Brewery to Old Federal Road - Knocking At The Door

Not far from the base of Fort Mountain

 Garmin Connect Data 
Ride with GPS Data
Garmin Summary
Moving Time: 5:16:00 (5:34:18 total)
Distance: 88 miles
Avg Moving Speed 16.7 mph

Group: solo  
Goal: Going for 300 TSS at a steady pace, extend my saddle time and miles.

The Ride: The brewery was a very empty place today. I know some of my friends were headed to Burnt Mountain to train, but usually there are quite a few people that show up in various clubs or as individuals. There were only a couple of people getting ready when I rolled out near 8:30 this morning and I saw only a couple of people on the return. Maybe it was the weather forecast again that sounded really intimidating with cold temperatures and high winds. Not sure. Kind of a weird ghost town feeling.

I went on about my business heading out on my typical out and back route heading due north into what was supposed to be headwinds, but it seemed pretty calm so I kept going forward and would have anyway. The temperature seemed to warm up faster than expected as well and it wasn't long before I realized that I once again overdressed. I think I could have gone with summer gear, base layer and leg warmers.

Overall the day felt pretty good.  I kept my intensity a little lower and hoped to add a few more miles and time to the ride. Once I was near Hwy 61 (Hwy 411) I was really tempted to do a century and I started that direction going toward Fort Mountain, but realized I had not told my wife and decided to turn around. My legs really felt like they were ready for the 100 miles, but I think heading back was the better choice for today. On the return the winds really began to pick up, but fortunately they were crosswinds. The type that you can just about lean your shoulder into them and not fall over. A few times I hit those as headwinds and it dropped me back to about 10 mph at 250+ watts. Those were about the only times I really had to push hard to go anywhere. I think if I had that as headwinds all the way home it would have taken me all day and more than likely I would have just pulled over and cried. That was some stiff wind. :-)

I was well within range of Fort Mountain and was just about ready to knock on the door.
Soon, Very Soon!

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: ~40 oz. of water with Hammer Perpetuem, BCAA's, Gluatamine (1) Hammer Gels (2) Cliff Bar (1) 30 gram whey protein post ride recovery drink (1) chicken casserole, corn chips and water.

The Weather: Sunny skies at the start @ 35 degrees, End sunny skies @ 60 degrees, 13+ mph winds from the W to NW.

Bike: LOOK 585 , Garmin 800, Powertap SL+

Overall Power Data:
Entire workout (131 watts):
    Duration:      5:26:43 (5:34:24)
    Work:          2566 kJ
    TSS:           301.5 (intensity factor 0.746)
    Norm Power:    153
    VI:            1.17
    Distance:      88.119 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    504    131     watts
    Cadence:         7    206    74     rpm
    Speed:           0    35.5    16.2     mph
    Pace             1:41    0:00    3:42     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1811    156     lb-in
    Temperature:     35.6    60.8    51.4     Fahrenheit