Combined route and profile for the weekend. 70 miles on Saturday, 57 on Sunday. Approximately 3,200 feet of climbing.
When I signed up for Death Valley, I started mapping out in my head what kind of miles I need to be doing during training, and decided I really needed to do a century ride by late July. Well, I haven’t quite accomplished that, so I’m a little behind schedule, but this weekend I did do a 70 mile ride on Saturday, out to Fountain Hills with the Los Freeloaders group and then around the Phoenix Mountain Preserve and a loop up to Union Hills by myself, and on Sunday I rode with the Moon Valley Group out to Thompson Peak Parkway and up Pima as far as Lone Mountain Parkway, totaling 57 miles for the day.
The 70 mile ride as the longest I’ve ridden since last summer, and I found where my new “wall” is – it’s at 68 miles. Just two miles from home my shoulder was not a happy camper, and it was hot and muggy. Fortunately, I was just two miles from home!
Sunday’s ride started out with casual spinning – as the Moon Valley rides tend to do, but I knew sooner or later the hammer would come down, and sure enough as we turned onto Thompson Peak Parkway, I was soon off the back, dead last, and remained that way until the regroup point. We had a spirited paceline down Cave Creek Road, and I did a fair amount of pulling. I need these kinds of solid workouts, toughen up those legs. I’ve got a long ways to go before I’m double century ready.
In other news, my physical therapist is making noises that I’ll need only a few more weeks of therapy sessions. She definitely wants to wrap things up in August. After having a breakthrough a few weeks ago, I’ve feel I’ve turned the corner for good. It’s about time. I’ve only been in therapy for almost eleven months.