Big Ride

To begin with, my bummer from Saturday continued when I discovered that I left my bicycle computer in the pocket of my shorts that were in the laundry. This item went through the full wash cycle and did not miss a beat. There was no moisture under the screen, all of the memory was retained, and it is fully functional. Based on this, I HIGHLY recommend Cateye bicycle computers! Specifically the Cateye Astrale 8 which has a cadence sensor and rear wheel sensor.

Today I went on a 50 mile ride. I had planned on taking three hours to complete the trip and I was very pleased to have completed it in 2Hrs 45Min. (My goal for the spring is to complete the same 50 miles in a little over 2 Hrs.). I went west on Lake Street (US 20) from Oak Park to IL-59 in Barrington. This route is typically very busy, but due to the holiday the traffic was somewhat light.

I left more prepared than last time. I had my arsenal of emergency equipment: The Alien (multi-tool), two tubes, cell phone, 20 oz water bottle, 50 oz CamelBak, and wallet. Every thing was going fine until I stopped at a gas station along the way and picked up a bottle of Gatorade($1.99). I chugged the Gatorade and got a severe brain-freeze. I ran out of water at about 45 miles, which was disappointing. I am not sure why, but after I ran out of water I began coughing viloently at about 49 miles. Maybe related, maybe not...

Stats for the Ride:
Distance: 50.67 miles
Total Time: 2:45:38
Max Speed: 32.3 mph
Avg Speed: 18.3 mph

Lessons learned:
Bring more water! Do NOT chug your Gatorade in the middle of ride, Save it

It is obvious that gas retailers do not make much on gas, given the extraordinary markup on Gatorate. (FYI, gas retailers make appx. 5 cents/gallon, and often less than that)