I Don't Know Where My Mojo Went....

My cycling mojo, that is. I'm sure I had it last week, even in all the hills and the rain and the long days of riding. I must have misplaced it sometime this week, when my cycling was curtailed early in the week due to rainy weather and late in the week due to pure laziness.

I finally got back on the bike today, and it wasn't one of my better riding days. It wasn't TRAGIC or DISASTROUS by any means, but parts of it weren't fun. When I first left home, my rear tire was flat. Of course it was the rear; that one is a beeyotch to change. I decided to pump it up and see if it held (thank goodness, it did) because I really, really didn't want to change it myself. And I would have had to change it, because I'm signed up for a 64-miler tomorrow.

I rode familiar roads, some of which we traveled on BRAG last week. I came to the top of one booger of a hilly road (but not a killer), and I stopped to rest. Everything started to go black around the edges, and I thought I was going to pass out. I needed to sit down, but there was nothing nearby, and I was already standing among some very pissed-off ants. I had ridden 8.35 miles. I thought there was no way I could get back on that bike, and I didn't have any options for rescue. Hubby was playing golf, Sullen Teenager is babysitting, mother-in-law is incapacitated, Warrior Princess was at work. I drank some G2 and rested a while, and it got better. But I still didn't feel 100%.

I'm pretty sure it was a blood sugar issue. I haven't had one of those spells on the bike in a couple of years, but I think it's related to eating. I had my normal breakfast of yogurt and granola, but I didn't eat enough protein to hold my blood sugar. Plus it was almost 11:00 AM by the time I left, so I probably should have eaten again before I left.

I stopped again at a little church that has become one of my favorite resting spots, with a bench in the shade and a water spigot if I need it. I was feeling better, so I added more mileage and eventually stopped at a store where I had another bottle of G2 and a granola bar. I made it through the rest of the ride with no further incidents, but my average speed absolutely SUCKED. I usually manage to average above 14 mph around home, but today my average was 13.2. I try not to obsess about those things, but I have to have SOME kind of tool by which to gauge and compare rides.

When I got home (it was going to be 39.8 miles, so of course I turned around and did an extra loop to round up to 40), I was wiped out. I feel like someone has beat me with a stick. And I still have that 64-miler looming tomorrow, a local ride with terrain similar to today's.

I think a good night's sleep (and a better breakfast) will make a world of difference. If not, I'm not above settling for fewer miles tomorrow.

I think.