It was warm and dry again today, so I was able to do a second outdoor ride in a row. Even though it was 50°F in Eagle by the time I got back, when I left for my ride this morning, it felt chillier than yesterday!? Between the higher humidity and a stronger wind, I was actually cold for most of the ride. It has been a while since I’ve done a ride longer than three hours so I headed out to do the Hamilton Corner loop. Since I knew I’d be on the bike close to four hours, I made a couple bottles of ride juice and brought lots of food.

I started out easy so I wouldn’t bonk…at least not so soon. There was a northwest wind so I had a headwind all the way until Hamilton Corner. About an hour into the ride I slowly increased my effort, to about my Level 2/Level 3 border. At Hamilton Corner, I made a right towards Emmett, but for about 5 miles there was another headwind! I hate it when that happens!?

I stopped in Emmett to refill my bottles and take a bathroom break, then headed up Old Freezeout. I rode the hill in my tempo zone, then tried to keep it there on the way down Hwy 16. On this stretch, I finally got a decent tailwind! I managed to keep my wattage up, but my legs were feeling worse and worse. By the time I hit Beacon Light, I was “officially” bonking. I just wanted to get home…and eat!! I still kept the pressure on the pedals on Beacon, then eased up when I finally hit Eagle Rd. My ride was 3hrs 47minutes with 221 TSS and 227/233 ave/norm power.

From the way I felt at the end, I was real glad I didn’t go hard at the beginning! I’m also glad I took advantage of today’s weather to put in a long ride. Even though I’m convinced of the value of intensity versus purely long-steady miles over the winter, I think I benefit from at least one long ride every couple weeks. I think it helps remind my body how to burn fat as a fuel source once my glycogen runs out…like it did today!

After I got home, I downed a huge blueberry shake. An hour later I made some yummy pancakes and continued to pound the liquids. Now, at 5:30, I’m still hungry! That’s the upside to doing such a long ride, I get to eat 5,500 calories today!! Tomorrow is supposed to be warm again, not sure what I’m going to do…I’ll have to see how I feel.