To eat, or not to eat: It really isn't a question.

I did a nice 5 hour ride today. Dan, Danielle and I started out from downtown and headed toward Egypt Valley. The weather wasn't bad, around 27F with some significant wind. I don't like to do long ride when the temps are below 32F, because my Perpeteum freezes. Today, I brought a bunch of trail mix and peanut bars. Plenty of calories, but not as easy to access as a nice bottle of Perpeteum.

We spun at a fairly easy pace for the first two hours. We did a bunch of dirt road (TI training!) that were covered with ice. There were a few scary moments where traction was nothing but a fond memory. Nobody kissed the pavement, and we made it to the trailhead.

The trail surface was nice, considering the time of year. There was less than 4 inches of snow on the ground, and the main line on the trail was nicely packed. Any time I got off line, however, the drag increased significantly. The climbs were brutal. I was running a pretty tall gear and heavy, grippy tires. Egypt Valley is not a killer trail, but I could tell early on that I would be feeling it later.

I knew I wasn't eating enough. I had plenty of Gu2O, but it was hard to get to the trail mix and bars I brought. I ended up taking off my outer layer, and my food was in the pockets of that jacket. I ate at breaks, but we didn't take many. I just decided to suck it up and keep going.

We spent a little under two hours on the trails. Dan was looking strong (as always), but Danielle and I were both talking about how out climbing legs were pretty well shot.

It turns out that Danielle was fibbing.

We had two substantial road climbs on the ride how. We all made it up the dirt road climb, with me bringing up the rear. The pavement climb is where Danielle pulled out all the stops. She powered up that climb like nobody's business. I was hanging on for dear life. Dan tried to pull ahead to block the wind for Danielle for a bit, but she just turned up the power another notch. I held her wheel all the way to the top, but at that point I was fried. Home was about five miles away, and I knew I would be taking it easy the rest of the way.

I got home and just collapsed! My wife was in the middle of cooking up some amazing pasta dish for dinner, and I felt much better after I got some real food in my tummy.

The ride was great training. I thought I could fake it with the food, but it just didn't work out. That is a good reminder