Yesterday was my first long bike ride. In the end, much longer then I had planned on.

I rode in the Tour de Sewer, a local ride down in Bell Gardens run by the Lions Club. There were 15, 30, and 62 mile routes. I chose the 30 mile. I had never ridden more than 12 miles before and was nervous about the distance.

The map below shows what I rode.

You'll see at the bottom of the map, a part where I rode down to Lakewood. Yes, I missed a turn and kept going South for several miles. I finally had to stop and look at where I was on the phone and then angrily back-track to the turn. 7 extra miles than I had planned on.

Things I learned on my first long ride:

• Riding with a group is easier than riding solo.
• I need to get pedals and shoes to clip in, regular pedals are bad for long rides.
• A ham sandwich at the rest stop is a delicious treat, even after sitting in my back pocket for 20 miles.
• Going up a 'moderate' hill climb had me sucking wind by the top.
• Some people love to chat while riding, like non-stop chatting.
• I like long rides.

I feel pretty good today. My muscles aren't sore at all. My left knee hurts a bit, probably from not being clipped into pedals. Today I did a short 6 mile round trip to the bike store in my sexy new Captain America jersey that Michele bought me and felt good.

Consider me sold on road biking as my new hobby.

Posted by michael at March 22, 2009 02:54 PM