Aug 2: A storm brews

Aug-2:

I received the following from the Mallet:

My bet is that you got a soaking today. I did a mid morning 33 from my house which took me past PUE and out to Goshton and back past PUE to home. I saw your car at PUE and got drenched on my way home 11:30 ish.

My first 10 miles were as lead legged as last weekend but then they came alive and I finished with an av. of 20.2.

I actually enjoyed riding in the rain, something I had not done since my rising to school days. Quite cool and refreshing for a NC August day.

I hope you were able to enjoy whatever ride you were doing.

I am now in Litchfield, SC, and will be here through next weekend - will have to get some long flat, flat, flat miles in while I'm here.

Regards,
Mallet

PUE: Butner-Moriah-Mt.Harmony-Berea-Stem-Creedmoor; w/ "the Lash"; 74.8 miles; est 3276 ft climbed ---> effort index = 107; 4hrs, 51min; 15.4 mph avg pace.

1st Qt. tot: 20 rides; 755.3 m.; 47 hrs, 31 min; 15.9 mph.
2nd Qt. tot: 43 rides; 2124.3 m.; 134 hrs, 59 min; 15.7 mph.
Jul tot: 16 rides; 732.2 m.; 45 hrs, 3 min; 16.2 mph.
Aug tot: 2 rides; 128.9 m.; 8 hrs, 5 min; 16.0 mph
YTD: 81 rides; 3740.7 m.; 235 hrs, 39 min; 15.9 mph.

Rolling 12-mos.: 119 rides; 5626.7 m.; 350 hrs, 55 min; 16.0 mph.

Too bad you weren't up (puns intended) for a 6:45 or 7:00 am ride from PUE with the Lash. She did 175 on Saturday (luckily her friend Mark, aka, Blay, rode pulled her along for 60 of those miles, the rest were solo). It was deemed that I might be able to "help" her through the middle 75 of a 90 or 100 easy, recovery ride.

She rode from the house. I rode from PUE. We started at 7-ish, and did the Butner-Moriah-Mt.Harmony-Berea-Stem-Creedmoor ride that we did a week ago (except we went straight from Stem to Creedmoor instead of "detouring" along Saunders Rd and through Hester).

It was quite humid and overcast and humid. I had tired legs from trying to ride hard and fast the day before, but was easing into fairly well. For kicks, I looked at my avg pace when transiting Butner, 16.6. And for comparison to last week's ride, I checked my avg pace after completing the Range Wall, 16.3 vs. 16.0 the week before.

However, last week, after sending Snapper off, my avg started to go up and by the time we got to Moriah, I think my avg last week was 16.3. Yesterday, doing ALL the pulling, that slow upcline from the top of the Wall to Moriah had dragged my avg down to 16.2. Yes, I was doing ALL the front work. The only time Lynn wasn't following me was on certain long or steep climbs, e.g., New Light from the Lake up to Old Weaver, Range Wall. So essentially I was doing a solo "time-trial".

Somewhere between Moriah and Mt. Harmony Baptist Church, I confirmed that we had a tailwind headed out. Great! Not. We (I) would have 35 miles head on into the breeze going home. It wasn't that much of a wind / breeze, but it would be in our (my) face on Old Roxboro Rd, then Culbreth Rd, then Brogden and Dove roads. All the way back. Yuck.

I was sweating more than I can recall sweating for a long time. Even more than on Saturday, when for the first time in a long time, my socks and shoes were soaked in sweat. I rang a LOT of sweat out of each sock on Saturday. But at least it was still overcast, and that was keeping the heat of the sun off our backs and heads. It had occasionally been spitting a few rain drops on us, but that was welcome. Lynn even commented she could deal with riding in a light rain, as long as it didn't become a thunderstorm.

Somewhere just before the turn south onto Old Roxboro Rd, the spitting stopped. It became a steady sprinkle. Actually was a help to me as it helped cool me off. Lynn, on the other hand, after we stopped in Berea to get some chilled water to replenish supplies, was "cold". She welcomed the climb back up from crossing the Tar River as a chance to get her body re-warmed. I didn't welcome the climb at all, and just spun my way up. Lynn waited for me about a mile up the road, and reassumed her position behind me.

But not for long. After Culbreth Rd transits Culbreth, the road changes from mostly flat to rolling. And yesterday, those rollers were HILLS for me. I had lost all energy in the legs to be able to ride up with any "speed" at all. Lynn passed and stayed ahead until nearly Stem. We stopped in Stem so I could take a minute's blow; I told her she should probably go on as I had nothing left in my legs to get up any of the speed bumps. She replied that she knew that, and had passed me because she was worried about hitting my rear wheel as I wobbled up the hill (she didn't add the "wobbled" part, but I did in my mind, as I was having a time trying to hold a straight line).

Lynn stayed with me, following, down Brogden Rd the first 5 of the 6 six miles to Creedmoor. I held it together and forced myself to get up the couple speed bumps along the way, but, at around 58.4 miles into my ride, when I was avging either 16.5 or 16.7 (I wasn't sure what the tiny print on the confuser showed - rain and bad eyes for reading - but I think it was 16.7). I had nothing left to get up the last two mountains into Creedmoor -- those are mountains, there, aren't they?

The rain seemed to have stopped somewhere between Creedmoor and PUE. Don't ask where. It was all I could do to keep a semblance of order and balance and some speed on the "rollers-become-hills-become-small-mountains" on Dove Rd. I wasn't in trouble. I just had no "go" left. A combination of tired from the day before, not enough liquid refueling (Lynn does NOT do long or many stops) and possibly I would have had more energy if I had eaten a banana at Berea but I hadn't wanted to keep Lynn waiting (a comment she made later in the day leads me to believe she would have accepted the additional time delay for me to eat the banana -- lesson learned). I also concluded that I, being 50% larger by body weight, probably need to replace 50% more liquids -- so, if Lynn needs / wants / accepts "help" again, more liquid refueling stops will be part of the deal.

I recall NOTHING about Whitt road, except that I stopped at the the intersection with Old Weaver and drank most of the rest of my liquids. I know there is a bit of hill on Whitt, but I recall NOTHING.

Old Weaver, on the other hand, I recall only too well. No 20 mph zip across the flat across the lake, and lots of 8 +/- mph (not much plus) for the two miles to get up to New Light. I have not been that labored and slow on that two miles in a LONG time.

No zip on the two mile run down New Light to Ghoston, either. Speed noticeably slower than usual. Ghoston, Peed, and MVC, I used the triple and mostly the 23 & 21 cogs. It was some small satisfaction that tired as I was, I did not need to use the 25 cog (except maybe for a short bit on Peed), and wiped out as I was, I still maintained a speed only a mile mph or so slower than I usually do. Well, usually, near the top of Ghoston, I get my speed back up to 16-18 mph, but not yesterday. I basically refer to the steep parts.

Anyway, very wet after 74.8 miles. Avg pace for the whole ride? 15.4 mph. I estimate I avg'd approx 12 mph for the last 16.4 miles. Admittedly, there are several tough to nuisancy climbs in that 16 miles, but 12 mph? That indicates a tired old man. At least that tired old man realized what he needed to do to get back to the car in one piece. And after all, that is the main goal.

Oh, one last item. I have been quite happy and proud that this year I have suffered no cramps on the bike, or after. Yesterday, however, the inside of my right thigh (perhaps, as I've been told, the lower groin area) kept trying to cramp. It succeeded several times, but nothing, repeat NOTHING, like the cramps in that area that I suffered a couple times last year, most noticeably several hours after completing the "Virginia Border Raid" 108-miler. So, while I can no longer claim "no cramps" this year, I am still "no serious cramps".

So, in short form answer to your comment / inquiry, I got quite wet from the rain, and enjoyed a good bit of my ride. Oh, and for good measure, Lynn added on a "couple" extra miles to get a 101 mile ride -- she refuses to let me know her times or avg speed or any such things any longer.

Enjoy SC. Enjoy SC? Oh, you have relatives there.

Skiff