Saturday 100: Four Down, One to Go

I suppose it’s understandable that I didn’t put this up yesterday — I was pretty tired for some reason. My typical Saturday lately has been up around 70 miles, but not entirely worried about getting into the mid-60s and calling it quits.

Yesterday was a bit more ambitious, though. Earlier this summer, I’d discovered the Lacebark Pines of Korea — five surviving trees, all fairly close (if you were to count 41 miles on a bike as close). Four of the five were within that 41-mile radius.

And so, after the first — southwest of here on a 70+ mile ride back on July 16th, I went for the second — up near one of my favorite biking places, I’cheon — just a week later. But, for some reason, I thought the two up in Seoul by the palace were a little bit ambitious. Then again, an 88-mile ride wasn’t out of the question. I’d come close before.

Thing is, if you look at my rides by distance, you notice something. I’ve been on four rides (in the Strava era) over a hundred miles, but then the next longest is 85. The answer as to why that would be is pretty obvious. Once I get close to 90 miles, I tell myself, “May as well just go for a hundred.”

And that’s exactly what happened yesterday. What felt like a “take it or leave it” 100 miles turned into the real thing when Joon and I voted to stretch the ride out a bit. This is a harder thing for me to do than Joon — for some reason, over the course of 100 miles, he gained two on me (I can’t say whether it’s my Garmin or his Strava that’s doing it), so, while he passed 100 miles somewhere down around Godeok, I had to take us a couple of more turns to the south to make 100 for myself.

As for the ride itself, we saw so much and took so many pictures, it took a bit more time than we’d hoped. But I’m blessed to have a wife who understands the link between riding, adventure, and my overall health. She (generally) doesn’t complain, and even seems interested in where I’ve gone and what I’ve seen. So when I showed her the pictures of the trees and the streets of Seoul and the Han River, she enjoyed them. I sometimes wonder if she’d go for a tandem…but then remember that she accused me of trying to kill her when I took her on her first (and only) roller coaster ride.

Anyway, the title of the ride, Four Down, One to Go, refers to those Lacebark Pines. I’ve ridden to all but one now. That last one will be the biggest challenge — about 112 miles round trip — but I think with the changing weather and the mental preparation, not to mention the huge adventure it’s going to be, I’ll be ready in a month or so. Stay tuned…