The 50 Mile Trek! Oh, What Fun It Is To Ride…

Posted on Tue May 26, 2009Sat August 19, 2023 by Jim Collison

The idea originally started as a 10 mile run followed by a 30 mile bike ride to help me celebrate the last day of my 40th year. It was an idea that Ryan (my Gallup trainer) and I concocted one day after a really good work out. Sounded good at the time!

The half marathon that I completed the weekend before did a number on my left knee. Running 10 miles didn’t seem like the best thing to do for it. So we reduced the event to a short 50 mile ride instead. (Needless to say, never been that far before!)

Dave (Mr. Ironman himself), Michelle (who ran a total of 10 miles as well that day) and Ryan (who had just completed a 50 mile ride on Saturday!) all joined me (see the fat guy in picture?) on Monday morning (Memorial Day) at [7:00] AM. Ryan and Michelle arrived at [6:00] AM (I think I was just waking up at that point) to get in a 6 mile run before the ride. Michelle ran 4 miles with Dave after the ride. Go figure!

We departed at [7:30] on a ride that would take us south on Bellevue Boulevard (speeding past Fontenelle Forest) and 13th street (behind Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo on the levee). At ConAgra’s World Headquarters, we went west on Harney Street (past the Mutual Of Omaha campus), south on 50th street and west on Leavenworth (thru the historic Elmwood Park), south on the Keystone Trail with a loop on the West Papio Trail.

We took a quick break at the 25 mile mark (about 2 hours into the ride) at Halleck Park in Papillion. I ate a PB&J (should have rested more and eaten even more!) as well as a bunch of fluid.

We started the ride back at around [9:30]. We back tracked on the West Papio, and rejoined the Keystone Trail south. There was a nasty headwind most of the way from this point on. I went from averaging about 18 mph to 13 mph on the second half. The Keystone took us south on the Offutt loop and around to Hayworth Park in Bellevue. We headed up the hill to our place and done some time around [11:30]. I cannot say that the last part was as much fun as the first. See the pictures below. This is what death by riding looks like!