the crazy shit I do for fun

IT wasn't pretty and took FOREVER but I got all my Mid South miles in today.

​Two miles in, I was thinking how stupid it was for me to do this and how I could get out of it.  I have just not ridden much gravel lately.  And. . . I am out of shape sporting 25 extra cancer pounds  One and a half years ago, I could do this in miles 3.5 to 4 hrs.  Today, it took me 8 freaking hours to ride 54 miles!

Sure, I could blame it on the temperature as it was chilly in the mid forties.  I could blame it on the 15 to 20 mph winds.  I could blame it on the rain . . .that was falling. . . yeah yeah.  But, I have to own up and say, this is on me and lack of preparation.
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Top picture is me at mile 36ish. I was not happy and just shed some tears at my predicament.  While most roads were great, this mile was an exception.  It got to where I had to stop and walk to the upcoming turn to confirm first that the time spent to  clean off the mud would not be done a second time.  And so I could continue to ride without worry of breaking something.   As I got back on and rode on, the mud and rock still stuck on the tires flew off like shrapnel.  My face was in the line of fire and I had nothing else to do but keep rolling to get all that mud off.

This is also when my brain decided when my Garmin rolls 50 miles, I'm done.  That is IT! Not a mile more.  I would just tell Jon that he can ride ahead and come back and get me.

As luck would have it about mile 45, I told Jon to go on without me.  I would be stopping as soon as I hit 50 miles.  Just as he took off, over the next hill, was an awesome set of rollers and packed gravel.  It was a perfect reward to what the last 10 miles had given me.  As my Garmin showed 50, I was still in a nice 20mph+ roll.  So I kept going.  A good friend that always seems to be around when I decide to do these crazy things with Jon, Mark, drove up and asked if I was done.  In that conversation, Mark said there was only 1.5 miles left.  That was it.  I had to keep peddling on.  So. . .

I DID IT!  I had all the excuses to get out of it or cut it short and bail, but I didn't.  I sit here extremely sore, exhausted and very relieved to be done.  I now am proud of my 8  hours because I now have zero regrets.

PS...Jon again was a trooper.  I am very thankful for his patience to continue to let me do this crazy shit for fun.