Dam Loop Fun

I wasn't planning on writing about this bike ride, because well it was just a training ride, but lots of things happened on the ride, and felt like sharing some of them.

In my preparing for the TTTT I was needing to test out some nutrition stuff (mainly getting used to eating proper amounts of food while biking), test out some new toys, and get a little more used to doing a hilly long distance bike ride! So I picked out the Dam Loop because it was the only loop I could find that was short (was shooting for something ~25 miles) and hilly. Map My Ride says it's 1200 ft., but I have a feeling that my GPS will say that it's more (I'll update this post when I get the data off my watch Monday). Feel free to weigh in on which you think is more trustworthy!

If you do the Dam Loop make sure that you go clockwise! I think it's a little easier this way, but doing it clockwise will ensure that you don't have to go up the 2222 hill (between 620 and 360) where there is no shoulder! Coming down you will be going a lot faster so you'll be off the hill fast and fit in well with traffic. This loop has lots of rolling hills, fast downhills, long climbs, and beautiful scenery. If you need to drive out, park your car at Southwest Cycle Sport. It's a great bike shop and they said they don't mind having cyclists park there and come into their shop to get water or use the restroom!

I'll get more into the sports nutrition side of things in another post, but my general plan is to have as many different things that fit into what my body needs so I don't get tired of eating something. Worst thing is needing to eat something that you don't want to eat! And for the ride I did it worked out well.

I got some aerobars so I have more variety of positions when I'll be on my bike for a long time. These were a lot more fun than I thought and felt like I got a lot more power as well. The aerobars didn't seem to like me because on my first loop going down a big hill on 360, while I was tucked in and crouched down, one of the pads came off and hit me in the face. Doesn't feel so good when you're going 40+ mph! Zip ties will remedy that situation!

One thing that I have come to realize that I love about cycling is that I have time to think. Most of my life feels so busy that I don't have time to just sort things out in my head and think about things. Well when you're on you bike for 8+ hours you have some time to think about things!

The last thing that I wanted to share, and quite possibly the main reason that I wanted to write about this was that I got to rescue a turtle on my ride! At the 2222 and 360 intersection they have been doing a lot of construction. This seems to have disrupted a lot of the turtles there that end up trying to get away and find themselves on the road. I saw a turtle in the middle of the intersection there, and to my amazement cars were swerving all over the place to miss the turtle. I was able to set my bike down on the side of the road, and safely run and grab the turtle! Poor little guy! There was a girl there who was relocating a couple of the turtles to a creek where they wouldn't be disturbed by the construction.

Update:
Here's the GPS data from the ride: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/48857041