Jul-09: 104 for 58

Once a year, July 9th rolls around.
I usually try to get in a ride on the 9th, but
I don't always succeed.

This year, however, I did get to ride my bike, and
It was a good day on the "Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf" perm-pop.

0600 start time -- I was perfectly on time.
Despite the heavy overcast, it was still easy to suspect that the solstice has passed.

I timed the light at NC-98 perfectly. 
[Since that light is 4.7-miles from the start, and is long red for Six Forks / New Light traffic, 
You of course understand that it is impossible to "time" that light on a bike.] 

Less traffic on Six Forks / New Light Rd than expected;
I only recall about 3 or 4 vehicles for those 7+ miles.
Maybe another one or two on Bruce Garner Rd.
[Make no mistake, though, there was the usual several parades of southbound traffic; 
Southbound is heading into Raleigh.]

I timed the light in Wilton, at the intersection of NC-56 and NC-96 perfectly, and
Rolled through Wilton 70 minutes after starting the ride.
[Wilton is 18.7 miles from the start -- there's no "timing" that light on a bike.]

After crossing the Tar River (bridge at 22.9-miles from the start), and
Climbing back up to the plain,
The route is essentially flat to the Oxford control and back to the Tar River.
[Essentially flat.  Ha.  Rather humorous when I think of my youth. 
Those little bumps would have been hills back then.  
It was quite flat where I grew up. 
"How flat," you ask? 
Here's a link to a RWGPS map; 
I grew up at the 6.1-mile mark of that course. 
If you zoom in on the on the profile between 5.6 and 6.4 miles, 
You'll see at BIG hill -- all of 17 feet high. 
THAT was a big hill when I was a kid.] 

Nothing of interest or worth noting happened the entire outbound leg.
I "arrived" at the control at 0805, with approx 2h04 in-motion. 
I've gotten there faster; I've gotten there slower; I was happy.
 
I got a 99-cent Powerade and the appropriate receipt,
Chatted a half-minute with the clerk / store-owner, and
Left the control at 0811.

I was pretty sure there would be a bit of a breeze in my face on the inbound / southbound leg.
I was correct.

I settled in to enjoy the still mostly overcast for the last half of the ride.
The only semi-interesting thing that happened on the ride back was that
The sun made an attempt to break through and dissipate the cloud cover.

I was rather glad to see that the clouds thickened up again before I got to Grissom.
[Grissom is approx 12.7-miles before the finish.]

My confuser wasn't working -- I've got to return it to Performance and get something else,
And I wasn't paying attention to my watch.
I was quite surprised when I arrived at the CVS finish control at 1014.

Since I had had to wait for the light in Wilton to change,
I had ridden the return leg, into a slight breeze, with the harder climbs,
In approx 2:02:30 in-motion.

That is, I was a minute-and-a-half faster into the breeze, with harder climbing,
Than I had been going outbound.

Explanation?
It takes me a long time to completely warm up.
[My friend JohnA might suggest that it takes me 80 or 90 miles to fully warm up.] 
====================================================   
Jul-09:  

--> Oxford 104-km perm-pop -->; 77.0 m.;  4h56 in-motion; 15.6 mph. 
 - pre-ride commute:  5.6 m.;  0h23 in-motion; 14.5 mph.
 - - Oxford:  64.7 m.;  4h06:30 in-motion; 15.7 mph; elapsed time:   4h14
 - - - post-ride commute:  6.7 m.;  0h27 in-motion; 14.8 mph.  

Q-1 tot: _21 rides; _967.6 m; _65h57; 14.7 mph; 1136 RUSA kms.
Q-2 tot: _24 rides; 1954.2 m; 134h57; 14.5 mph; 2573 RUSA kms.
Jul tot: __2 rides; _219.8 m; _14h01; 14.6 mph; _314 RUSA kms.  
YTD tot: _47 rides; 3141.6 m; 215h56; 14.5 mph; 4023 RUSA kms. 
 
Hmmn -- I must have been feeling pretty good:  the commute back was record fast, and I certainly wasn't trying to be fast.