With this Saturday's ride of the Coulee Challenge Permanent, I reached my 2012 goal of 6,000 RUSA kilometers. Any RUSA organized brevets or permanents count towards the annual total. I reached my total by riding a variety of brevets in Minnesota and Missouri plus the Shenandoah 1200 in the Mid-Atlantic region. I also rode permanents in Wisconsin and Connecticut.
Saturday's ride was a mixed bag. The Coulee Challenge is a beautiful ride. It was even more beautiful than normal this time as the faded colors and bright sunshine of late fall covered the hillsides. On the negative side, I had only ridden three times in the last month and my lack of conditioning was obvious as I struggled to climb A-Hole and Tamarack Hills. I actually rode fairly well for the first 80-ish miles, but then things got lots harder. I did manage to push through and ended up finishing the 125 miles in 8 hours and 56 minutes. Not the fastest time ever, but pretty decent overall.
The season isn't quite over yet. I hope to get in a few more rides and keep enjoying the fall for as long as the weather allows.
