Finished My Warm-Up
After one of the most brutal starts in history (weather-wise), 2015 has finally hit a stretch of decent warmth here in Boston. And with real hotness forecast for Mothers Day Sunday, I decided to head inland to Dunstable and Nashua NH for my first century of the year. Sadly, I wound up paying the price for being a sun-worshipper, as you’ll see if you read on.
The first strike against me was having done a 60-mile ride on Saturday, the day before. I probably should have gone shorter, but I was the second-placed person in our company’s fitness challenge, and had a little ground to make up on number one, who is also a big biker. The extra miles ensured I’d start the century with heavy legs, but I planned to take it easy and not worry about setting any record times.
One method of easing into it was to meet up with the Quad ride for the early leg from Arlington to Carlisle. It was nice to meet up with some of the folks I hadn’t seen since last fall, although I was surprised when one of the regulars welcomed me to the group as a new rider!
My first bit of adversity came when I got to Carlisle, where I’d planned to stop to refill my water bottle. To my surprise, Ferns was shuttered tight for Mothers Day, leaving me to fend for myself as I could elsewhere along my route.
Although the route is really pretty, the temperature climbed up through the 80s. I was coated with pollen and road grit, and a strong headwind sapped my strength. After crossing into New Hampshire and taking a photo at “Century Way”, I plodded back southward. Acton was particularly bad, where I had to plow through three or four long, bone-jarring sections of pavement that had been stripped for resurfacing.
The temperature was hovering at 90° when I stopped at Kimball’s for an orange sherbet at mile 76. With probably 80 people lined up, the wait in the direct sunlight left me feeling faint and pukey. I was having serious core temperature issues, but at least I’d finally warmed up after this ridiculous winter!
I wearily crawled homeward, even stopping at Spy Pond in Arlington to rest and douse myself with water. But despite how thoroughly beat I felt, I finally I got home, having logged my first century of the year and gotten a serious head start on my tan lines…
And having put a sizeable distance between myself and the now former leader of our corporate fitness challenge.