[Ghoulish Delight]

I feel perfectly fine today. I laughed at the pre-ride advice the club sent out saying, "Be sure you hydrate and eat post-race, especially if you plan to ride the next day" (emphasis mine). But seriously, I could get on my bike today no problem. I've been training for about 5 months for this, purposely riding routes that, while not as long, had far more strenuous climbing than anything I did yesterday. I've been far more exhausted by some of those than I was yesterday. I credit that to both my pre-ride prep (carb loading and some tune-up rides during the week) and in LARGE part to the club that put on the event. The refreshments and hydration they provided at all the rest stops (OMG was it glorious to see huge chunks of fresh pineapple at the 50 mile mark) meant there was no problem keeping my body fueled properly which is the key to NOT being in pain at the end.