I wanted to do a long ride today and considered doing the Payette Loop. But after more thought I changed my mind and settled on the Hamilton Corner-Emmett Loop. That way, once I get to Emmett, I have the option to go on to Horseshoe Bend if I feel great, or head home if I don’t. With the Payette Loop, once you’re out there, there’s no short-cutting home!

The weather was awesome with clear blue skies and a starting temperature approaching 70°F. There was a good south wind blowing, which meant that I’d have a headwind on the way home. I wanted to just enjoy a nice long ride without any structured intervals. So I set my PowerTap to display max wattage, so I wouldn’t have my current wattage staring me in the face. This is essentially the same thing as taping over the PowerTap display, but without wasting tape or leaving any gummy residue!

I did six sprints during the first hour as my once-a-week neuromuscular workout. After that I just rode “by feel” and enjoyed the warm weather. With the tailwind, I was cruising along on Old Hwy 30 at 23-24 MPH and enjoying the speed. Then a bug hit me on my left ear and got caught in the straps. I was hoping it wasn’t a bee then I felt it sting…ouch!

I swiped away the bee and continued riding but my ear started to hurt. I’ve been stung while riding quite a few times and let me tell you that a sting on the ear has been the most painful! The pain subsided after 5-10 minutes, but then I made the mistake of feeling my ear to make sure the stinger wasn’t still there. That just made my ear hurt again, even more than it did initially! So then it took another 20 or so minutes for it to diminish to only a slight discomfort.

After the turn at Hamilton Corner, I had a headwind. I continued to ride by feel and guessed I was in the middle of my tempo zone. By the end of this stretch I could feel my legs getting slightly tired so I took a peak at my wattage. I wanted to see what it was to help me decide whether I should continue on to Horseshoe Bend or head home. I was doing 240-250 watts and the perceived exertion wasn’t that bad. But it was getting hot by this point and decided I shouldn’t overdo it.

So I stopped in Emmett for water, then headed up Old Freezeout. The hill felt hard, and once I was fighting the wind on Hwy 16, I was happy with my decision to head home. I could feel my legs getting weaker and a “bonk” coming on. I still continued to push the pace all the way back to Beacon Light, but I was definitely bonking by that point. Between the adjustment to the hot weather and the fact that I haven’t done a long ride in a while, made me glad I didn’t do the Payette Loop. My ride was 3:30 with a normalized power of 240 watts. Not bad for going by feel and not worrying about wattage.