Conquering 40 Miles (not that valiantly)

Well, it was quite a ride.

We set out from our apartment at about 2:30 in the afternoon.

Our fearless leader, Kyle, arrived with his aluminum frame single speed while Dave and I were on our carbon fiber wonders equipped with gears for all terrains.  Kyle wondered if he had, perhaps, taken the wrong bike with him for this adventure, but it turned out that even on the steepest hills we encountered, he was still more than able to keep up.

We headed south on Dobson Road until it ended it the quiet retirement village of Sun Lakes. We took a rough ride on Riggs Road until we reached the 347.  The road had a great shoulder, but oh my was it scary to try and take a left to get back off it (we had to cross over 3 lanes of 60 mph traffic in either direction).  We then treked into the Ahwahtukee Foothills where we met up with my favorite land forms to encounter while on a bicycle: hills.  We turned around after a couple of climbs and headed back toward home.  

It ended up being a 42 mile ride- our longest ride yet!  I think the last 6 miles or so were the worst on me.  Kyle didn't seem bothered, and Dave kept on peddling without complaint, but goodness was I biting my lip and trying to hold back the tears.  I don't think my legs have felt that kind of pain since my car wreck in September.  Ouch!  

After a pain killer, a little dinner, some stretches, and a good night's rest though, I mostly just felt triumphant.

Dave and I want to send out some thanks to Kyle for his encouraging words about how remarkable passing the 40 mile marker is and for biking with us through our first 40.