I took off on the F5 this morning and rode my loop out to Been Wheeler. I did a few extra miles in Purtis Creek State Park on the way back, and ended up with 85 miles for the day. I had ridden 40 miles Monday afternoon and 30 miles Tuesday afternoon, so had a total of 155 miles this week.

I was really feeling the heat this week. I rode in the afternoon on both Monday and Tuesday, days that were both 100+ degrees in the afternoon, and worked in two very hot machine shops on Wednesday and Thursday, also 100+ degree days. A cold front came through yesterday, and it only got up to 98 degrees this afternoon (some cold front). Of course, I got an early start today, and was finished with my ride before the hottest part of the day.

My bathroom scale showed my weight as 187 pounds all week this week. That’s only two pounds over my goal, but it’s a false reading, because of dehydration from being in the heat every day this week (I weighed 181 pounds right after today’s ride, a reminder of how much water we lose on a long and hot ride). Still, I believe I’m making progress. And I was stronger on today’s ride, feeling better at the end of today’s ride, even though I had better than a 1 mph higher average speed than on last Saturday’s ride. Hopefully, I’ll gain some more before the Hotter ‘N Hell Hundred.

Here it is, August already. I ended up with just under 600 miles for the month of July, not a bad mileage month at all.

Today’s route.