Tomorrow begins the big base miles extended weekend. We are heading to Santee, SC, a little town off I-95 that is more of a rest area stop than anything else. They have a nice state park, where we’ll be staying in cabins and using as our launching point. The area is flat as a pancake, so the idea is to get as many miles as possible.

If all goes well, the plan is to get 50-60 miles on Friday, 130 miles on Saturday (200k), 100 miles on Sunday, and another 50 miles on Monday. In total, we could get as many as 350 miles.

Unfortunately, it looks like the weather may not cooperate. The forecast for Saturday, as of now, looks dire. It will be cloudy until the early afternoon and then it will start pouring rain. There’s a 70% chance, so I don’t think we’ll be avoiding it. Our 200k is probably going to shorten to as many miles as we can ride in three to four hours. The forecast for Sunday looks better, although not quite perfect. There is a 30% chance of rain and I’m not sure about the time of day. Hopefully it will allow for us to get our 100 miles. Friday and Monday are going to be sunny and gorgeous. If the forecast doesn’t change, I have a feeling we’ll end up with 250 miles or so. That’s plenty for a few days and I certainly won’t complain.

Someone recently told me that “flat miles aren’t the same as mountain miles.” I mostly agree, but since I have been spending more time in the gym and less time on the bike, I think this will help with my endurance. It’ll get my legs spinning again and mold these developing muscles into pedaling machines. It’ll also be a good time. I’m spending it with some good friends; we’ll stop at some off-the-beaten-path restaurants, and most importantly, spend a few days away from the big city.