40 Miles- Oh Yeah!

So last week I decided that I really need to get back to training for the ride to Cadillac. I've been doing 24 mile rides, but that's still far off from 92. I thought, maybe I'll go for a ride on Monday, because I knew that Joel had a dentist appt. after work. Then I thought, maybe I should go 35-40 miles. I left my house at 4:30, which would give me plenty of time to get in the miles and not get caught out in the dark for too long. I got up past Rockford and was doing great, only 8 more miles to go until I'm half way done. I got up past Rockford and thought, "It's nice to see a new section of the trail." I kept going and didn't really know where I was until a see a little park with the sign, "Cedar Springs- Downtown- with an arrow." Now, Joel and I discovered that my computer on my bike if a bit off. When I make it to Rockford (12 miles from home) it says I'm at 13 miles. So it's about a mile or so off. I decided to keep riding until my computer told me that I was 21 miles out. Then I turned around and started heading home. Shortly after turning back, about an 1/8 of a mile or so, I see the sign "Welcome to Cedar Springs". I rode just past Cedar Springs!!! Not bad! I had to stop in Rockford on the way back to buy some more water- I already drank the 2 bottles that I brought with me. When I was about 7 miles from home, I was starting to feel the length of my ride. By time I got to 5th 3rd Ball Park, I was starting to lose steam (still 5 miles from home). I had been keeping a great average speed- 14.8-14.9 mph for most of the ride. When I started getting tired, it started to slowly drop. I finally made it home, legs shaking and all, and carried my bike up the steps and to the back of the house. Then had to walk down the steps into the basement to put my bike away. My quads were soooo sore! I finished my ride with an average speed of 14.5 mph and the ride time was 2 hours and 54 minutes. I can't believe that I rode 40 miles in less than 3 hours! I thought it would take me 4. I am very proud of myself for riding that far by myself. Next week I may attempt 43-45 miles. The ride to Cadillac is Oct. 6 & 7th. I'm not sure if I'll ride the full 184 miles (92 to Cadillac and 92 miles back to GR), or if I'll just ride on Saturday and call my mom & stepdad to pick me up. haha... I guess it just depends on how I'm feeling as the training goes on. I'm running out of time to train, so I really need to push myself and bring my A- game!