28 and Still Rolling
This morning, I let myself sleep in until 9:30. I slowly got myself together because I knew I would have a long day. I was out of the apartment a little past 10. I was ready to spend the next few hours biking. The first couple of hours weren't bad at all; quite enjoyable actually. The hills in West Virginia ensure you don't cheat yourself of a good workout. Around mile 26, I took a right at a town called Elizabeth. What I didn't notice that turning right took me south instead of north back to Mineral Wells. I saw signs of of the road, but didn't really notice the "South" marking on it. Well, that was until I rode another 6-8 miles. Shit. Let me ask somebody where the heck I'm at. Yup, just as I feared, I've been riding the wrong direction for a while.
So, I turned around and started peddling back in the right direction. Around mile 40, my legs started to ache that peddling in first gear hurt. Also, I didn't realize that the largest hills were on the way back to Mineral Wells. I thought I would never make it back. However, I did find some salvation from a laundromat. What?!? What's inside everyone of these places other than washers and dryers? Vending machines. The food that I packed was long gone and I was getting the shakes from a lack of nutrition. I pounded a Pepsi, a snickers and a pack of Combos in 5 minutes and continued. Luckily, I was at the out skirts of Mineral Wells so I knew my journey was about done. However, there was one more troubling incident. There is a small hill near where I live. I was in a higher gear and attacked the hill. If I could keep up my momentum while changing to lower gears I would conquer the last hill and I could coast home. For some strange reason, the bike refused to the lowest gear. Instead of stopping, I tried to climb up. Usually, I could get up the hill slowly, but at this point my legs were at the point of complete exhaustion. Bam! Double charlie horse in my thighs. Luckily, I was able to unclip from the bike and prevent myself from falling over.
Nevertheless, once my legs had recovered, I clipped back onto the bike and finished the last mile as hard as I could. When I finally got back home, I opened the door, propped the bike inside and collapsed to the floor. It felt good to get off my legs. Then I realized I needed to get to Walmart so I could pick up ingredients to make chicken stir fry.
I've promised myself I will do a full Ironman by the time I'm 30. If you're wondering, I rode a little more than 50 miles today. In a full ironman on the other hand a person has to ride 112 miles and then follow that up with a marathon. Nevermind, that before the bike section you have to complete 2.4 mile swim. I can't wait to do this.
