My longest bike ride; 90 Road Miles
First published, August 14, 2009. This one goes back to the early days, when I was still figuring out what “long distance” even meant and doing it on a bike that probably should’ve been retired years earlier. No strategy, no optimization, just a lot of curiosity, a little stubbornness, and the beginning of something that would end up shaping a big part of my life. It is funny to read it now and see my inexperience and what I was packing on the bike. FRS chews? I forgot about those. Cliff Bars? Reading it now, it’s less about the ride itself and more about that moment when things start to shift.
The day was here for the big ride. In fact it would be my longest bike ride to date at 90 miles.
The plan is to meet a college buddy in Williamsburg, half-way between our Kansas towns. Both of us had gotten into cycling this year. I’ve always ridden, but mostly mountain bike trails. This year I was turned on to adventure cycling – long distance rides. I’ve yet to do a multi-day tour and I am still on that mountain bike from 1989, but my rides keep getting longer and longer. I am saving up for a new touring bike. I want to make the purchase this Fall. The problem is, I ride a lot of gravel and want the option to go off-road too. A traditional touring bicycle will keep my on pavement. That’s just not going to cut it. I am currently eyeballing the Salsa Fargo, a touring mountain bike that seems like it was designed with me in mind.
My buddy Rob, has lost over 100 pounds cycling, eating right and exercising. We rode 30 plus miles together, earlier this summer in the Flint Hills area. He had crushed a 50 mile ride this summer. Earlier I had conquered a 64 mile ride, most of it through the Flint Hills on gravel and dirt roads. I was feeling fairly confident of making the full 90. It was about 42 miles between Emporia and Williamsburg, taking HWY 50 the entire way. It would be the longest bike ride yet for both of us.
I hit a snag in my plans. I was supposed to go out with some friends from work the night before the ride for some dinner and drinks. I planned on having a big dinner and maybe a couple of beers. I knew alcohol was an enemy to my muscles on a long, hot ride. Wouldn’t you know it, I drank a couple too many and stayed out too late.
When I hit the alarm at 6:30 I was tired. Damn, I thought I screwed up my ride. If I wasn’t meeting Rob, I probably would have gone back to sleep. I got out of bed and ate the usual, a banana and oatmeal with granola. I drank some extra water, took some FRS and vitamins and packed my rear trunk bag. I brought along two more bananas, two Cliff bars, four FRS chews, extra water, small bottle of V8 fruit juice, extra tools, 70 oz hydration pack with water, water bottle on the bike and of course my heavy NIkon camera.
I hopped on mapmyride.com to double-check Williamsburg’s location off HWY 50 and saw the I would be riding 90 miles, not 84. I hoped I’d be able to make it. I felt sub par. Jen let me know she wasn’t happy that I would be riding so far after a late night. She was a little worried and I think I was too. I gave her a kiss and told her I had my phone if I needed a rescue vehicle.
As I was taking off, Melissa ran outside and said, “Wait I gotta start you off.” “Three – two – one GO!”, she said excitedly and threw her arms down as I pedaled off. “See you after school,” she yelled. “Alrighty!” I yelled back and rode off. Highlight number one over. I had no choice but to make it now, Melissa was counting on it.
The first 15 miles was bad. The weather was nice and cool, but I felt tired and was mad at myself for staying out so late and drinking the night before. My head was not in the game at this point and I had a long ride ahead of me. Knowing that a long ride is largely psychological, I tried to clear my mind and concentrate on my cadence.
Surprisingly after 15 miles, my body must have metabolized all the alcohol and woke up. I started to feel good. I was in it now. Once I had made this switch in my head, the rest of the ride wasn’t bad.
The ride to Williamsburg was uneventful. It is not the most scenic route in the world that’s for sure. When I made it past HWY 75, I could taste the finish line although it was still 17 miles away. Somewhere between HWY 75 and Waverly, I ate a banana and filled my water bottle with the extra water I packed. The road after Waverly had some bends, trees and hills. The entire way on HWY 50 was hilly. After Waverly, it was a bit more scenic and interesting, plus I knew I was getting close to my destination. Rob texted me that he was nine miles out at 10:10 a. m. Damn, I still had 12 miles to go at that point. I stepped it up a notch or two. As I pedaled a little harder, Rob hit a strong headwind.
Before seeing Williamsburg, I hit a long, fun decent down a tree-lined hill. The fun ended as I had to pedal hard up another hill to get into town. My legs felt pretty good though. In fact I felt pretty darn good. I don’t think I have ever been in this kind of cycling shape.
There it was, Williamsburg in all its glory. I made it. I was feeling good. Rob was nowhere to be seen. I texted him that I was “there dude.” I didn’t get a response for a little while. A few minutes later his text came back saying he’d be there soon. I rode into the little town known for it’s BBQ ribs and not much else. I found it funny that the famous BBQ place was a tavern attached to city hall. I love small towns and their character. I took my wait time to change shirts and put some loose shorts on so that I wouldn’t scare the natives. I hung my jersey on my bike to air dry while I took my camera out to snap some pictures.
About 15 minutes later Rob came pedaling into town. He looked a bit tired. I had changed clothes, taken a few pictures, and called home already. We sat outside for a bit so Rob could cool down before going into Guy and Mae’s Tavern for some BBQ.
I felt pretty good and wasn’t too worried about the trip home, Rob was not so confident. The headwind he hit on the last ten miles had him feeling pretty beat. I must say, he looks great. He has lost over 100 pounds. Good job Rob!
The interior of Guy and Mae’s Tavern. They didn’t seem bothered by a couple of sweaty cyclists
Beer and Bicycles always go together
After a refreshing recovery brew, some BBQ sandwiches and good conversation, we wished each other well and took off in opposite directions.
I discovered that a large meat sandwich was probably not the best choice of foods halfway through a 90 mile bike ride. It felt like a huge mass in my stomach for about 15 miles. The headwind wasn’t the worst I had ever faced, but bad enough to slow me down. It was now psychological. I had a never-ending road in front of me and I had to keep pedaling. There was a point that I wanted to quit. The wind was in my face, the hills all seemed a little harder and the sun was a bit hotter than in the morning. I knew it was mind over matter at this point. I actually reverted back to the story of the little train that could. If you would have been beside me you would have heard me saying, “I think I can, I think I can, I can…” It helped. I tried to ignore the bike computer and just get my mind off of all things and pedal. The miles seemed to just melt away. Before I knew it I was pulling off the road to rest at this old gas station in Lebo.
I was pretty tired at this point. I drank some water and ate another Cliff bar. I love Cliff Bars, tasty and full off energy. It’s like a candy bar that doesn’t melt. I had pedaled 70 miles by this point and was pretty proud of that fact. I had 20 more to go. “Just a small bike ride,” I told myself. The main problem was my bum – it was sore. I haven’t totally fixed this problem yet. The new fitted seat was definitely better, but I think I may need to try a Brooks leather saddle. I have read great things about them. Brooks Saddles
It seems like when I have a destination to get to (home) the last leg is the hardest on long out and back rides. If I could have, I definitely would have called it a day at Lebo. My bum was that sore. I can’t give up though, and kept on pedaling. Before long, Emporia’s water tower was in sight. Once I got into town it was about five more miles to get home.
When I made it, I was happy to get off the bike. I pedaled 90.3 miles. My Adventure Monkey was satisfied at the 70 mile point. Determination got me the rest of the way. Time to go and feed your monkey!