Saturday was my friend Scott's Tour de Cure in Minnesota, and my last known day for getting in a long endurance session before my ride on the 13th. With the route already mapped out, we are encouraged to pre-ride it -- in whole or in part -- as part of our pre-event training. I have some logistical issues with that, since most of the time I first have to ride to wherever something is, and then I have to ride home from that training. (The Other Half has committed to the event, not to the pre-event training sessions.) I could have probably chosen an easier long-ride, but since I wanted to pre-ride at least some of the route (and by Jove, I still need a heck of a lot of hill practice!), I chose to ride via one of my local bike shops to the point of closest approach to home, with the intent of overshooting in order to take the two toughest climbs of the course, and then ride back home via a route that has a whole lot of little bitty rolling hills -- the type of easy route that would allow me to coast a lot of the way, if needed.

It may be that I was first able to get out at noon -- under the hot sun -- or that Friday's morning ride included some familiar rolling hills, or that the day featured gusty winds, or any of a number of other factors, but when I saw the uphill I'd need to go to loop out to the first part of the course I wanted to ride, I chickened out and started onto the course about a mile after the initially-planned climb. I struggled with the very slight uphill, followed the first set of directions, turned wrong at an intersection, went out over a mile before I realized the error and was able to turn around. Went five miles down the course and made another wrong turn, going out about a half-mile before realizing the error. By the time I got back on course, over 15 miles from my start, I couldn't handle even the false-flat ascent of the next road and had to walk my bicycle up a fair portion of the mile-plus segment of the route. The next turn had me going down a twisty, curvy descent -- the type that still spooks me a bit since my May 5 crash. I rode the brakes most of the way down and I was (expletive deleted) lucky that the car behind me was patient enough to let me go at my own pace, rather than honking to get me off the road or trying to barrel past me on the opposite side of the road. (For more spookiness, that segment included the very spot where Team Type 1's Olaf Kerkhof crashed the week before.) By the time I reached the first return segment of my route, about twenty miles into my ride, I was dehydrated, despite consuming over two liters of water and electrolyte fluid, my butt and legs were aching, and I was ready to call it quits. Fortunately The Other Half was so caught up in his poker game that he didn't answer the phone, and I was left to make my way back through a route that I thought was familiar from the previous week, in fairly easy terrain, with the uncertain wind more at my back than in my face. It was actually another five miles before I got into territory that I had ridden before -- in the opposite direction, the previous week, with a total ride of about 31.5 miles.

Needless to say, without the opportunity for another long ride with recovery before Sunday's ride, I'm concerned. While I'm still registered to do the 50-mile ride, I'm thinking more and more of chickening out and doing the 30. I'd still have the same three initial climbs of the 50-mile course -- though a bit differently spaced -- but I wouldn't have the scary descent or the continuous (though very slight) climb through most of the back half of the course, nor the final descent and climb at around mile 40. I really don't want to give up on the idea of 50 miles -- but based on the portions of terrain I've ridden that are common to both courses, I'm thinking the 30-mile may be more in line with my skills and training.

Added to the pressure is the need to be back at the finish line for a Red Rider group picture at 12:30 pm. It took me three and a half hours to do the 31.5 miles I did on Saturday, but after walking my bicycle up a mile or two of very gentle inclines, even the fast return didn't help me average more than 10.6 mph -- and that's without any breaks. I was originally expecting to average 10 mph on the 50-mile course, with 5- to 10-minute breaks at the four water stations; since the course is open until 3PM, this would leave me plenty of time to finish. The group photo timing throws everything askew. The 30-mile ride's 9AM start, with only one water break, should get me back in time even if I'm only doing 10 miles an hour. If I'm averaging my more usual 12 -- which I might expect on the easier course -- then I'd be back on site between 11:30 and 12:00 pm and possibly feeling as if I'm twiddling my thumbs. On the other hand, the sooner I'm back, the less likely folk are to run out of post-ride food and goodies. I'm stuck between the prospect of "biting off more than I can chew", so to speak, and feeling as if I'm wimping out.

So much for "the best laid plans".

On the other hand, I have made my $500 fundraising goal and at $667 this morning, I'm almost halfway to the next prize level ($750). So at least that part of "50 for Fifty" is successful...