I met up with Debbie on McCorkle and we rode in the one direction I hadn't gone yet--southwest. We did McCorkle to Tilley, then down to Goddard. From there we worked our way to 183rd and over to Sargent Rd. We took Sargent to Littlerock and Littlerock back to Maytown. Maytown brought us back to Tilley (on Maytown we passed the decorated scrub that has been spruced up with some new Christmas ornaments and a nice blue tinsel garland). When we turned back onto McCorkle, my computer clocked over the 36 mile mark which was my official finish of the challenge. I stopped and took a photo to commemorate the occasion (see photo below). From there I had about 9 more miles to go with the first thing being, going back up the hill on McCorkle (see other photo below). Uggggg!
So, to recap the last 7 days, I managed to go every direction from my house. All the rides had some element of a loop to them. I think if I could print clear maps of my rides and overlaid them one on top of the other, the overall picture would be some kind of crazy looking flower. It wouldn't be pretty.
I also learned a few things. I now have a pretty good idea, for training purposes, what the maximum number of hours I could devote to riding per week would be (less than what I did this last week, that's for sure!). I also have the winter weather riding gear fully dialed in, complete with variations for minor changes in temperature.
I nailed the nutrition this last week. Dave's Killer Bread Sin Dog (organic whole grain bread rolled with cinnamon, sugar and raisins, then rolled in sesame, sunflower, and pepita seeds--a small 2 oz slice packs a wallop of 200 calories) was easy to wrap up and carry. That, in addition to the Hammer Gel flask (I learned to not try to close the flask with my mouth unless I wanted to risk pinching my lip in the lid--ouch!), kept me fueled for the long miles. And, finally, I learned when riding this many miles in a Pacific Northwest winter, it's gonna rain...a lot. I went through almost a whole bottle of chain lube and I've accumulated at least 10 pounds of dirt and pine needles on the floor of my garage!
Will I do it again next year? Well, it's like childbirth--right now, with the fatigue fresh in my mind, I'd say, NO WAY! However, after a year passes, I'll probably not remember the pain and exhaustion, and I'll think, yeah sure, I can do it! What's 500 kilometers??? Piece of cake!!!
For now, I think I'll go take a NAP!
Total miles for today--46.1 (74km)
Total kilometers remaining of the Festive 500--ZERO, ZIP, NADA!!!
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