'Til I Can't Pedal No More

This training season, I've worked harder than I ever have to prepare for the Pan-Mass Challenge. As of yesterday, I've logged 1,223 miles on my bike since April. I've spent over 77 hours (that's more than three full days, folks) in the saddle and climbed over 62,000 vertical feet. I cycled at an average speed of 15.5 mph and topped out at 44 miles an hour (I'm pretty sure that was well over the speed limit). The above map shows where I've biked so far this year.

My ride yesterday was the beginning of the end of my training. Rich and I set out early in the morning to ride in CRW's annual Climb to the Clouds Century, a 100+ mile ride from Concord to Mount Wachusett and back. Unfortunately, we followed some riders at a wrong turn, and before we realized we were heading back to Concord prematurely, we were already 23 miles off course. Thanks to Rubel BikeMaps (highly recommended for any cyclist in Massachusetts), we were able to get back on course, but because of the added miles, we had to miss the big climb up Mount Wachusett (darn!). Even without that, it's still the hardest route I've ever ridden. As much as I wanted that ride to be over, I knew that it was going to make me stronger for the PMC, just two short weeks away.