We were in the Valley yesterday morning for the start of the 50 mile ride which started at 8am but I took off 10 minutes early. It was not a race and not timed so it was not a problem. I headed out for the first REAL ride on my new bike. At about 3 miles in the first climb happened which went up a really steep road past the Arbor Crest winery. I realized my bike was not going into the lowest gear but I didn't stop to adjust and kept riding.
Talk about a way to start the ride. It was flat on top though and ended up off the north side of the bluff and down towards Peone which I rode in the other 50 mile ride.
It was a nifty view of the wheat fields which later in the day caught on fire... Mt Spokane in the background.
Out Peone and up Forker for the next climb then down to the valley again. I ended up missing a turn onto the Centennial trail and made a mile plus wander in a neighborhood before getting back to the trail. A number of people had caught up to me and I had others around the rest of the ride. A new thing for me.
Headed to Liberty Lake where we rode along the north side and then the west side which was the back side of Saltese where I have flown my paraglider a bunch.
Climbed the Quinimose hill which lead to this view of the Spokane Valley and Saltese's toe is visible on the right side.
The summit of the hill. Largely downhill from this point and then flat back to the finish.
Around the Saltese wet lands, then back the trail to the start finish.
@stryeyz and the boys were waiting for me and I ended up finishing the 48.54 miles in 3 hours 9 minutes. I was shooting for 3 hours 15 minutes of better and DID IT! I was quite sore. I got my lunch and ate then we loaded the bikes and headed for home with a stop at the store first.
My new bike did AMAZING and the tube held the whole ride.
You can see how soon after the start the first climb was... It was super cool having the power meter and finally finding out the balance of my pedal strokes. 42% left and 58% right.
Mostly zone 3 HR but a wide range of power zones. I have some serious work to do on my legs to get climbing better.
I got oodles of power PRs being the first long ride with it. I also realized on the ride that I was rarely out of breath the whole time and the parts that actually hurt the most were my legs and back. It shows that my cardio is really high and that I really need to focus on the leg strength and durability. Which shows by my power zone variability. My VO2 max is sitting at 50 which is really good for my age.
We got home about 1:30 and saw that Littler won the PDC tourney then I switched over to a NRA race which just so happened to be the NW Nationals from Kent/Tacoma Washington. I was there as a kid for drag racing, then last year we all got to stop by it and saw a jet car run the track. Watched the rest of it while I was trying to keep my body from seizing after the morning's effort.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing and recouping. I spent a lot of time working on the sore muscles in my legs and back. This morning is rough though and I have a job to go do so hope the Ibu will kick in well to quench the soreness.
This morning I have a job for a client to work on door locks and deck boards. My proper tubes finally arrived last night so I will swap out the rear tube sometime. The garden requires work and I have to figure out the cooler situation. Scheduled some more work for another client on Wednesday morning.
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| 2026 Y/E Goals | Yr Start | Goal | Current | +/Week | +/Mth | Remaining |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hive Posting Streak Days (since 5/25/20) | 2047 | 2,412 | 2,255 | 2 | ||
| Duolingo Streak (since 10/23/22) | 1140 | 1505 | 12 | |||
| 2500 Miles Cycled | 0 | 2500 | 1637.71 | 48.54 | 267.74 | 862.29 |
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3 comments
Looks like beautiful weather for your ride my friend, sounds like you're enjoying the new bike!👍🤗
Wow, an epic 3hr ride, something I haven't done in a long time. I love group rides, the only downside for me is more concentrating on keeping the group vibe and less watching the awesome surrounding one goes through. Beautiful post BTW.
please add in the first 6 position, the tag/topic #sports or #sportstalk to your cycling post if you wish to receive the SPORTS token which I fully support
This was my first "group" ride I have been on. All my miles have been solo or just with my family so this was interesting for sure. Lots more concentration needed for sure.