2 Was Not Enough (By The Numbers)

I had not been on the bike since last week's 67 mile Lumberjack 100 DNF. One short spin session and a day at the gym was all the "doing stuff" I got in during the bulk of the week (this is why I am currently a Clydes-fucking-beer-swilling-dale). Of course I did get in some hiking in on the NCT, so that was cool (except for the earlier in the week mentioned blisters that I got from the sandy trails and beaches. Fucking sand! What up with beaches and sand? Can we pave them?).

Anyway... today after going to see B-Man's football (I mean soccer) game in which he scored two goals (enter one proud father type person), I headed out for some gravel/dirt/sand road grinding.

Did you ever start off on a ride, look down and see two full bottles, and think; "I wonder if two bottles will be enough?" If you have, then you have probably also been on the business end of a 3+ hour ride thinking to yourself "two bottle was NNNNNNNNNNNNNOT fucking enough, and I think I might die out here on one of these godforsaken gravel roads!!!!!!" Yeah, that sort of happened today.

The ride was sweet though. Bright blue sky, farm fields alive with potential food items for us to fill our already big bellies with, and the sun in full on "this is freaking sweet!" mode.

In my opinion how one measures the success of a ride is up to the one doing the ride. I don't measure success in wattage, heart rate, wins or placings. I measure it in what I got out of the ride. Today's ride had the following stats to get something out of:

53+ miles completed.
5 deer seen (2 in middle of road).
5 super hot spank bank worthy co-ed on campus. Zoo-y-Mama
4 horse back riders.
4 waves from passing drivers on the dirt roads (beats insults fo' sho!!).
3 snakes seen (the kind that don't make me poop a dook).
3+ hours in the saddle.
3 fresh strawberry stands.
2 bottles drained (2:30 into a 3 hour + ride).
2 critter that looked like racoons but weren't. Hmmm. Honey Badgers? LOL.
2 guys racing office chairs down a steep drive. (I shit you not)
1 turkey.
1 Clif Shot barely digested.
1 Amish guy plowing fields.
1 sign for fresh strawberry pies. (YUM!!)
1 beat down, dehydrated smiling cyclist VERY happy to be back on the bike after 6 days off of it.

Those are the stats on the day, some better than others. I'll take those waves from the friendly farmer type folks over having insults hurled at me by passing motorists any day. For the record, I have not had a motorist scream at me ONCE since I moved to Michigan last October. Sure it could happen any day now, but I like those stats.

Clicky and see the deerz in the middle of the road.

I REALLY need to start throwing an extra bottle in my jersey. That was a dumb move on my part. I knew I wanted 45 to 50is miles in. Who rides that in the summer on 50ish ounces of water and nutrition. BTW CarboRocket 333* has been a nutritional blessing for me, just wish it wold have stayed cold longer, and that I wouldn't have run out today! Again that was my own dumb ass fault.

More pics and random commentary (if you care)...

The second pair of horseback riders I saw today. I stopped and let them by for fear of spooking them into A. Bucking the rider off, or B. And MAYBE more importantly; kicking me in the fucking head. The older gentlemen in the back was very thankful, as the horse he was on was "green" and he was just "breaking her." (his words). When I am in the woods and I see the horses and what they do to the trails, I sort of get jacked. But out here in the farm country I figure these are THEIR roads, I am just a visitor. Might as well be nice and not take any chances (not that I DO take chances in the woods, since I STILL don't want my head kicked in).

I urged this little guy to get off the road. He didn't listen. Hope he survived. I hate snakes, but when they are this small, I don't.

The world's tallest clothesline. WTF?

This pic I just love. Endless green. I could do some serious frolicking in a field like that.

Amish dude, keeping it old school in the fields today.

While not a great pic, I do love this pic. I love that if one wanted to REALLY pursue eating fresh and locally raised and grown foods, one could do it here. I mean in this ONE farm you could get chicken, strawberries, produce, and maple syrup. Brilliant. I might have to start riding with a pack and some cash!

OK, enough of about a boring (to you) 50ish mile gravel ride. I will end with the Danzig looking salt stains that 3 hours and some slight dehydration gave me.

*Just to be honest CarboRocket is an advertiser on my work site (xxcmag.com), but I paid for the product, it was not a comp. Just sayin' so as not to look like more of a douche bag than I already am.

Later.