not to be done in the heat are especially not to be done far from home.
I'm still struggling to get back into the run, but I'm hoping to get at least a short one in later this afternoon.
After some lunch and a stop by the sporting goods store to pick up some Gu Brew, it was time for the ride. Regular readers here know that I don't like to ride where there is much traffic. For that matter, what cyclist does?
So off I went to Aurora Reservoir which would serve as the start and finish for what I planned to be a 47 mile ride around the back roads of Arapahoe County. It's essentially the same course I've done a couple of times in the past, but instead of starting and stopping in Bennett, I went to the Res. This is mainly because school is back in session in Bennett and I didn't think I'd better use their parking lot.
It was, to put it mildly, a very warm day. Nevertheless, while challenged by hills and heat, I still felt pretty good. More than 30 minutes in, my insulated water bottle was still providing ice cold water and that was nice.
After about 16 miles east on Quincy Avenue, it was time to turn north toward Bennett. That's a mostly downhill stretch which was good because I was hitting a head wind that was probably 20 mph! And yes, it was still hot.
Here you can see sunflowers and (faintly) the mountains in the background:
Sorry for the angle, I was fighting wind here and also my own fatigue.
It felt like a long time, but before long I was in Bennett and then past it and heading west toward Watkins. The road has recently been sealed and it made for a smooth ride:
That, however, was about the only positive. The heat was starting to affect me, my water was running low and even my feet hurt at this point. Not wanting to have an incident, I called my wife to come rescue me in Watkins. When she got there, her car thermometer indicated an outside temp of 98*. I'm sure it was even hotter out on the black top.
That cut my ride to just 34 of the 47 I set out to do, but I still feel like I had a respectable ride and no doubt, in cooler weather I would have completed the whole thing. New rule from now on, long rides are not to be done in the heat are especially not to be done far from home.
I'm still struggling to get back into the run, but I'm hoping to get at least a short one in later this afternoon.
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