Another weekend just zoomed by! There was some gardening, some listening to music, some bagels, and oh yes – a bike ride!
We decided on a longer ride, but with shorter breaks. The plan was to go after an early lunch. I started out the day with a big bowl of banana custard oats:
John mapped out our ride. Here is the elevation map:
The first 2 “bumps” are to Lake George and back around. Since the plan was for 65 miles, I wanted to front load my calories for the day as I have trouble getting in enough calories during the ride. Shortly before the ride, I had some chicken. Preride calories were around 800 total with breakfast.
We set out on the path:
At mile 15, we arrived to Lake George. The lake was very high from all the rain and snow melt:
Normally you would see the legs on these piers. We had our first snack here:
Me and my best friend:
Stores were sprucing up getting ready for the season. John said you could just feel the lake getting ready for the tourists.
We didn’t stay long. Just to snack and make a potty stop! We then left and headed back up the long hill and to Saratoga. We had a nice tail wind on the way down there and make quite good time. Normally the wind comes from the other direction. We stopped for another snack at mile 32:
Pear Power! Legs were feeling good, although my quads were kind of achy, which was weird. What a gorgeous day, too. Mid 60s. If not for the wind, I don’t think a day could have been more perfect for riding.
At mile 42, we reached Saratoga. Of course, you know what that means!
Cupcake Lab! Normally we have lunch and then cupcakes, but we ate lunch before leaving. I have to say that the granola bar and the pear were just barely enough to get us through 40 miles, even after eating lunch just before leaving. Still learning about how to fuel before and during these really long rides. I was ready for a big carb hit! I had 2 cupcakes. One was Saratoga Whiteout, which was a chocolate cupcake with chocolate ganache filling and white buttercream icing.
With some coffee:
Thank goodness for hats. No one wants to see my helmet head!
The second cupcake was a Mocha Espresso, which was a coffee flavored cupcake with chocolate bits in it. Buttercream frosting, which may have had a coffee flavor to it as well, but I can’t remember right now.
The pistachio cupcake is my very favorite, but I think this one edged out the raspberry to become #2. Yum!
After a nice break here, we filled up water bottles and headed back home. This became a tough leg. The wind was stiff and in our faces. Normally we make up a lot of time on the way home because it usually is at our backs. Our average speed on the way down to Saratoga was 12.6 mph for the first 42. It fell to 12.2 by the time we finished the last 24 miles!
Stop for my favorite beverage at the top of a hill at mile 54:
I got my second wind right here. I knew there would be no problem for the last 12 miles after this. I sing to myself a lot when riding. Maybe that helps. I sing things like “Just keep peddling” and “You can do it”. And then I was singing “I want to ride my bicycle” by Queen! 
We took one last break at about mile 62. Just to stop from the wind. It was really brutal. Especially when we got to some open flats. That was the least enjoyable thing about this ride. I actually got wind burn on my face. I finished up my coconut water here, but I had no appetite at all – and I really should have if you think of the calories burned and what I took in. These long rides suppress my appetite like crazy.
Then we did the last 4.5 miles home!
Ride stats:
Total miles: 66.6 – more than a metric century!
Ride time: 5 hours 35 minutes (not counting breaks)
Average speed 12.2 mph (darn wind).
Top speed: 26.2 mph (wheeee!!!)
Calories burned: 1997 (wow!)
This is what I look like after riding 66 miles.
Now for something you just never see on this blog. After cleaning up, we decided that a really long ride day was a good day to do this for dinner:
Unassuming sign, but we think this is the best Chinese buffet in town.
I had a lot of calories to take in. I figured I had consumed about maybe 1700 calories for the day – (guestimating about 250 calories for each cupcake), and with burning almost 2000 on top of a normal daily burn, I had to eat. I still wasn’t that hungry until I took a bite of food and then my stomach woke up!
Lots of seafood on this buffet, which is really nice. I had another plate, too!
Crab rangoons are my favorites! I also stole broccoli out of the chicken and broccoli for both plates. Probably not kosher, but I wanted it.
Okay – I do need some help with my fortune, though. What the heck does this mean??
I feel like I am missing the fortune that came in front of this one to make any sense of it. LOL!
All in all a great day!
Here is my missing word for the fortune…Mistakes…you can’t possibly live long enough to make all of them yourself. That is my thought on the subject.
Great ride! I am really wishing for it to get warmer so we can ride bikes and see if we still know how it is done.
The cupcakes look great! Snagging the broccoli is something I have done as well…lol!
Enjoy the week ahead!
Kimberly – I *love* that interpretation!
What a beautiful and fun bike ride :D. Wish I could do that here!!!
Holy cow woman!! 66 miles?!? I did 19 today and was crashing hard! And by the end I was super tired and sore! 🙁
19 miles is great! You’ll get there. Just like running, it takes time to build endurance. I am just very dedicated to my cycling and have been for a couple years now. If only I took the last 10 pounds as seriously 😀
Wow, what a ride, Lori!!! That is amazing! Totally worth it for the cupcakes and chinese food! Okay, now for a weird question… how does your butt feel after all that riding? I only ride 6 miles when I’m at the shore and my butt is so sore afterward! Do you wear padded shorts?
My butt is a little sore from this ride just from distance, but not bad. When I first started riding a few years ago, it was sooooo sore. It takes consistent riding to become unsore.
Oddly enough, the more narrow your seat, the more comfortable it is. I do have padded shorts now, but I was riding up to 40 miles with just regular shorts on and was quite used to it.
uh-oh, 666 🙂
p.s. I am also a broccoli poacher!
I can’t believe you rode all that way and only got cupcakes!! That is so amazing that you ride that far, especially with the hills and the wind. I think I would have given up.
One of my favorite posts of your week: the bike ride and as always it has been a great ride. I do do love those cupcakes, why oh why don’t we have that here (sure we have a bakery somewhere here in Holland but not where I live).
I have tried the coconut water recently, exactly the brand and taste you had but I have to say that I wasn’t too crazy about it.
oooh and I thought DREAMS COME TRUE SO GRAB YOU A PARTNER!
which is probably a result of how I always think how I *adore* how you two are so much more than husband and wife.
youre partners in the best sense of the word.
Indeed – we are, and lucky to be so.
What a great ride, didn’t even know you were in the Lake George area. I totally agree- thank god for hats after workouts.
Be very glad I’m not in the room with you right now. I could bop you on the head for that cupcake seduction! 🙂
Awesome ride! I still haven’t been out (big gusty winds), but I’m hopeful for Wednesday!
The fortune is reminiscent of a quote in my files: “Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.” Eleanor Roosevelt. So very true and very fitting for our corner of the itnerwebs. 🙂
Wow that is a long ride! I think the longest I have ever done is 30 miles and my butt was screaming at me to get out of the saddle!
You two are so cute together & what a friggin amazing ride!!! Love that you take pics for us & we can come along with you – cause I ain’t doing it! 😉
OK, that mocha cupcake – I want one!
What a fabulous day!
That is one of my favorite pictures of you, after the bike ride – you look so full of life, healthy and accomplished…content…owning IT. Love it. 🙂
Congrats on beating down that wind – what a bugger it is! Oh, and when I was running 10 – 12 miles? I hardly had any appetite afterward either. Weird, but I usually made up for it the next day.
That is awesome and you look pretty damn good after riding 66 miles. I would be a sweaty mess!
I LOVE crab rangoons too. The best part of Chinese takeout.
BTW what is that on your bike? I want to get something that measures my mileage etc. I’m just getting into biking so I’m a tad inexperienced haha
It’s basically a bike computer. You can find them at any bike shop or even Target. The sensor attaches to your wheel and the computer attaches to the handlebar. Depending on the model, they track different things. Mine does mileage, speed, temperature, calories burned, fat burned. It’s nice!
Way to go on such a long ride. Those cupcakes look yummy. Glad you had such a nice day too in spite of the wind. Glad someone cleared up the fortune for you I had no clue either.
Nice ride, sweetie. You kicked my pants again with your cursed second wind!
Well if you had 2 cupcakes instead of a cookie and a cupcake, maybe you would have been better off. Or maybe you need to start singing…
Woo Hoo Lori. What a great ride!!!!!! (love John’s comment login – “Lori’s Better Half”. Thats sweet!!! Have a great Monday!!!!
So jealous of those cupcakes and that Chinese food. I know it’s terrible for me but it is something I really miss. Oh well…at least I have sushi to help me cope! 🙂
Over 60 miles?! Awesome!!!!! I love reading about your biking adventures 🙂