Record-Setting Ride

Today I did the longest bicycle ride I have ever done: 113 miles.  That breaks my previous mark of 109 set in May 2009.  With today’s ride I also set a new personal record for miles in October (413, and counting) and I brought my mileage total for the year to 4,421, now my second-highest mileage total behind last year’s 4,800.

But today was much more than merely an accumulation of statistics.  I spent most of my day with 15 other riders on the Loberg Century.  Now in its fourth year, the event attracts some of the best racers in the area.  For them it is a casually-paced ride at the end of a long season.  For me it was sometimes a challenge to hang on.  I was doing well until we restarted after a lunch break in Elkhart Lake.  That was roughly halfway for the other guys, but for me it was a little more than halfway: the Loberg Century started in Cedarburg but I rode from West Bend to the start.  Restarting after a break is always a challenge for me and my legs didn’t really come around after lunch.  In fact, they started to cramp on the hills, causing me to climb slowly and then work too hard to rejoin the others after the summit.  By the time I reached Mile 88—my Mile 88—I was pretty well cooked.  Then I got my chain stuck between my smallest cog and the frame and had to stop to fix it, and I figured I wouldn’t see the others again.

Disappointed but knowing that I had enough in the tank to get home with a personal record and my only century of 2010, I said goodbye to the SAG vehicle and rode solo to West Bend.  Without the pressure of keeping up with the others, and now able to pick my own route, I started to feel better.  Dropping back into Washington County, I chose the flatter Kettle Moraine Drive instead of the hillier Forest View Road that the others followed.  The distance is roughly equivalent—my route was a bit longer—but without hills to climb I kept the cramps at bay and reclaimed some time.  When the other riders restarted after a rest stop on the north side of West Bend, I caught them.  It was a pleasure to ride with them for a few more miles before we reached my neighborhood and I said goodbye as planned.  My century was done; they still had to return to Cedarburg.

Obviously I would have liked to ride without cramps, but overall I’m very satisfied with the effort.  And it was a day of neat coincidences.  As we arrived at the Elkhart Lake lunch stop, Jimmy Scharrer and Denny Bolinger were just about to depart and continue their own ride.  As I neared West Bend on my improvised solo route, I met Jim Saueressig riding in the opposite direction.  I was happy to see you guys enjoying another gorgeous autumn day.  I hope to see you on Saturday for the Washington County Bicycle Club’s season finale … and I hope that by then I will have recovered from today’s exertions!