SPF 50 already?

The morning of April 6th I woke up early enough to go on a long ridebut did not know where I would go exactly. The temperature was going to be high with full sun so I put on SPF 50 for protection.  I drank a  pot of coffee but had no food. My stomach was still feeling full from last night when I had pigged out. I spent a few hours on the internet and getting ready. Too much prep time! Got the Specialized ready by pumping the tires to 80 and 90 psi fr/rr;  low, but good enough for me. Finally, at 9:30 am I was on my way.  I rode over to Paris Mountain at a real easy pace. My goal was low heart rate today and a lot of miles. I started the climb but was stopped by a road crew. The big road crew was chewing up bad road sections and paving new. Still got to the top in 20 minutes at an easy pace. Got down in a brisk 4.2 minutes. Without the wet and sand on the road it was safe and fun to zoom down.


From there it was on the Miracle Hill course toward Ceasars Head. The sun was blazing down and it was heating up to about 80 by now I guess. Boom! A bumble bee hit my hard on the chin. I am so glad it was not a few centimeters higher or it would have been in my mouth. Note to self: ride with mouth closed at all times. Made good time through the rolling hills taking in all the Springtime blooming and beauty. Got to the base of CH and ate a energy bar and drank a bunch. Got to the top in 43.5 minutes at a moderate pace without incident. Went behind the bathroom and got water as my friend Doug had told me about. Drank some and had both bottles (that were now empty) refilled. Made some Powerade with powder I had brought. There were a good many people at the rangers station doing picnics and such.

The time was 12:40 pm and I had to be home by 4 or 4:10 at the latest. Kristen had a softball game at 4:30pm and I had to pick up Jessica beforehand. I was not sure if an idea to go to Dupont Forest and over to Flat Rock route was feasible. I spent probably 5 mintes just standing in the shade thinking about what to do and trying to estimate how long a route it was. I had been that way only 3 times over the last 3 or so years before and was not sure of times or distances. I decided to head that way and think about turning around if I felt like it was too much. I desceded down to Cedar Mountain and got to the turn off in about 10 minutes and had decided to go for it. I turned right at the fire station and pushed on with hope that it was not an ill fated decision. As I made my way (the heat was up to 90 degrees in the shade) I knew it was hot yet it did not feel so hot. I would later confirm via the weatherman on TV that the humidity was very low at about 10%. There were lots of people at the Hooker Falls parking lot in the forest. Crab Creek was a nice small but fast flowing stream to ride beside.

As I made my way to Flat Rock I began to feel a pain in my stomach. I was not sure if the Powerbar Bites I had just eaten were to blame or what. Ouch. As I rode on the pain got worse. I wished I could belch or let the gas out if that is what it was. It was taking away from my confidence and power. I worried that my trip back would not be fast enough for my plans. I finally got to Flat Rock at 2:08pm and figued that I would be in good enough shape to get home in about 2 hours. But I had to go on and not stop at the Carl Sandburg home visitors center for water (as I have done in the past). I still had a bottle anyway. But I did start to think about my nutrition and hydration and realize that I was probably bonking on the heat and lack of water and food. So I drank more and started eating a Powerbar. The temperature showed 100 on my meter in the full sun. Got to Zirconia at 2:18, Tuxedo at 2:25. It was a race to get home on time. It so often seems to be this way for me. At 2:40 I got to the top of the descent to go down the watershed at the state line. There would be 6 miles of downhill. Wished it was 20 miles down to home. The water and food were starting to help a little, but still there was pain. Just keep pedaling. Got in to Tigerville at 3:25pm and stopped at the Einstein Bagels place and slipped into the bathroom and filled my bottles. I knew the time to home pretty well from here since I had timed it so often. It would be close. I drank the one bottle of powerade in about 15 minutes. Keep pushing. I started to realize I could start with leg cramps soon but hoped not. Got home finally at 4:17pm. Thank you Lord for getting me home. I had ridden 99.04 miles in 6.3 hours. Let's call it a century. With the temp at the century mark. I had just enough time to do a quick change (and weigh myself and see that I lost 5 lbs) and back out the door with a bookbag full of food and liquids. Off to the game where I could sit in the sun and recover.