Cayuga Lake Loop in the Humid 90s

My quest to bike five of the finger lakes this summer encountered a roadblock last Thursday, due to yet another mechanical problem. I drove off to Watkins Glen to take on Seneca Lake, but only made it 25 miles when one of my rear spokes broke. I haven't broken a spoke in years, but I think the numerous rude railroad crossings did me in. 20-spoke racing wheels go way out of true when you lose a spoke, so no amount of loosening of brakes allowed me to proceed. Thankfully the amazing Chuck bailed me out, driving all the way to the Mr. Twistees in Dresden to pick me up. It was a perfect day for a ride, with low humidity and temperatures in the low 60s, so I was actually chilly while I waited and took in the view of the Seneca Meadows landfill in the distance. I marveled at the steady stream of garbage trucks heading toward the enormous landfill, and wondered how long it took to get so big.

After calling around ten bike shops around the state in vain for an aero spoke for my Mavic Aksium wheel,  I was pleased to learn that once again, Swan's had just what I was looking for. Keith was incredibly helpful in getting my wheel perfectly trued, and he used his very cool Park Spoke Tension Meter to set spoke tension accurately before doing the final truing. I love learning new things about bike repair, and Keith is incredibly talented and very willing to share his knowledge.

Today I continued my finger lakes quest undeterred, with the goal of tackling the Cayuga Lake loop, a long but familiar ride. If I really spent the time to study the forecast, I might have reconsidered, as the temperatures were blazing in the mid-90s with no relief from the sun. On balance, I'm glad that I went, in spite of the fact that I was suffering quite a bit between miles 50 and 75. I packed a sandwich, clif gels, power bars, and two bottles, and made just two stops along the way, one in Union Springs for liquids, and one at Taughannock for water and a quick dip in Cayuga Lake.

Somehow I thought that substantial weight loss meant that I could handle intense heat and high humidity better, which is probably the case, but I don't remember hurting so bad on a ride in a long time. In spite of stretching, I cramped up in my thighs and in my stomach, and generally flailed around for an hour or so before recovering somewhat. While I'm still a bit cramped, I'm not even close to understanding what cyclists in The Tour de France are going through daily, as they punish their bodies and ride to the edge of exhaustion, only to line up the next day for more pain, and that's not even factoring in all of the crashes in the early stages. It may sound foolishly romantic, but I think that regularly riding to the edge of your abilities is good medicine for the spirit. Perhaps that's what I'm really addicted to, in addition to the endorphins!

Stats:

Distance: 86.28 miles

Avg. speed: 19.8 mph

Vertical ascent: 4059 ft.

Calories burned: 6069 kcal

Max. speed: 37.7 mph

Time: 4:21:14