The Good Life Gravel Adventure

Next weekend it's 135(ish) miles of gravel insanity, ready and caling. Am I in? Oh hell yes. It looks like right now (or sometime today) the PCL crew was out testing the route in prep for next weekend. Last year the route was tough, real tough, and if I were to think it's going to be easier - I'd be foolish. It's goona be tough, real tough - but full of glory.

What's my strategy? I have little. Next week I'm riding to work every day but Friday, no long rides, just 20 miles a day. Goona eat right, keep hydrated, and take good care of my body. During the ride I'm going to turn the bike into a camel, and carry as much water as I can. I'm gunning for six bottles between the three cages and the rack trunk. Heck, maybe even 7 or 8. Last year that was one of my two critical errors - not enough water - and I'm NOT repeating it this year. I'll carry 8 extra pounds of water to avoid a repeat of those cramps. Seriously.

Second folly last year was pushing too hard during the first half and running completely out of steam. To avoid that this year I'm going to wear a heart rate monitor and keep close religious eye on my heart rate/effort. If I spin up a hill in a granny gear, I spin up a hill in a granny gear. It's better to do than blow up late in the ride.

Finally, I'm just going to ride until I can't ride any more. If that's at the end, at the mopac trailhead - awesome. If it's somewhere in the middle, right on. But, I don't like giving up. I'm also going to take regular smal breaks instead of a couple realy long ones - I'm shooting for 10 minutes every two hours, maybe more, maybe less.

I've not ridden much at all this month, but I'm not worried about that. In fact, ironicaly enough, I'm not worried about anything. I'm going to enjoy myself, and I plan on completing the ride with a smile on my face. That's how I roll.

More soon, I'm planning on running Google Latitude during the ride and possibly doing some twitter updates with location enroute. There's a lot else on my mind, if you can't tell, of which I'll likely post soon. Spin the cranks, lots of hugs, enjoy life.