Today I participated in the Honor the Warriors Bike Ride in support of the Patriot Military Family Foundation, who provides support and services for service-disabled veterans and their families as well as Gold Star Families who lost a loved one in service. A group of us from my firm participated with the firm covering our registration fees and we even had these snappy custom Hincapie cycling kits.
Veterans Memorial Park in Mint Hill, North Carolina
There were 15, 33 and 66 mile options and I chose the 66 mile ride for my third, and presumably final, metric century of the year. It was a VERY variable weather day, with the ride starting at 8 a.m. with temperatures at 50 degree and windy but rising to 75 degrees by noon. I started the ride with toe covers, leg warmers, arm sleeves and full finger gloves and a t-shirt base layer under my jersey but gradually shed layers as the sun came up.
The first 20 miles felt great with good speeds and hills that were short if they were steep but mellow if they were long. But gradually the climbs got tougher and longer with one 12% grade and lots of climbs in the 6-7% range. By mile 30, the hills were relentless and I started to feel some "pressure" on the quads tendon on my left knee, which had recently been a source of injury. I couldn't ease off it due to the constant climbing. At mile 45, with 20 miles to go, and with each mile getting slower than the mile before, the SAG truck pulled up as asked if I was okay. There are some times to push and there are some times to let discretion form the better part of valor. A charity fun ride in October is not worth aggravating a healing injury so I SAG'd it in at 45 miles.
It was a beautiful ride though around Mint Hill, southern Cabarrus County and eastern Union County. I discovered that we have cotton fields in North Carolina!
I don't pick cotton. Cause them that picks it is soon forgotten.
It has been a challenging few training weeks with lots of things interfering with consistent training. When you have spotty training weekdays like that, it's good on the weekend to get in some solid time and mileage. While I would have liked to finish off the metric century, I am better off having done a solid 45 miles and feeling strong in my knees. It was a good morning with some good friends and colleagues.