Yesterday I rode 97 miles from Morelia to Querétaro. I didn't map it on the GPS because my iPhone was run down and even if it's plugged in, the GPS application zaps the battery. Oops. I found out people really like the maps. I'll try to keep my cell phone charged.
The road was mainly flat with only a few hills. In fact, it wasn't just flat, but mainly downhill since we descended from an elevation of over 5,000 in Morelia to around 4,000. I'm not sure what it is right now. We crossed Lake Cuitzeo, crossed into Guanajuato state, then at the very end into Queretaro. It was a three-state day. It was kind of cool because that's the way I go when I drive home. Or used to go. Now there's a toll road that cuts off time. The roads were great. Better than Oklahoma, I'm afraid. Sorry I said it, Okies, but it's true.
We took a little farm road for the last bit so as not to get on the toll road. We were out in the middle of farming country passing through small towns. In one the pavement stopped over the river bed the road crossed, then resumed about 200 yards up the way. I fell trying to ride over the stones. Couldn't get my feet out of the clipless pedals fast enough. These falls are always kind of humorous because they're in slow motion and I can't do a thing about it because I'm locked in. I fell coming into Morelia as well because of a 45-degree incline (I don't think I'm exaggerating) my escort led me up. They definitely weren't thinking like a cyclist when picking the route. I was doing well until I got close to the top, but I slowed down too much....and down I went. And all because I didn't want to walk my bike up because the radio guy that interviewed me before the journey began asked me if I was going to walk my bike up the hills. haha. Pride goes before a downfall, as the proverbs say, and I'm living proof of the literal interpretation.
I wanted to get a full 100 miles in yesterday, but I was getting right into the heart of Querétaro and the traffic was crazy, so according to the rule we're riding by - no cycling in the heart of the big cities - I loaded the bike and we drove through looking for a hotel. That was about 6 p.m. As soon as we got our luggage to our rooms, I filled the tub for a long hot bath. Wonderful! After that, dinner and in bed by 10 p.m. I was exhausted from the day's ride.
Just a note: I used a calorie-burned calculator to see how many calories I'm expending doing what I'm doing. According to the calculator, I burned nearly 4,200 calories yesterday from the ride. No wonder I was hungry!!!
I'll post again this afternoon. I want to share how we're doing on fund-raising, which in some ways is discouraging and some ways encouraging, but I'll let you read about the trip first.
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