Monthly Archives: June 2009

Distance Cycling

IMG_0352Back from Sierra to the Sea Saturday afternoon, and just logged my ride data into the laptop. The ride is an organized tour for about 130 paying riders from Bear Valley in the Sierra to San Francisco, 420 miles over 7 days, for an average of about 60 miles / day.

My main response to the ride is mild surprise at how easy and straightforward it was. Granted- I did some training beforehand, with 60 mile weeks and as much climbing as I could fit in, and I have a pretty good bike. But it’s not like I was out riding 6 of 7 days for 150 miles, nor did I prep for more than a few weeks. I’d previously pictured trips like that as only for the studly. Who knew?

Am also a little surprised there weren’t any real issues. Got two flats from the same bit of glass (missed pulling it out the first time). Left my sleeping bag out too late the night of the wine and cheese party and it got wet with dew, so sleeping was uncomfortable. Had sinus issues the last night that made it hard to sleep as well, but not too serious.

Pictures are up on Flickr. Most of the images are of people — it’s not much fun to shoot scenery any more. Maybe the pocket camera doesn’t handle it, or maybe I’ve just taken too many pictures of trees and lakes.

My workout software claims I burned an additional 18,000 calories or so, yet I think I gained a couple pounds. I was intentionally eating more, but… almost twice as many calories as usual?