Post Race Ride

The first real ride back from any NUE 100 miler is a tough one.  Fortuitously, we planned a 3 day family vacation in Hocking Hills this week (see horse riding pic!), so I got extra time off the bike.  Today I went out for a 60 miler of hills on the cross bike.  

As expected, my legs felt a bit sluggish but it wasn't as terrible as it could have been.  I managed to keep a good pace climbing up the many steep hills and recover on the flats.   I found a new abandoned train bridge that was cool and stopped to take a quick pic.   It was on Claylick Rd coming out of Tobosso. 

I was planning to stay off the gravel today but it wasn't to be.  Apparently the south end of Pleasant Valley Rd isn't paved.   A car had gone by about 7 min ago and the dust just hung thickly in the air.  With no rain for many weeks, there is about 2" of fine silt on all the gravel roads that just gets kicked up in the air with the slightest provocation.  With only a slight wind today, the dust just hung there coating everything including my lungs.  

Stats: 58 miles, 3k feet climbing, 16.4 mph avg pace.