benweir.com

I finally got the commuting century done! The green marker on the map below is where I live and the red one is where I work. My usual commute between these points is two miles each direction but yesterday I took 59 miles to get to work and 45 to get home.

Commuting century route (click for bigger)

I got started just a few minutes before 4:00am and headed out on the northwest portion. I hadn't gotten any sleep the night before so I knew it would be a long day but hey, I needed a century for the month of August. 4:00am seems to be just about the deadest period of night and it was remarkable how few cars were out. I made it all the way from my house to the base of Old La Honda (a two hour ride) without ever unclipping from my pedals. At this point I stopped for a nature break and also changed the battery in my headlight. This was my only stop on the morning ride.

When I hit the road again it was just after 6:00am and the sky was beginning to lighten. I didn't climb OLH but made my way on Sand Hill out to Junipero Sera Blvd and joined my old commuting route from when I used to live in Menlo Park. From this point I knew it would be about 22 miles in, all very familiar roads whereas I had done a bit of exploring on the first portion of my ride. I arrived at work at 7:36am. The hot shower sure felt good!

Stats for my commute to work:
Distance: 59.2 miles
Time: 3:33:16

Average speed: 16.66 mph
Elevation gain: 1500 ft

After work I headed out this time to the southeast. At first it was great and I was cruising along effortlessly in my 50x14 at around 25mph. Of course this massive tailwind spelled trouble for the return trip. But somehow I was able to manage a respectable average speed for the ride

Stats for the commute home:
Distance: 45.4 miles
Time: 2:42:15
Average speed: 16.79 mph
Elevation gain: 800 ft

I'm glad to have this ride done and over with so that I never have to do it again. The ride was fine but being at work all day after a sleepless night plus a 60 mile bike ride was trying.

(Originally posted here)