Week 7 long ride

That was a tough one - it came in a little short, but I was DONE, I didn't have it in me to do one more over-shoot and return! It is 95 degrees, not particularly humid but the sheer heat is intense! Gosh, glad to be done with that - it will go better for me in the two long rides I have scheduled for upcoming Wednesdays if it is not quite so hot. First couple hours lovely (and I finally got the exact route right - I have been wondering why this highwayish stretch and bridge seemed so unfamiliar, I now realize it's because there's a detour that is the proper way that Lauren and I used to take!). After that it was a slog. I rode past Haverstraw - I've been avoiding it because there's a junction my reptile brain really isn't happy about on the way back, but I dimly recalled that I like the terrain on the other side of that, and it was indeed very nice - there's a marina and the roads are ridiculously quiet.

My Garmin battery died early on, and though I now have a functioning bike computer (yes!), I didn't look at the starting mileage until after the other device went down, so distance is approximate. Hot, hilly - I came back a slightly wrong way, parallel to what I really wanted - it took me into Bergen County - then I followed signs back to Alpine and 9W, but it was the HOTTEST and STEEPEST long hill imaginable - so I did a loop rather than strictly an out-and-back. I suppose I was at the 3:45 mark when I came within sight of Lamont - rode back out north on 9W, but when I came to the turnoff, I just didn't have the heart to take it, I turned around even though I knew I'd come in short!

Notionally I have a second three-hour ride in the week, but I've decided I want to do them outside rather than indoors (the current Saturday 11am spin class isn't suited to endurance training purposes), and I think this week I'm just going to have to let it go. Heat is too much and I need to do a long run tomorrow morning rather than ride on 9W again - I've been rightly emphasizing cycling over running, but that can be taken too far. Hopefully next week will really be a primo perfect training week? (Just saying that threatens to jinx it....)

4:15, c. 58mi, c. 13.7mph (will try and get more accurate pace for next couple)