I thought I'd try doing a Half-Century Ride (50 miles) this morning, but things didn't work out exactly as planned.
After having a big cheese omelet for breakfast, I left around 0530 and was going to combine two shorter trips I've already done into one bigger ride and then add on a few more twists and turns.
It was overcast and cloudy with a nice cool breeze. A perfect day for a long ride!
Or so I thought.
After getting out on the main road, I was riding past a convenience store. I thought it might be a good idea to stop and get something to eat for later, since I was going to be on the road for several hours.
Or so I thought.
When I was locking up my trike, two guys came out of the store and were looking at my trike.
One of them said "That looks like a lot of fun." I said "Yeah, and it's pretty comfortable, too."
I picked up an energy drink and some trail mix and got back on the road.
I drank the energy drink while cruising down the shoulder for a few miles. A guy on a racing bike approached from the other direction, and as we passed, I waved to him. At first I thought he was ignoring me, but then I noticed he was staring at me like he had never seen a recumbent trike before.
He slowly raised his hand and waved back like he was staring at a two-headed monster or something.
In order to conserve energy for the longer trip, or so I thought, I decided I would just take it slow and easy and wouldn't be doing any sprinting like I do once or twice while out on a ride.
I rode for about 90 minutes and pulled into a local park to use the restroom at the ballpark.
I was unlocking my trike and was getting ready to leave when a County Cleanup Crew came in to clean the park. It was a couple County workers and a couple County inmates wearing their orange clothes.
One of the inmates said he liked my "bike". I told him not to use it to try to escape. He just laughed and said he had 2.5 months left on his sentence, so he wasn't going to escape. As I went back on the bike path, I saw another inmate getting out of the truck. He just stared at me just like the guy on the bike had done earlier.
After coming to the end of the bike path, I decided to start riding down some new roads as I continued on my long road trip.
Or so I thought.
During the trip, I would pull over whenever I was lucky enough to find a large shade tree on those long, flat, desert country roads.
I pulled under a big shade tree and decided it was time for some more water and that trail mix. As I was sitting there, I could hear several birds in the tree chirping and singing.
After a while it dawned on me...Birds ABOVE and me BELOW equals the possibility of me getting hit with a load of bird poo! I finished the trail mix and continued on my long road trip.
Or so I thought.
A few miles later, I noticed my sunscreen was wearing off because my shins started to feel like a giant chicken leg that was in the oven and they just changed the setting from BAKE to FRY!
They say "Discretion is the better part of valor" and it was at this point I decided it would be a good idea to cut the trip short and head for home since I didn't have any more sunscreen with me.
I was about 9 miles from home, so I reluctantly turned and headed that way. A mile or so later, I saw a horse ranch with a beautiful paint horse in the pasture.
My wife, Alice, loves paint horses and use to have one for several years. The horse ranch had a shaded, tree-lined driveway, so I pulled over under a tree and took a few pictures to post out here.
I kept drinking water as I pedaled down what is now a road out in sun with no shade for the rest of the trip.
Except for feeling a little sunburned on my legs, I felt pretty good. I pulled in our driveway and rode around back to put my trike in the storage shed.
Usually, the end of my little road trips are pretty uneventful.
Or so I thought.
When I got off my trike, I started feeling pretty woozy. I put the trike in the shed and headed for the back door of our home. I knocked on the door and heard my wife coming to unlock it.
I had to sit down on the back steps in the shade because I felt like I was going to pass out.
Besides having a slight case of sunburn, I was also suffering from heatstroke.
I scared the crap out of my wife! I was sitting on the steps with my head in my hands. I wanted to stand up to go into the house, but I was feeling too dizzy.
I could hear my wife above and behind me and she was tugging on my shoulder and quietly calling my name.
As it turns out, I was nearly passed out and she was yanking on my t-shirt to keep me from falling off the steps. She said she was screaming for help at the top of her lungs. She also said my eyes were rolled back in my head and all she could see were the whites of my eyes.
We live in the country, and she said none of our neighbors heard her or even looked out their windows.
After a few minutes, I was able to stand up and get inside to the cool AC and my favorite recliner.
I drank a big glass of iced tea and a couple Diet Pepsi's.
I'm definitely getting better sunscreen and drinking more water from now on!
I'll wait until Fall before attempting those long rides in the Arizona sun.
Except for feeling like my sunscreen was wearing off, I felt fine right up until I got off my trike.
The heatstroke hit me like a ton of bricks! And I know all about hydrating, sunscreen, etc after having Uncle Sam beat it into my head for 20 years. I checked my blood pressure and it was all good.
Be careful out there and don't think it can't happen to you. It can!
As for me, I'm taking a few days off from riding and will be enjoying the AC for a while.
I'll also limit my riding time between 5 - 9 a.m. After that, it OBVIOUSLY gets too dang hot to be out riding. I'll wait until the cooler Fall weather gets here before trying another long ride.
A short while after getting in the house, my wife informed me it was 107 degrees in the shade!
It wasn't even Noon, yet!
It heated up a lot faster today than it normally does. I really wanted to do a Half-Century Ride today.
Or so I thought.
BTW, my trip lasted for 3:46 and I went 30 miles.
