Week 33

Date
August 15, 2015

Distance
137 miles

Strava Link
Week 33

Route Map/Profile

Weather

Ride Report 
This was Day 16 of Petoji. In the beginning, I created the Petoji route under 3 basic conditions. (1) The start point must be near the Bay Area. (2) The route must pass through the Talimena Scenic Byway. (3) The mileage must be down near the 3,000 mark.

Day 16 was the coveted Talimena Scenic Byway day. I did some riding in this area of Oklahoma and Arkansas in the summer of 2014 and really enjoyed it. I decided to come back during Petoji and I'm glad I did. I could have avoided the mountains and used a less difficult route, but what fun is that?

It was nice to be climbing again. I hadn't done a long climb since Day 10. The climb forced me to ride hard again. Throughout Petoji I was so concerned with conserving energy that I didn't ride hard enough. It felt good to get the heart pumping and get a nice sweat going. Mix some endorphins with some beautiful scenery and you have the perfect recipe for a ride.

Day 16

It couldn't have come at a better time. I had been fighting headwinds for 5 days and I was in that strange zone where I was confident that I could finish the ride, yet there was still more than a week to go and looking that far ahead was counterproductive. On Day 16 I did a lot more living in the moment. There's an interesting balance to strike as you ride across the country. On one hand, you want to take it one day at a time and just enjoy the ride. On the other hand, there is an end goal in mind and there are times when it pays to look at the big picture. How do you enjoy the moment yet still have a solid plan for the future? Riding a bike in the mountains must be the answer.