147.8 Miles
8:22 on the bike
17.7 MPH average
44.7 MPH Max speed
7500 feet of climbing
Average Heart Rate 141 bpm
Max Heart Rate 169 bpm
Calories burned 8900
It was a great day. Up at three am to get ready. Left Boxborough heading to Boston at 4:00. Once I got settled, signed in, and parked the car we were on the road at 5:15. Being my second year I had a much better idea of what to expect so I was much less nervous. The wild card this year was that the temps were expected to be in the high 80's and I am not happy in the heat. We had a great group of 5 of us that rode the first 25 miles together and then I got a flat. By the time I realized what was happening everyone was to far in front of me to call for help so I had to stop and change the tire alone. Changing the tire was no problem but then I was on my own to try to catch back up to the group. I rode for about 10 miles alone and then a group came along that I was able to tuck into the back of. I got to the first rest stop and connected back with our group. Right after the first stop is the first big climb of the day. This is out in Ashby Mass and it is really two climbs back to back with a 150 yard downhill in between. I felt excellent on the climbs. At the top of the climb it was 50 miles down, 100 to go and I was feeling great. The next section is basically 40 miles of rolling hills on Rte 119 into New Hampshire. This section was boring but pretty easy. At the end of this section, I texted Annie and told her I felt great and the heat wasn't bothering me at all.
Then came the second big hill. This is where I started to fall apart a bit. The hill isn't really that steep but it is long and you are exhausted from the previous 90 miles. I got in my lowest gear and ground it out up this hill. After the top it was lunch time. Lunch consisted of Powerade, some cookies, and believe it or not some pickles (for the salt). After lunch we headed north towards the Brewery. Somewhere during this next stretch my stomach told me that maybe the pickles were not the best idea! The good thing about riding for 8+ hours is that you go through stages where you feel great then bad then good again. Soon the 'sour' stomach feeling passed and I started counting down the miles to the last rest stop. The last stop is at the perfect location. 20 miles to go. We stopped there, ate a little and got more fluids. After that I suddenly felt much better. The last 20 were a breeze. Once we got to the Brewery it was a couple of Harpoons, a great chicken dinner and a bus ride home. I was amazed last year that I couldn't sleep on the bus and the same thing happened this year. On the way home I stopped by my parents house to see their Canadian visitors and went to bed around 11:30. A 20 hour day with 150 miles of bike riding. Not to bad. Best part of the whole ride was Jordan waking me at 5:30 on Father's Day. She wasn't very impressed with my bike ride but did paint me a wonderful birdhouse!!
Here is why we ride!!
