7 Hour Ride - INDOORS

July 14, 2010,

Day 12 - 111.2 miles

Before I went to bed last night I was hoping that the rain would hold off till the afternoon. I got up and looked outside and saw it was overcast but decided to give it a try. One block out it started to rain hard. I said let's go inside. Brought my bike downstairs and put it on my trainer. That's where I stayed for the next 7 hours. I trained all winter this way so it was not real hard. In fact, I welcomed the change from the same courses I have been riding outside. I put on CNBC, then I watched a preview for the British Open golf tournament that begins tomorrow and finally I was able to watch the whole stage of the Tour. I also put on a Spinerval DVD that I trained to during the winter. The DVD kept me focused and the Tour kept me motivated.

After 7 hours I wanted to ride the last hour outside, so I brought the bike up and started to ride outside. It looked like rain but wasn't. As it turned out it rained the last 45 minutes of my ride. But it was good to get outside and stretch my legs.

For me these are the "dog days" of the tour. These are long days and riding alone and repeating the courses can get to you. Tomorrow I have a friend who will ride about 50 miles with me and hopefully another friend who will ride with me on Friday or Saturday. Main objective is to get to next Wednesday, the rest day. After that there will be only 4 days of which two are very short.

I found a new snack to eat while I ride. Cheese crackers with peanut butter on them. The ones you get in vending machines. They are great for the ride. That along with my turkey sandwich, oatmeal raisin cookies and a banana, is my meal each day. It looks like the hot weather is returning over the next several days. I am ready for it.

Total Distance: 111.2 miles
Total Time: 8 hours
Total Elapsed Time: 8 hours and 30 minutes

Phil