After Katie headed down to Stinson, the rest of us headed North to Marshall and climbed the Marshall Wall (not really that tough - not sure why it is so revered?) and headed through the valley back to Nicasio. Then back around to home. Yes, I will explain the subject of this posting - be patient...
It really becomes kind of tiresome to say it, but "we are very lucky to live here and be able to ride these roads!" kept running through my mind, especially on Marshall-Petaluma Road, which goes up the Wall, then down and through the valley all the way to Hicks Valley Road. No cars, no other cyclists of note, and just mile after mile of either pristine natural beauty, or multi-generational family farms that continue to raise happy cows, and happy vegetables.
Riding along Hicks Valley Road - no cars for about 40 minutes!We benefited from near-perfect weather - mid-60's temperatures, high overcast clouds for most of the ride, and a nice tailwind on the way back from the coast. We stopped off at the Cheese Factory for a quick break - saw a couple of other cyclists there.
Tom, Rich, Jeff and Ken - about mile 65.Since I'm trying to "prepare" for the Death Ride next week, I reasoned that it would be a good idea to get some "long, slow miles" into my legs this weekend, and then recover this week to be ready for the 15,000 feet of climbing on July 11th. Of course, riding slowly requires self-discipline, which I clearly lacked ascending White's Hill, then again on the pace line we assembled on the way to Nicasio, and then to Pt. Reyes. Burned a few "matches" that I really wish I'd had left on the back half of the ride.
We were able to get the sandwich at Cowgirl Creamery Cantina (today was lamb and shaved fennel) and had time to replenish some of our energy, but I clearly should have eaten more. By the time I reached Larkspur, after more than 5 hours of riding, I was pretty much toast.
Despite 4 bottles of Cytomax and water, and a Clif Bar, and half the sandwich, it clearly wasn't enough to offset the 4,000 calories I'd burned in the first 75 miles of the ride. I let Ken and Jeff head on home, and I quickly gobbled down the remaining Apricot Coffee Cake I'd bought back at Bovine Bakery in Pt. Reyes (3 hours before - why didn't I eat this earlier?).
I managed to ride about one more mile to my friend Fred's house, who was conveniently having a Fourth of July Party, where they were able to refill my tank with two burgers, and some other food I remember consuming in a fog.
After resting at Fred's for an hour, I headed up and over Camino Alto - found it wasn't nearly as tough as I was expecting - the food had restored my strength (and will to live) and I made it home without incident or much difficulty.
So the moral, and the title say it all - if you want to ride longer, you'd better eat more, and if you eat more you can ride longer. We all KNOW this, don't we? But sometimes you have to re-learn it the (semi-epic) hard way.
See you out on the road!
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