gravel grunt

Billed as a Red Ass training ride, it felt more like a Black and Blue Ass ride over some of the bumpier gravel roads. That and a 30-50 kmh headwind on the way back conspired to make it a bit of a slog. A head down, take your turn at the front, and hold on at the back sort of ride. But it feels good to have done it. 233 kms in just under 9 and a half hours, lots of Mennonite cemetaries and, according to Tomek's heart rate monitor, 7000+ calories burned. Sorry, no pictures. I forgot my camera and Paddy forgot to check his batteries.

In addition to being a mini(!) trial run for Red Ass, it was also a test of sorts for my leg. This was, of course, a massive violation of my doctor's 10% rule--don't increase your training efforts by more than 10% from one week to the next. But it's been feeling good and it seemed like the time was right to test it out. I'm doing some heavy pre-emptive icing and waiting anxiously to see what happens over the next day or two.

Thanks to Johnny and Cheryl for cold beverages and some good Altona hospitality.

Can't wait until tomorrow. Half Pints revisited. Maybe we'll get inside this time.

OTT: New Ruins, Flowers