Saturday, August 24, 2013

Hotter n Hell 50-mile skate 8/24/2013

2013 ended up another year with few bike miles.  Skating 50-mile would help preparing for A2A.  Casey joined me for the trip 2 weeks after his heart surgery. 

_expo
Bought 10 pairs of colorful socks for mom.  It’s a better investment than flowers.

Attempted and failed to find Donna a Pneumo replacement.  Apparently Giro crowded out Pneumo and Iono with Atmo and Aeon. 

During the final hour, I was offered a great deal on Rudy Project photochromic Fire Bolt but failed to recognize the value.  Still kicking myself.

_dinner
The spaghetti dinner price continued to climb.  $9 dinner now comes with local wine; it validated Texas' ranking among wine producing regions.

_50-mile skate
I tried to stay in Maffetone HR range.  Casey stayed with me in still-new custom Bonts.  We were careful to avoid 100k route.  Road surface were within expectation.

We carried only 1 water bottle: should be enough if we drink at rest stops and get to Highway 44 before sun gets hot.

_high speed zone
2 triathletes encouraged us on a black ice section.  I lost my resolve and went outside of Maff zone.  Casey and I enjoyed a few glorious miles in 2 TT bikes' slipstreams.

_rest stops
We went through first stops quickly to minimize breaks when we didn't need it.  We conversed with cyclists for the last 3 elaborate rest stops.  Some Dallas cyclists recognize the jersey. 

We spent extra time at the airplanes talking to a young soldier who tried to figure out what to do with rest of her life.

#'s
skates: custom Simmons boots, carbon Hopi frames, 100mm Street Fight wheels
GPS distance: 53.5 miles
avg/max HR: 138/178 bpm
avg speed (including stops): 10.9 mph