Innsbruck or Bust – Biking 120km

Posted by Michael Cannon on May 28, 2012 in Biking, Pictures | 2 comments

A long ride, something over 100 kilometers. That’s all I wanted. To prove to myself that I could do it again.

It’s taken a year since back and nerve problems returned to get a long ride in. Even better, the riding was straight through except for a stretch at 50 kilometers and bio-breaks.

I’m excited, within a couple of months, it’ll be mountain centuries again.

The idea behind Sunday’s ride was to go for distance than speed by keeping the cycling effort at about 80%. To have a moderate pace, while drinking and fueling along the way from the saddle. Additionally, keep climbs to being moderate.

Starting out at 7:43 AM was a little chilly, but I wore my Velocite gimlet and Assos long-sleeve top to keep wind-chill manageable. I was feeling good for heading into Kufstein at 23-25 kph despite morning headwinds.

Once past Kufstein and after a short rest to fuel and stretch, the headwinds were dying down and my pace picked up to 25-28 kph. An hour later my pace crept up to 30-31 kph.

Then came the 90 km dig. I was feeling dogged out and my pace dropped to 26-28 kph before bottoming away to 21-22 kph as I rolled into the outskirts of Innsbruck. My fueling plan worked, but exhaustion hits at some point with no regards to your wants.

All but a few kilometers of the Innweg bike path in Austria, from Kufstein to Innsbruck, were paved. Even then, the hard pack barely slows you down.

For fuel, I stuck with my love of dates, figs, almonds, walnuts, sesame and bread crackers and a couple of fancy snack bars that Peichi brought me from London. Drink wise, I’m loving Thirst, the sports part of the Vemma products I consume for better health.

I’m feeling pretty good after a good nights sleep. Only my right wrist hurts a little and stretching will resolve that within a couple of days.