We wanted to do a long ride at the speed we use touring. Touring isn't racing. It's more about efficient use of energy than speed. Our experience touring in Florida in the heat is that there's always a day when it's hot, humid, and the route has limited shade. It pays to learn to deal with riding in the heat. So today we set out to ride at touring speed for around 4 hours.
We promised ourselves a coffee and snack break at Starbucks, Singapore noodles from our fav restaurant for lunch after the ride, and ice cream for dinner. All we had to do was ride into the sun...For simplicity, we decided loops of the Rickenbacker would work. From our house to the lighthouse and back is 20 miles. We've measured out additional loops on the Rickenbacker to add 5, 10, and 14 mile loops to the basic out and back ride.
We gave the sun some time to get well above the horizon, then we set out. Four hours later we made it back home. It was sweaty and successful. No overheating. No bonking. No sunburn. We'd drunk enough fluids. We'd had enough (but not too many) snacks.
Best of all, we finished our weekly ride miles by noon Monday!
We're ready to start some overnight touring.
