Camp Begins

Just finished riding for the day -- from Tucson to Casa Grande. The bulk of the route was an I-10 service road, but there was some beautiful scenery in the morning part of the ride through Saguaro National Park. I did not not bring the camera, however, because I was trying to reduce the number of variables for the first riding day. Although we have a SAG support van, I actually have to carry more items than I normally do when I ride in New York becuase the desert weather is inconsistent.

When we left the hotel this morning at 7:00, it was about 40 degrees so I had to wear warmers and a jacket. By the afternoon, it was in the mid sixties and sunny. When I no longer needed the jacket and the knee warmers I was able to drop them in the SAG van during a snack stop. So, tommorow I will probably bring the camera. If I had it today, I could have captured a brief video of a dust devil. It just spun next to the road like a 5 feet wide, 20 foot high tornado. I'm guessing that they are common here, so maybe I'll see another when I have the camera handy.

I'm feeling a lot more tired and sore than I had hoped to after day 1. I have not been on the bike much so far this year, so I guess it will take some time to come back. My heart rate was way up all day. I'm not sure why. Maybe first-day adrenaline. Hopefully that will improve during camp.

Lessons Learned:

Mistake: Forgot to wear sunblock (easy to do when you are leaving in the cold morning).

Lesson learned: Wear sunblock

Mistake:Did not eat/sleep enough the night before (couldn't be helped with the plane delay).

Lesson learned: Arrive a day early

Mistake:Rode too fast after lunch. I joined a tandem pace line to hide from the wind. Their pace was faster than I had planned on riding, but the headwinds were really starting to pick up, so I joined. Then, Lon Haldeman joined on my wheel, which made me feel some pressure to maintain the pace. So, we rode a good section at 22+ mph into the headwind. I probably would have had to work just as hard riding alone at 16 mph. Still, I should have made that assessment at the time rather than just stay with the line. If I were only out here for a few days, it wouldn't matter but I need to pace myself for the entire month of camp (and rest of the year).

Lesson Learned: Ignore the celebrity factor of the people around you (there are many) and make decisions that will serve me best over the long haul. Besides, it's not like I could keep up with them for very long anyway...

Mistake: Did not drink enough on the bike. I've been drinking and drinking since we got off the bike, to try and make up for it.

Lesson Learned: Drink more before and on the bike. You can stop and go whenever you want to out here -- there's nobody here to see you...

Stats for the day:

Distance: 82 miles
Average Speed On Bike: 17 mph
Riding Time: 4 hours 50 minutes
Total Time: 6 hours
Average Power: 145 watts
Max Power: 732 watts
Calories Applied to Wheel: 2,500
Average Heart Rate: 172 bpm

Total Distance This Year: 616 miles