52 miles and I felt great. Felt strong on the climbs. All was good with my riding.
My route was, for the most part, a good one as there was usually not much traffic. Some areas had little to no shoulder but the vehicles were courteous and gave me plenty of room except…
I wanted to get more distance today and have limited choices on roads in this area. I did a loop which included J-59, La Grange Road. The State of California has put rumble strips in the very limited shoulder space in recent years. When I first moved to the area six years ago, they were not there. I did try to stay on the shoulder as much as I could but on some parts of the road I was forced to ride in the lane. Very scary as I had no place to go if a vehicle decided not to give me room. There were semis pulling 40’ trailers, tour buses, large pickup trucks and lots of cars. When the semis passed me, they were usually followed by five to ten other vehicles. The speed limit is 55 which means they are going 65. Eventually, I stopped when I saw vehicles coming up behind me and got as far out of the lane as I could while the vehicles went by. Thank goodness for mirrors. I lost track of how many times I had to do this. I think it’s a shame the State made this road into one that cyclists will probably not use. I don’t think I’ll ride it again.
I tried using Map My Ride to keep track of today’s workout. However, the battery on my phone was getting low so I had to shut it off about mile 35. A partial tracking is not what I wanted so I’m disappointed with that. My supplemental battery was not charged – my fault – so I didn’t have it with me.
Dan started doing some of the core building exercises he’d seen me doing which reminded me to do them myself. I’m also doing some stretches which sure feel good. I doubt I’ll be riding tomorrow as it’s the monthly breakfast in Modesto at the airport in support of their museum. As long as the fog burns off early enough, we’ll fly in and see friends.
thecyclingdiva 