BobbyG

I did 55 and 56, but last year (57) my father passed away the day before my birthday. He called me from the hospital the night before to tell me to fly in ASAP. He caught me on my ride home from work, so I had my last conversation with my dad straddling a bike.

All last year I thought I would ride 85 miles to honor his age. I'm in Colorado Springs and 85 miles would take me from my door to my daughter's door in Denver. But with construction on the highway, the secondary roads I would take are more crowded than usual. And this weekend the highway was actually closed for a few miles.

So I decided to ride four of my 20-mile weekend ride routes. Twenty-Eighteen's 56-miler was the longest ride I'd done, but it wasn't too bad. I usualy average 13.5 mph commuting.

I took my lightest bike, my 1984 Nishiki International 12-speed, and I added my "clip-on" aero bars to boot.

So the ride started off great with an average speed of 18.5 for the first 12 miles towards Fountain, although it was downhill with a slight tail-wind. Then I worked my way to a long-straight stretch of secondary highway with a wide shoulder. Even into the wind I was at 15mph for a few miles. Then I headed up into the foothills towards Manitou Sptings with what seemed like a bit of a tail-wind, but averaging about 11mph.

And then the wind picked up higher than forecast. I was heading north (uphill) and I was seeing 9-10 mph. At 37 miles into the ride, I decided to call it quits and rode the 8 miles from my location to the house. It should have been fast, since I was heading downhill again, but the wind had shifted and I saw only 12mph.

The temperature started at 33F and rose to 44F, so it was a refreshing ride...I hate hot weather rides.

And I had mounted and tested the aero bars the day before, and they seemed like a good idea. I had used them for over a decade on my MTB-based, straight-bar commuter, but on the drop-bar 12-speed they were less stable, and the elbow rests blocked the upper bar.

So all-in-all I rode 45 miles, but I felt good about it. I felt like I gave it a good shot, and considering the wind I would have had a tough ride home if I went straight out 29 miles and turned back like previous birthday rides.

Had I decided to try heading to Denver, 45 miles would have taken me to Castle Rock, which would have left another 40 miles to go to make 85 as I had considered. But the wind would have been really tough on the plain in between cities.

I will try again later in the year.

Forty-five miles is 72 kilometers, so I covered my birthday metrically.

And the bottom line is had I not been bike commuting for the last 28 years, I would be in horrible physical shape by now, as I was reminded by my year offf the bike in 2010 due to a bulging disk in my neck.

Luckily I have an amazing family and enjoy my work, so I don't feel too bad about today's ride.

jppe

I like the way you think. Good going for the miles you got in.

BTW my Mom passed away on January 12 three years ago, and my grandson was born on the exact same day. The circle of life!

big john

We should check with the rules committee to see if they will grant you an extension.

TheDudeIsHere

Maybe you started too fast? 18.5 out of the gate is pretty fast and a good effort. Conserve some energy for the later miles to ensure completion.

BobbyG

It's down hill almost all the way on that first leg.

OldsCOOL

Hey, you got out there. Between the weather and the miles, you did well. Keep after it.