Did the dakota rail trail yesterday and totally botched it up. Its a 25 mile trail one way,very beautiful route for the first half, it weaves around a lot of lakes with stunning views.My plan was simple - do a 50 miler, reach the end and turn back. The start of the trail is about 15 miles from my house,so i had to lug the bike on the back of my car to that point. I came home from office at 5:30,got a quick bite and started off at 5:45. I got lost on the way and reached my point at 6:20. I did not know where to park my car so just pulled it over on the side of the road which was pretty deserted.I started my ride and it was beautiful,the temperature was in the 60s,beautiful lakes and homes,people in their boats,crossing wooden bridges and i was doing good time which i always do in the beginning when my energy levels are full.By 7:30 i had covered around 17 miles in about 60-65 mins of riding time.Thats when i started getting worried as i felt that i had grossly over estimated the duration till when the sunlight would be there.I thought there would be enough light till about 9 PM for me to get back to my car. But at 7:30 PM i see that the light is rapidly diminishing. I still persist riding onward as i want to reach my 25 mile marker but at the back of mind i am doing the calculation.I rode for another 15-20 mins and reached the 22 mile marker then hit the panic button.I had done close to 90 mins of riding and had got to the 22 mile mark and it was around 7:50 PM and if i turned back now i will reach back to my car at 9:20 PM.I put my brakes,turned around my bike, gulped down half a bottle of water and shoved a fist of trail mix in my mouth and started heading back. I started cycling furiously,very furious with myself for mis-calculating the time. The anger gave that additional bit of adrenalin and i kept a steady 18-19 mph(normally i do a 15-16 mph).The light rapidly diminished and by 8:30 it had grown dark with very little light. Mr.Mayur does not have a front head light on his bike,he just has a back side red blinker.Also Mr.Mayur is just in a half short and half sleeve cycle jersey and once the sun went down the temperature plummets to high 40s and low 50s as the lakes around cool the temperature a lot. By 8:45 PM I am riding blind. I can make out the edges of the path and cycling like crazy,very tired,cold to the bone,blind as a bat and just a 5 min rest break at the 22 mile marker.I have no clue how i rode from 8:45 to 9:15 ,the last 3 miles is beside a highway and the lights from the passing cars really helped me get a better view of the route. Then i finally see my car at around 9:15 PM and i give out a loud whoop,that feeling of relief is very hard to describe. Thouroughly exhausted i reach the car,just throw the bike on the side and get into the car and switch on the heater.That was the most amazing feeling ever- thats when i realized the priority of my needs - Warmth first,food next,rest after that. After 5 mins i get out of the car,put the bike rack on,load the bike and start heading back home promising myself to never to repeat this mistake again. When i reached home i looked at my cat-o-meter. I had done 44 miles in 2 hours 47 mins at an average speed of 15.7 mph reaching a max of 22.5 mph on a flat land and i rode faster from mile 23- 44 than i did from 1 -22. Fear does give you wings. :)
http://www.traillink.com/trail-maps/dakota-rail-regional-trail-.aspx
