That’s the mileage for my virtual tour of the Tour de Whatcom(TDW) routes that I am riding this summer due to the covid-19 induced cancellation of the TDW reality ride. It was 63 miles and after about the first 40 miles I was feeling every one of those miles. I recently rode the 20 & 40 routes and then last week rode another 50 mile loop out in the county so I was feeling pretty good about 63 miles.
So here is where my feeling went wrong:
- I rode my heavy weight Burley bike shod with 26″ x 2.25″ wide Schwalbe Big Bens, rather than a lightweight skinny tire road bike.
- I didn’t pack food because I normally don’t eat on 3-4 hour long rides, but I was slow and it turned into a 6+ hour long ride and I had a serious energy bonk.
- I started the ride mid route in Ferndale rather than B-ham, so the hilly portion of the route was in the latter half of the ride, after I’d already bonked.
- By the second half of the ride it was hot, the road was hot, my fat tires were hot, sticky and rolling slow…like bubble gum on your shoe.
So that’s the things that went wrong, no here is my list of rights:
- I took a nice mid-ride recovery siesta at Bloedel-Donovan. Sunny with a cool breeze a little early in the day for a siesta, but are there siesta police?
- Got to ride the wrong way up the middle of Holly St. and through the Bellingham “Chop” zone.
- Got to ride safely down Main St in Ferndale…safely because it was empty.
- I thought of calling my wife to pick me up mid-ride, but I didn’t. I finished the route.
It’s done now and I as I say, It’s in the books now. Think I’ll plan a little better for the upcoming virtual TDW Century.
