I took off on the F5 just before 6:30 this morning and did my 80 mile loop out to Ben Wheeler. It was cloudy and breezy when I took off, but soon cleared off and was getting pretty hot when I finished the ride just after noon. I had done 30 mile rides Monday afternoon and Wednesday morning, so ended up with a total of 140 miles for the week.

Today was my first 80 mile ride of the year. The Hotter ‘N Hell Hundred is only six weeks away, so it’s time for some longer rides to get me ready. I was trying to do a brisk pace and wasn’t very happy with the 15.3 mph average I managed, but I battled a low rear tire for much of the ride, and I think that was the main reason I couldn’t muster a faster pace. I was pretty wiped out at the end. I’m still running tubeless tires, and they do successfully stop leaks, but not until the tire is down to about 40 psi, it seems. That’s enough to get me home, but much too low for a road tire, and makes for extra work to move the bike. Time to me to pull off that rear tire and patch it.

Today’s route.