longest training ride

Every Paved Trail in Pittsburgh, plus a section of the Montour Trail: 91 miles in 6:01, average speed = 15.1 mph.

I felt good, considering the length of the ride. My legs had plenty more in them at the end, but my back was really sore from the riding position. Four eventful things happened on the ride: (1) At 1.0 hours in, it started to pour. The rain lasted about 30 minutes. Then, another hour later it rained again, so I was soaked for half the ride. I didn't mind too much. I got a little cold toward the end, but otherwise the rain made the ride interesting. (2) 2.5 hours in, I started getting muscle twitches that indicated to me a lack of salt and/or potassium. The snacks I carried didn't contain much of these electrolytes so I stopped at REI and bought some salty snacks. (3) Soon after my visit to REI, I was riding through Schenley Park and into Oakland. There were railroad tracks at a slant and signs there reminded me to take the tracks at a 90-degree angle. I was lazy and did them at maybe a 60-degree angle. This was good enough for my front tire, but my back tire slipped out from beneath me and I skidded onto my side. I got small areas of road rash on my shin, thigh, and ankle; my right cycling glove tore; and my bike's handlebar tape is cut up. I'm really surprised that that is all that happened to me and my bike. It was quite a spill! My chain started making high pitched noises after that, but I think it was just from having the rain wash away all the chain grease, and I only started to notice it after my fall. (4) I got my third flat tire in a month. Great, just great. I'm getting well practiced at changing a flat, but this is also making me really worry about getting the next one. I now constantly look down during my ride to see if my tires are still ok.