Today I attempted my first long distance training ride. The goal of the ride was simple. Ride from Golden to Avery Brewery in North Boulder (a little over 40 miles) and back. I set out in the morning and I was making great time. Until I got to a little past the halfway point, at which point I decided to have a disagreement with gravity and the pavement and crashed my bike. Luckily, I was not going to fast, but it was still a very solid hit, tearing up my pullover and scraping me up all over. I also managed to knock my chain off of my bike and knock my derailleur askew somehow. Thinking I would not be able fix my bike and that I should not show up to the brewer caked in dried blood, I called my friend Nick to pick me up. While waiting for him, I was able to fix my chain and get my derailleur to an "operational" state. Since I fixed my bike, I decided that I would finish the ride to Avery.
So after cleaning myself up and bandaging myself up at Nick's girlfriend's house (luckily very close by to where I crashed), I climbed back on my bike and rode the remaining 20 or so miles. I did make it to the brewery, though my speed was a bit slower due to the crash. I was meeting a group of friends at Avery, so I decided to just cut the ride short and catch a ride in a car back to Golden. For being my first training ride, it was not the most successful attempt.
However, I did learn a couple useful things. First, after a bad crash, you can keep going, but the going will be slower (especially as the adrenaline wears off). Second, that a beer after 40 miles is delicious... a beer after 80 or 90 miles, I can't even imagine. I won't let this crash deter me and I'll be back on that bike as soon as I can.
Stats (rough estimates, as tracker malfunction during second half):
- Distance= 41.08 miles
- Time in saddle= 4 hours
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