Funny how different it is

this July from last. I was taking Chantix, walking instead of smoking during breaks at work. One thing that is the same - sweating. :-)

It's been in the 90s and humid, but hardly any rain for a week or more now. I rode a 47 mile ride with the club yesterday. I'd say that there were about 30 total, maybe more. They were so much faster than me. I hung with D for just a short piece. She'd found a cyclist's rear wheel, but I think she is stronger than he is. The ride started out in the 70s, but there were no clouds in the sky. As the sun moved higher, the temps grew and the humidity dropped if only a little bit. It was almost 30 miles to the store stop (Pilot) in Simpsonville, which made the return only abobut 18 miles. Thank goodness! I had to stop once before arriving in Simpsonville and again following the official stop. I was having a hard time regulating my body temperature and just needed to rest in the shade for a few. My heart rate was too fast and I could feel my pulse in my ears and temples. The ride took 4 hours to complete. I think I stopped for a total of 35 minutes out of that. That is somewhere just under 14 miles per hour. so slow, so HOT. This got me exactly 100 miles for the week, but wait 1 more day.

Rode 23.5 today from the BE Wellness Center thru the park to Spring to River Road and back to Glenview. DK gave me his rear wheel on River Road. He didn't have any water! So took pity on me. Stand-up guy he is. His nickname is Grasshopper, but I won't learn that story until I ride my first century with him.

A friend competed in today's Lake Placid Iron Man. Anxious to hear about it. Clocked a great time. From what I've read so far the temps were mid 60s and it poured rain throughout the day. Averaged about 19.5 MPH, so I guess wet roads weren't a huge problem.

3 days to go and I'll have a full year under my belt of tobacco freeness. :-)