Stage 7

122.72 miles in 6:41:24 for an average speed of 18.34 mph. 60 degrees at the start and 79 at the finish. Drank 1.75 gallons. Ate 2100 calories. Lost 4 lbs. Average heart rate 116 bpm.

I didn't feel strong like that last two days, but not weak either. It was a pretty straight forward ride except that for the last half the wind got rather strong and even though I pushed quite a bit harder, I could not hold the 18.5 pace that I had for the first half. I consumed fewer calories and was very hungry at the finish. The reason is that it was so cool at the start that I needed less water and decided not to go back home to refill the gatorade. I just stopped once at Chad and Mary's to get more water, but didn't get the gatorade calories.

Bill and Andrew could not ride today. Andrew is ill and they are both working very hard preparing for a conference talk and workshop. Bill is also finishing up teaching a summer class. They will be gone at the conference until next Saturday.

Wildlife: 3 rabbits and 5 deer. Three of the deer ran along a corn field for .75 miles about 100 meters ahead of me. They slowly pulled away from my 18 mph and then disappeared into some trees. In the past they would usually go into the corn, but now that it is 7 to 8 feet tall and pretty dense, so I think they don't like to go in.

My wife Ellen who supports me so well for this ride says that I should do a dog report since I am always telling her about them. There are always quite a few dogs and I had some interesting encounters again today. When I get the chance, I'll do a separate post about dogs.

Stage 8 tomorrow is 102.53 miles. That seems short in comparison to the past stages so I look forward to it. With my heart rate so low it is just the fatigue in my legs from doing 857 miles in the last 7 days that is slowing me down. If my legs could recover just a little more, I think that I could really go and give my heart a better workout. The interesting thing about doing this 20 stage ride is that you never know what to expect each day. You don't know if you will feel euphoric or if you will suffer and some days you get a bit of both. And some days you don't know that you are suffering because you are focusing and pushing to the finish, but then you feel wiped out for a couple of hours and you realize just how hard you were pushing.