I'm going on a 25-mile bike ride in Philadelphia tomorrow. I have to be at the Art Museum by 7 AM to register.

I know that's tomorrow--but just thinking about it is making me tired today.

The idea that I have to be at work at 8.30 a.m. on a Sunday morning, relatively well turned out and pleasant to deal with interview candidates (i.e. I have to be pleasant to people I'm interviewing) and we've got a new format, so guess I'd better familiarise myself with that too before I go to bed. Two weeks til holidays though. :)

Think of the adrenalin rush once you actually get started. What's the course like? Many hills? Family thing or a lycra-clad thing?

12km fun run here next Sunday. I nearly registered for the 6km late start, but then decided not to be pathetic.

It was mostly flat, with some hills here and there. It wasn't (IMO) quite as good for "all levels" as advertised, but there were no serious problems. Really the biggest challenge was the fact that I had never ridden more than 5 miles at once.

I also overslept and didn't make it out as early as I had wanted.... I assumed I could just kind of keep up with the slow part of the pack, but everybody was so spread out, and there were so many people out riding on their own, that it was hard to do that. But I made it through, and I learned several things and picked up a shopping list that will make next time better.

I finished in 4 hours, including stops (including several to orient myself with the cue sheet).

Excerllent. I need/want to ride more. I had toyed with the idea of doing a 10-miler today just to see if I could, but then it rained, and I'm not that into it.

What's making me tired today is the night before catching up with me at last.

Tramping over half the world taking pictures for Treasure Hunt 13.

How do your, uh, contact points feel?

Just came back from vacation to find an email asking me (which is a polite way of saying I was told) to work until 4am on Wednesday overnight because of a call out. Even though I got my "regular" amount of sleep afterwards, my ass is dragging. I'm trying to be indolent enough over the weekend to make up for this.

I like that word "indolent"

It goes well in many situations, such as a phrase like "indolent, but not feckless"

For fishermen, it's a way of life !

CHAFED!!! (But not badly.)
One of the things on my list before next time is a pair of real bicycling shorts. Another is a cheap bike computer, so I can keep track of distance between points.

Mudflaps might have helped, today. :haha:

How much longer than 5 miles was it?

What tips?

I got a cheap bike computer for like a buck off ebay -shipped from china. Actually I got 5. they do a great job. You've inspired me so I'm thinking of trying to do a 10-mile ride this morning... beest showed me how to set the tripometer "in case I wanted to use it" -I think he just won't believe i really did it unless he sees evidence! :lol:

25 miles long.

Real bike shorts (see Chafing above)

Bike computer/odometer (I have a GPS in my phone but it's such a battery hog I don't feel comfortable leaving it on. I left everything off except the actual phone function, and turned on the GPS and mobile data--needed to load the maps from Google Maps--when I stopped for a progress check.)

New helmet--one that has a visor, and is some color other than solid black. (It was a sunny day.)

Also consider a Camelbak backpack water supply. I had 2 water bottles along, one on the frame and one stashed in a back shirt pocket, but I really couldn't drink without a full stop.