Bicyclists then pedaled round and round the island in an attempt to do 200 miles in 24 hours.\u00a0 The first time I tried, I was only able to do about 150 miles.\u00a0 The second time I did the 200 miles with time to spare.\u00a0 At the end of the 200 miles I was exhausted.\u00a0 I got off my bike after hitting the double century goal and fell asleep in the grass by the side of the road.<\/p>\n
I am feeling that kind of exhausted.\u00a0 Two days ago I averaged 13 mph over the day.\u00a0 Yesterday I averaged 12 mph.\u00a0 Today, it is down to 11 mph.\u00a0 That might not seem much but the two miles per hour difference means sitting on the saddle an extra hour.\u00a0 That extra hour hurts my bottom, a lot, especially on Michigan’s roads, which look like the state’s highway department ran out of money years ago.\u00a0 I have not seen roads in such poor condition since Montana.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nI need a rest day.\u00a0 The last one was almost two weeks ago in Bismark, North Dakota.\u00a0\u00a0 My son, however, is flying out and will be here tomorrow.\u00a0 He is expecting to go riding with me.\u00a0 He is also a very strong rider.\u00a0 We did a 70 mile training trip together just before I started this adventure.\u00a0 After the 70 mile ride, I laid on my couch and watched a movie.\u00a0 That was all the energy I had left.\u00a0 He wasn’t tired.\u00a0 Instead he went for a four mile run because he wanted a bit more exercise and then went out with friends.<\/p>\n
I will try going to bed immediately.\u00a0 Maybe 10 hours of sleep will help?\u00a0 I will let you know tomorrow.<\/p>\n
++++++++++++++<\/p>\n
PS:\u00a0 The big adventure\/problem of today was exploding chocolate.\u00a0 I bought some chocolate bars to eat during today’s ride.\u00a0 I ate part of them this morning and then stuck the rest back in my pack and forgot about them.\u00a0 When I got to the hotel I stuck my hand in the backpack and it came out covered in melted chocolate.<\/p>\n
When you are exhausted the last thing you want to do is wash chocolate out of your clothes and pick chocolate pieces out of power cords.\u00a0 It took some time, but I think the biggest part of the mess is cleaned up.\u00a0 The proof tomorrow is the bug test.\u00a0 If I cleaned up enough, bugs will not be attracted to me.\u00a0 If I didn’t clean up enough, I will be a bug magnet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I am exhausted today.\u00a0 I am not sure how I pedaled the 90 miles from Portland Michigan to Ann Arbor but somehow I got here. I was exhausted like this once before in southern Michigan.\u00a0 When I was younger a friend convinced me to come out and do the Wolverine 200 Belle Isle Bicycle Marathon … Continue reading Day 31: The journey to Ann Arbor<\/span>