I had about half an entry done up on Perpeteum and why I think it affects me the way it does and blah blah blah. It spent a couple of days on my desktop before I finally deleted. The long and short of it is that it doesn’t work for me. I have to eat sugars at some point in the day on a ride. There… that saved you a good 5 or 6 paragraph of reading about my weak stomach.

Chris and I have unofficially broken our 200K+ a month streak now with the DNF on that 3 pass ride last month. It feels kind of nice to have the pressure off now that I’m not trying to qualify for any particular award or achievement. I am just enjoying the rides now (except when I’m not). That said, I would still like to get a full series in this year, so I’ve got some catching up to do since I didn’t make it to either the 300 or 400K.

So what is next?

June 13th and 14th is the SIR 600K that will take us over the newly finished Tacoma Narrows Bridge and out towards the coast. We will loop back south and finish where we started in Auburn. It looks like a fun loop that should cover some low traffic roads. I’m a bit nervous about it since I am only 1 for 2 in the 600K department.

Pushing on with riding on in to the night is still nerve racking for me. There is something about the feeling of the sun going down that makes me a little antsy after riding all day. It usually takes a few hours for me to settle in properly for a night ride. With any luck, I can make good time in to the overnight control for a couple of hours of sleep.

Two weeks from there, on the 27th, is the 100K Populaire that we are putting on. It has proven to be quite a chore to get the route together on an urban ride. There are just so many shortcuts and areas that people could potentially cheat. I have lots of respect for Eric Vigoren for putting on the spring 100k the last couple of years. I’m sure he had to deal with this same business getting it all together.

In the long run, it will probably have more controls than I was hoping, but I think it will be worth it. The route really is pretty stunning. I have been in the middle of making revisions over the last couple of days. I made a few assumptions about easiest route vs. shortest route that I shouldn’t have. With any luck, the route will remain mostly intact with just a couple of minor changes.

July 11th and 12th is Seattle to Portland. Jane and I got a little late on ramping up towards training, but we have been working out off the bike, so I’m sure that will help a bit. Jane and I are on week 6 of our P90X training program. It has proven to be very effective but I’ve been waking up extra sore lately.

Chris and I are doing STP in 1 day this year (for the first time) and hope to enjoy beers in Portland by Saturday night. With any luck, it won’t be nearly as hot as it was last year.

The ladies have a hotel room booked for their overnight in Centralia. It should make things a bit easier. There are usually pretty crazy lines for the shower at the college (where we usually stay). I’m going to miss the camping aspect of it though. My favorite STP so far was when I rode with Jane both days. We were tired and sore, but it was quite a feeling of accomplishment.

In other news, the garden is looking amazing these days. I’m planning on setting up a post on that soon.