over the river and through the woods...

[aithne]

...to Lake Wilderness Park we will go!

Rode my bike from the usual spot to past Lake Wilderness: 28.6 miles total. 7 of those are gravel, and half of that is a somewhat brutal 3.5 miles, being pretty uphill all the way to the end of the trail. However, there are perks. There is an Episcopalian church up there that has a maze, and the trail runs through the South King County Arboretum, which I didn't know existed.

I averaged about 9 mph from where the pavement ended to the end of the gravel part; on the way back down, it was about 12 mph. When I hit pavement again, I kept up a pretty steady 14.5 mph pace for a while, and then dropped down to 12.5 mph for the last four miles. (I like my bike computer. Can you tell?)

What I hadn't figured on was giving myself a pretty good case of hypothermia. I'd thought that the exercise would keep me warm, but evidently I really do need a hoodie or something when there's a chill in the air, because I was wearing my bike shorts and a tank top and by the time I got back, I was starting to shiver uncontrollably. I got home and drank a bottle of Gatorade, took a hot shower, and am working on a big mug of herbal tea, and I'm finally stopping shivering. Mostly. My fingers are still paper-white and my nails are a little blue yet, but those will get there.

Anyway, it took me about 2.5 hours to do that distance. I had one of the better food-bar thingies I've had in a while, one based on macadamia nuts (with no weird fake sugar, and not hugely terrible for my diet!), and a liter of water.

Another one or two 30-mile rides and I'll be ready to try a 40-mile one. (I'm sure that'll sound like a good idea once I've had a night's sleep, that is.)

Comments

[kyra-ojosverdes.livejournal.com]

What food-bar thing did you have? I've yet to find one that I like. Mostly I find "I think I could eat this if I were at the point of chewing random nearby leaves for energy."

[silenceleigh.livejournal.com]

Eat Natural Macadamia and Fruit Bar. It's from the UK, and they appear to be somewhat unclear on the concept of nutritional information, but I found it randomly at Safeway and wanted to give it a try.

Food bars always taste better when you're seriously exerting yourself, though. Not sure if I'd like it if I weren't to the point of chewing on random nearby leaves for energy. :)

[kyra-ojosverdes.livejournal.com]

I do have a story of climbing down a mountain (always harder for me than climbing up) after having run out of food bars, water, and energy on the way up. I was zig-zagging my way down to find pocjets of unmelted snow to eat for water, and tiny little grouse wortleberries for blood sugar. My vision was black around the sides by the time I got back to the level of camp. I now carry much more food and water when making "little day hikes" up mountains while backpacking.

[zzrg.livejournal.com]

Sounds like an awesome ride. My bike fund got depleted by the need to buy groceries over the last couple of months, but it is still on the list.

For me the point of energy bars is definately NOT tastiness. The last thing I need is something that tastes particularly good around the house. The biggest factor for me right now is trying to find something that is not a budget buster. The best deal I have been able to find, is power bars protein plus at Sam's.