Today’s plan

I’m going to try something different to start this stage.  Who knows if I’ll keep going this way, but it’s worth a try.

Anyway, I think it might be interesting for my people to know the plan for the day.

Last night we arrived in LA and we will drive to Winnfield this morning and pick up the bike and gear we left in storage.  As soon as I verify that the bike tires are inflated and the chain is properly lubricated I will begin riding.

The great thing about beyond Texas hill country is that climbing is less sloped and fewer of them.  Often the momentum I catch going down one slope will be enough to get me almost halfway up the next if I keep pedaling and I don’t slow nearly so much.  My hope is that my mph will go up significantly over the course of the next several hundred miles.  The faster I go while expending the same amount of energy, the farther I can go.

The goals and minimums for this stage are as follows (though I won’t cover exact stops along the way for safety reasons):

89 miles – 62 min

104 miles – 76 min

106 miles – 78 min

72 miles – 73 min

98 miles – 78 min

90 miles –  73 min

108 miles – 74 min

80 miles – 73 min

0 miles – 72 min

You might notice that I’m aiming for one fewer days on the bike than I “must”.  If I don’t reach all my goals, there is an extra Saturday into which I can put those.  I can also, if I choose, make some of the days shorter but not others.  The minimum will leave me with just under 15% of the ride to complete in April, and if I reach my goals in the 8 days, I will smash my personal best rides in miles three times (the most I’ve ever ridden in one day was 102 miles), and the most I have done in 8 riding days by 142 miles – an average of not quite 18 miles per riding day.

Deep breath.  Things are about to get really interesting.  Keep me in your prayers.