Did someone say they were going to ride 80 miles this morning?
Because what I meant to type was 60 miles. Yes, “just†60.  (Side note: Century training, like marathon training, really warps your perspective on what is a ‘normal’ ride.)
Oh, friends! I guess my 80 miler just wasn’t meant to be! Remember how to tread on my right cycling shoe fell off last week? Well, the cleat was still on the right shoe so I had no problem cycling. But today, the tread AND the cleat fell off my left shoe when I unclipped at Mile 35.
Ashley proceeded to laugh at me, very hard. 😛
Since we were in front of a CVS, I bought Superglue and tried to stitch my shoe back together. However, it didn’t work.
The tread fell off again before I could even clip back in!
Next, we tried hair ties and rubber bands.
Obviously that didn’t work either.
More laughing from Ashley ensued. 🙂
Then, she had the brilliant idea to duct tape the cleat back to my shoe. I went into a hardware supply store and they gave me some.
Success!
Regarding the shoes, they are Shimano brand (<– link to HTP sponsor), but I bought them used. They are probably 5 + years old and are WAY out of warranty. I’m not 100% I’ll buy Shimanos again, though, considering they completely feel apart on me.
However, the 20-minute ordeal really put a damper on our spirits. We were laughing the entire time (Ashley has a great personality, you should check out her blog), but all the sitting around really sucked away our energy to ride.
I kind of wanted to quit right then and there, but Ashley urged me onwards.
We decided to change our mileage goal from 80 to 60.
I normally bike on the road, so the trails were a nice change of pace, although we had to loop back a few times to get to 60 miles.
On the ride, I consumed about 400 calories worth of Gatorade, as well as a peanut butter sandwich.
I am getting really good at eating while on the bike!
At the end, I was really proud of Ashley and I for sticking with it and completing a long ride. I do feel prepared for my Century (100 miles), regardless of whether or not I squeeze in another long-long ride. Including this ride, my long rides have included 45, 54, 60, 62, and 73 milers. I might do another 40 or 50er, but I feel satisfied with my training.
Final statistics:
- Distance: 60 miles
- Duration: 4 hours, 40 minutes (not included breaks)
Came home and made a protein Green Monster (1 cup almond milk, 1 banana, 2 cups raw spinach, 1 scoop brown rice protein):
And a roasted sweet potato + parsnip fries.
Time to get some work done!
Have you ever had gear fail on you during a training run or ride? What did you do?
yes one time i had major problems with my clipless pedals on a mtn bike ride and it was awful! so sorry and get some new shoes asap!