DIY 200K

I wanted to ride the 300K Castle Mtn Brevet this Saturday, but something in the back of my mind kept saying "...bad idea..." I decided to listen to my gut and forget about the 300K. As it turned out that was a smart move. Instead of the brevet I put together a 200K route south & west of Calgary that would have a lot of steep climbs and pretty scenery. In a nod to the 300K I carried my full brevet load - including my SON dyno hub, lights and headlamp.

The ride went well and it was a beautiful day in Southern Alberta. Although there was a lot more climbing than my previous 200K the wind was moderate throughout the day. By the end of the ride I was pretty tired and my lack of longer rides became evident again [I was really glad I didn't have an extra 100K to ride!], but I was not nearly as sore/tired after the ride as I was the first time. It is nice to see the conditioning develop and clearly I just need to keep racking up the KMs. Last year 100kms was a typical long ride and that already seems fairly short this year. 200K is quickly becoming normal. Cool. Without the PBP fever in my system there is no huge rush to crack the next rando distance. I'm going to ride a couple more 200Ks and then try my first 300K.

It was nice to wake up Sunday and be able to go for a ride without any major discomfort.

I'll post my ride stats later when I have my bike computer handy, but my average on bike speed was around 23.5kph. Not bad for a 40lbs+ recumbent and a lot of climbing. I will admit I was fantasizing about an uber light rando bike as I crawled up some of the longer climbs!

The SON hub/wheel worked fine. The added weight was noticeable on the climbs, but not on the flats. All my lighting was solid and nothing fell off mid-ride...=-) I need to get out for a night ride to really test out the gear and see how it all works in the pitch dark. Our long days up north mean that I'll have to go out after 11pm to get the right conditions.