I got a late start and didn't leave my home until 4:50. It wasn't too cold but it was already dark. I decided I'd start by doing laps on the trail that runs by my house. Every lap is 5.7 km. I wasn't sure about elevation but I used google earth to find the highest and lowest spots on the trail and used that as elevation, so 34 meters.
Night riding was scary. The trails rather bumpy and when you can't see where your going the bumps can really catch you by surprise. I was afraid a deer would run into me too, my last ride I came within feet of getting hit and it was mid-afternoon. After 3 laps I was done riding the trail, I'd done 17 km and only counted 15 km as gravel because there is a short section of road to enjoy before getting back on the trail.
After I left the trail I started doing loops around my neighborhood. Each loop is a little more than .9 km with a few small hills, the largest being 5 meters, so I just counted each as .9 km with 4 meters of elevation. I did a total of 40 laps which comes out to be 36 km.
Distance: 55.4 km
Elevation: 293m ascending and descending
Soft Gravel: 15 km
Night Riding: 55.4 km
Objective Rating: 75
Subjective Rating: 86
Final Rating: 161
Next Day Carryover 27.75
12/15/2007
152
I left my home at 6:30 in the morning. It was extremely cold and the wind-chill was a killer... But I stuck it out and did 6 laps around the trail by my house.
The last lap I came across a man who was trying to talk to me while I rode by with my loud Swedish techno music. I couldn't hear him at first but he looked like an interesting guy so I got off and talked to him. He said he was a road biker and was wondering what I was doing riding around in circles everywhere. I told him about RTL and tried to talk him into learning to unicycle but I think he thought he was too old too learn.
After 6 laps on the trail I went back to my neighborhood and did 20 more laps. My legs were getting stiff and I was having trouble going fast but I managed to finish just in time for my 11:30 piano lesson. I would be doing more now but its just too cold. My hands are still numb and I've been home over an hour. It was a fun ride though, I'm looking forward to more longer, and warmer, rides.
Distance: 56.4 km
Elevation: 284m ascending and descending
Soft Gravel: 25 km
Night Riding: 7 km
Extreme Temp: 30 km
Objective Rating: 77
Subjective Rating: 47
Final Rating: 152