MattTheHat 

I decided about a week ago that I wanted to do a night ride, starting at midnight:01 to be completed on the MUP in my local urban nature preserve. It seemed like today would be a good time to get this done because it was a few degrees cooler than it had been for a few days and cooler than the coming forecast. Kind of a now or never (or at least not until fall) kind of thing. This started out as a 100 mile ride when I started thinking about it, but I've ridden that far before, so I thought I'd up it to 125 miles. A double metric century. Seemed like a good idea.

Several notes: riding on a MUP for that far seems a little rougher on the body than on the road. I think this is because the sections of pavement are shorter. Lots of modulation. I'd just installed some 32mm GP5000TL. I'd been running the 28mm version for the past couple of months, but had used the 32s before. That was an excellent call because it definitely muted some of the modulation.

I only got an hour of sleep. That was probably not a good decision, but there was stuff that had to be done. I also was not fully recovered, as I've ridden for over 100 consecutive days. Being at least partially recovered would have been a better idea. I hydrated pretty well, but I seem to drink water at about half the recommended rate. I forced myself to drink more than I felt like. I didn't really eat much. A small package of cashews and about three little chunks of peanut brittle. I had protein bars but just didn't feel like eating much.

I ended up getting 125.06 miles in 8 hours, 6 minutes at about 15.4 MPH average. This was slightly better than I anticipated, but I purposely chose a flat loop. Total elevation gain was 1,113 feet. Average power output was 104 watts.

My longest ride so far this year was 41.5 miles. My longest ride ever was about 18 months ago, it was just over 100 miles.

Here's the word of caution: EVERYTHING HURTS. I just turned 53 a few years ago, so I'm younger than many here. I feel a bit older this afternoon.

It was a very pleasant ride though. Extra Strength Excedrin, Sportlegs and and a few vitamin B12s helped. Those "6-hour" Excedrins last about and hour and a half.

257 roberts

Congratulations....now take a few days off and let us try to catch up lol

cyclist2000

Good for you, I'm surprised that you rode it so early in the month.

hammond9705

Sounds good. Which trail was it? I assume you did multiple laps? How far was each lap?

MattTheHat 

It was a loop within the Oak Point Nature Preserve, in Plano, Texas. The loop is just under 3 miles. I think I did 43 laps. A couple were longer than the others when I'd ride to the car to refill my water bottles. Here's link to the Strava ride: <https://www.strava.com/activities/3709299214>.

I'm still a little sore, but I'll be doing another ride tonight to get a few miles. It will be interesting to see how the old saddle interface feels.

wthensler 

First of all congrats! I don’t think I could physically sit on a bike for 8 hours at a time, regardless of padding. I’m almost ten years older, and if you’re a Clydesdale, I think your body gets beat up more than those skinny folks we see every day. I’m good for 60, certainly can do the occasional century, but I don’t think I could do such a short course. I need variety in my rides or ai get bored quickly.,,VA never gets boring. FL, occasionally.

So rest up, lots of days left in July. 100 consecutive days? Wow....

MattTheHat 

Being in the dark helped knock off some of the boredom. Or makes it worse, I’m not sure. Most everything looks the same.

Just heading out to get a few miles. The saddle interface feels incredibly pain free

supermatt9

What saddle are you riding on?

MattTheHat 

The Serfas TRS-2. It's an MTB saddle, but works very nicely for me. I also like their DDM-CT Dual Density Gel saddle. I have many thousands of miles on both.

tallbikeman

Congratulations on your ride. That is a great average speed for your ride. Riding everyday is good for you but resting properly is very important. Keep up the good work. I'm 67 and that speed average is not in my repertoire anymore. I rode a 33 mile ride at 14+ mph average speed a couple of days ago and took the next day off to recuperate properly. You are doing great.