On the evening of 3-4 August I rode the Eastern Shore Reversed permanent with 3 other members of SPP. Fearing Friday afternoon beach traffic on my drive to Wallops Island, I left around 1:30 PM for a 7:00 PM start, stopping at Joy Luck IV for a quart of house fried rice to eat on the way (my carb-loading routine had been non-existent this time due to a couple of crises- I also had 3 bagels for breakfast), I got to Wallops about 5:30 (traffic in Salisbury was a mess), and had a BLT and three Pepsi's (felt a little dehydrated as well) for dinner with the others before heading out.
This was my first ride with my new Camelbak MULE, which held all my stuff and would have held more. This was a warm/humid/fast/sweaty ride, and I went through 2 bladders of water (~5l). Also two bottles of Gatorade, and probably still ended up on the dry side again. Food on this ride (other than the pre-meals): half a bag of jelly beans, a tastykake, and a clif bar. Definitely easier to drink from camelbak when riding fast, not sure it didn't make me hotter.
Receipts: Missed one at a control when the guy signed an old receipt vice giving me a new one. Sweat stinging my eyes was a big factor in the mixup. At a closed control got a receipt from a gas pump ($0.01, didn't even spill any gas).
This was a fast-paced ride. Finished 201K in 8:27 (an hour better than previous best). Had to dig deep to stay close, the rest would slow down occasionally to let me back on.
Here's a link to the stats Thanks Clint!
Lessons:
1. When switching between bike pack and camelbak, don't forget to transfer the spare spokes.
2. Didn't have enough spare batteries for all lights. The "headlight" might be too small/dim.
3. The GUTR would have been handy, even at night in 80F temperatures
4. Kept tasting the fried rice almost to the end of the ride - wise choice grasshopper?
5. Power Bars still don't set well. Get rid of them.
6. When riding at your limit it's hard to eat/drink. Be attentive to slow points in the ride to do these.
7. Had only commuted 8 times and ridden 40 miles with my daughter since last month's perm. Probably would have been faster with more mileage.
Hummed:
My Love is Alive - Gary Wright
