Three Months to Go

The ride starts three months from tomorrow. So where do I stand?

I've put in over 1,100 miles on my bike since April (including what I did in Israel in June which, technically, wasn't on my bike). I've also done a bunch of spinning, mostly on my own. (Since the spin classes available in my 'hood are generally "suburbs classes", even when I do go to spin classes, I often do my own thing which, no doubt, drives the instructors crazy. But, sorry, I'm just not into 4-count "jumps" or spending half the class in a standing run).

I've been riding fairly strongly and feel pretty good about my climbing. I'm not worried about my endurance; I can ride forever, even in the heat. I'm not worried about any of the climbs in the south except Maale Akrabim. I'm just not sure that with my current gearing (50-34; 12-27) I can mash my way through the incredibly steep initial section of the 32 switchback climb (but I don't really want to go to the expense of changing my gearing just to deal with a mile or so of climbing). I'm worried about driving through the wind on my own should I get dropped by the other Challenge riders (and, with it, the humiliation of possibly being picked up by the SAG van).

One other thing that worries me is my weight. I am down to about 119 pounds, a level I last saw in tenth grade. While it's true that I'm burning a lot of calories, I'm also eating pretty well but haven't been able to even sustain my weight. At this rate I will be over 12 pounds lighter than my weight at the start of any of my previous Alyn Rides. In theory, this is good for climbing; I'm just worried about losing a lot of weight on the ride and not having the strength to make it through the five days. I'm really at a loss as to what to do.

So, my plan is to continue doing long Sunday rides and start doing more hard spinning (in lieu of more-or-less useless rides out to Point Lookout). And eating. As much as I can.