Stop and Go

After over a week off the bike, because of pesky thunderstorms and other commitments, I did the SWC ride on Thursday, and it felt good. It was the usual "long way" around Galway Lake, with that nasty climb right at the end, but I made it up with a gear or two to spare. Then I cranked it up as soon as I topped out, and continued on my way. I'd been riding alone for the entire second half of the route, having left many others behind on a previous long gradual climb. Good ride, about 18 miles.

Yesterday, I felt the need to uncork a relatively big ride, so I did the Mariaville/Esperance/Duanesburg loop. This one is about 45 miles and 2400 feet of climbing. From the river up to Mariaville, it's a 9-mile 1200-foot climb, but fairly gradual aside from Weast Road near the top. There's another relatively minor climb on NY 30, and a couple of long gradual ones on US20, especially the long grind up out of Esperance eastbound. I made a point of drinking often, and stopping for a break now and then, so no cramping, but I finished the ride about the time I'd had enough.

In Mariaville, I had an apple pie from the store there, and that seemed to fuel me pretty well for the next segment to Esperance. There, I stopped for a "sodium supplement", some teriyaki jerky and some Combos. Then came the long climb. In Duanesburg, I stopped for lunch and had a very large pulled pork sandwich and a strawberry shake, and this may have been a mistake. I'd forgotten about the climb eastbound from Duanesburg, and with the heavy stomach and the long-ish lunch stop, my legs were like lead. I recall this same phenomenon after a heavy lunch stop in Brewerton when circumnavigating Oneida Lake a year or two ago. I think a carb-laden light lunch might be a better idea than a heavy pile of meat as I did on the two rides, and will need to keep that in mind.