Good things about today's ride:
1. It is over.
2. I didn't crash. No one else crashed.
3. It was sunny.
4. Everyone had a better ride than I did. But IvaHawk's ride may have been only marginally so.
Not-so-good things about today's ride:
1. The WIND.
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I drafted Smitty to do a write-up of today's ride because . . . I might not be able to do so in good humor.
Departing PUE we had eight in the group (Martin, Tito, Norris, BobH, Mallet, Lt. Dave, John A., and Smitty), but picked Iva up a few miles up the road on NewLight after he had retrieved his missing helmet from his house. Now we were nine...
A slight miscue took a few of us up a wrong turn onto Wes Sandling Rd.. Regrouped shortly after that where Mallet and Lt. Dave split from the group for a shorter ride. Now we were seven.
Somewhere shortly before the wall Tito, Iva and I stopped to briefly admire the fauna and wildlife. While trying to catch up with the group Tito's shoe cover tried to fly free of his shoe. After another short stop to sort that out, we once again set out to rejoin the group. Some in our group are wondering what the deal is with Tito's footwear here lately. I personally think that him having issues is the only way I can keep up with him.
Stayed loosely together from there until Bearpond, where there was another slight miscue from the lead group (if you are keeping score from home: _GPS 0 - Cue sheet 2). Regrouped briefly at the store on Bobbit where BobH and Norris got a headstart on the rest of the group. Several miles later, Tito and I spotted BobH and Norris ahead of us and started off to catch them. Tito hit the afterburners and left me in the dust. Now we were three mini-groups of three, two and two...
John, Paul, Martin and Iva regrouped in Franklinton. After that regrouping, we stayed together for a while until Martin had issues and had to drop off the back of the group, and ultimately he made arrangements for Iva to loop back in his truck and sag him in. So, we were three...
We fought the wind all the way back in on Bruce Garner/New Light, but made decent time. Before the ride started, there had been some talk about having a tailwind on the way back to PUE from Bearpond. Still waiting for that to happen. On New Light, Iva was entertaining offers for a tow rope up Ghoston, but decided to go pick up our leader instead of making a quick buck. And then we were two...
Upon arrival back at PUE Tito, BobH and Norris were still loading up their gear. Not sure how much earlier they got back than us. I just know I was gassed. Iva and Martin showed up within minutes of John and I getting back.
Final stats from my garmin:
75.74 miles
04:50:25 ride time
15.6 mph average
Other rider's stats may vary.
Here is the link for the ride info from my garmin.
Smitty
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Feb-27:
PUE: Bearpond-Bobbitt, but I bailed at Grissom; BobH, Norris, Tito 77 m., Smitty, Agnew 75 m., IvaHawk 63m., Mallet, LT 43 m. + ride from-to home; 63.3 m.; 4hrs, 21min; 14.5 mph.
Jan tot: _4 rides; 208.5 m.; 12 hrs, 54 min; 16.1 mph.
Feb tot: _3 rides; 178.5 m.; 11 hrs, 55 min; 15.0 mph.
YTD tot: _7 rides; 387.0 m.; 24 hrs, 51 min; 15.6 mph.
Regarding Smitty's comment "Other rider's stats may vary": _Definitely.
At one point, I was pushing 400 watts and going 6 mph. I don't like to hear about any wind being worse than that wind. It was biting, forceful, and relentless. I must tell you I was glad to see my car a mile or so before Col de Ghoston.
ReplyDeleteIva
Lt. Dave's comments to me as we passed Iva's truck were prescient. "Martin may have bitten off more than he can chew today - this wind is just going to get worse" and "Iva's going to be glad to see his truck", or words to that effect.
ReplyDeleteDave and I shared pulls and conversation and generally had a nice SHORT ride - glad we were getting home before the wind picked up further.
Mallet
I appreciate the concern, but ...
ReplyDeleteIf one never bites off more than one can chew, one is unlikely to find out the biggest bite that one can chew.
My habit of increasing the size of bites by so little that it is almost not noticable sometimes appears not as being "careful" but more like cowardice.
I think the biggest problem I had on Saturday was that I was unexpectedly tired. My breathing on Saturday was very shallow and very rapid -- which usually corresponds to a maxed out heart rate, whereas on Sunday, even when "hammering", was always long, deep and slow.
A couple or three hours after Saturday's ride, my pulse was still so rapid and thready that it was impossible for me to take it.
The tight muscles in my right leg and buttock NEVER loosened on Saturday. The aches did not help my morale quotient on Saturday. In contrast, on Sunday, after just a few miles, the aches were gone, and after several more miles, the tiredness was barely to not noticeable.
I ate a LOT more food Saturday night than I did Friday night, and ate quite a bit more food Sunday morning than I did Saturday morning. So much food that my shorts felt tight around the stomach. The extra energy in the body may have helped.
I also made sure I drank more. I think I got caught in a trap of trying to stay close to the peloton on Saturday several times when I would have been much better served to have backed off and taken more drinks.
I think my body was just tired on Saturday.
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However, the next few / several courses will be chosen with much more attention given to the expected WINDs.
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Final note:
three times I have ridden this course now. Only once did I finish this course and feel like I could have kept riding. And that was the time last September when I had my crash.
I conceptually love this course, and by golly, it is NOT going to get the best of me!!!
...M