53 Miles Complete!

Wow!  What a ride.  The first 27 miles was actually pretty easy.  The next 27 miles...not so much.

53.2 Miles
4:12:55
http://app.strava.com/activities/203222999

It was a beautiful day!  I don't think the temperature moved above 80 degrees.  Just a couple clouds in the sky.  Really nice!  Except for one tinsy, tiny, itty bitty little issue.  That would be the relentless 20-25 mph wind!  I had a great tailwind out!  I tried to conserve energy knowing that it was going to be really bad on the way back.  It was.  The best way to describe it is kind of like a really, really long climb.  I had about 18 miles of dead on head wind.  I am shocked I made it.  Much of this ride is on the coast which is awesome.

The equipment worked great.  The adjustment to the seat was awesome!  I actually spent a great deal of time down on the drops trying to get through the wind.  The bike is definitely popping, snapping, cracking, and just making a ton of noise.  I will try to figure that out when I get back from my nest work trip.  Feet still hurt but not as bad.  Took lots of breaks.  Standing you my heels helped with the pain.

I feel pretty good.  The legs held up.  My back and neck hurt a bit.  I need to get stronger and will start working on my upper body strength this week.  My time was way fast compared to my previous 53 miler (over 5:30!).  So I "shaved" off an hour and a half.  Not bad.  I need to get MUCH faster before doing the century.  I cannot imagine trying to ride my bike for eight or nine hours.  I have a LONG way to go.  Training is going to be hard.  In all, a successful week though!  I will post a recap along with a Sunday weigh in tomorrow.  

Key learnings:
Food, water, equipment, and conditioning helps...
Head winds are very hard...
I am capable of more than I know...
I have a very long way to go to get to 100 miles!


I snapped a few pictures from my journey.  Hope you like them!

Shut part of my bridge to get on the peninsula down.  I had to cross while the draw bridge bells were ringing!  Made me kind of nervous.























This bridge to get on to Sullivan's Island was letting a big boat pass.  PB&J sandwich time!  What's my deal with bridges today?

Pics from the battery