I passed this thing on the way into town today. Following these really isn't bad as they tend to scrape at least a few inches of flat, dry fast hard pack, but being behind the gravel trucks Sucks. I've been advised to run 35 mm wide tires at the least during the DK. The gravel trucks have about got me convinced.
What a beautiful day for a ride! Winds less than 15mph, sunshine and mostly dry roads. It was an awesome time. The goal for the day was to stay between 15-17 mph on average, which was very easy to do. I'll still do some speedwork and a couple of longer rides, but to go 200 I'll need to keep my head on, stay aerobic, keep the adrenaline to a minimum, and plan for miles and miles ahead.
I keep thinking about whether or not I'll hook up with comparable riders, and stay with them for a short while, or a big section of the route. I've accomplished every single mile of training alone, and haven't done a lot of riding in groups. Doing so on gravel likely poses a significant challenge for experienced group riders. I'm hopeful that I'll get the occasional draft, and be able to take my turn at the front. With a starting pack of 75 I expect there'll be a wide range of speed, and perhaps a few people that I'll be able to work with.
Get out and ride! When this is over, all my local riding friends need to hook up for regular rides of reasonable distances!
Micah.
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