I came 6th on a 100k ride.....

Roade my first metric century Saturday and came in sixth today.... sixth last. Possibly the happiest result I've ever had. Quite a turn around from March (both in attitude and performance).

Starting the ride was me and 50 close strangers. We got off to a really fast start. Really fast. The first 10K were done in 16.5 minutes. I started near the front and within 6k I was dropped by the front group, and the second group, Settled in with a third group of 3 other danglers and got into a paceline. I was able to hold that group to the 10k mark. Then dropped again.

I was going to have to just ride my own pace. I had a goal of finishing 100k in under 4 hours and pushing myself into the red this early was not the way to accomplish this. I passed the first rest stop (the one for the 20 mile out and back ride) and kept going. Passed through the first big town and saw my first straggler having a drink @ a gas station. I'm no longer last.

Came to a fork in the road that is not marked and got a little lost. I was not sure which way to go, but a little kid pointed out that another group is coming up, so I settled in with them for a while. Completed a short climb fairly well but the lead guy did not let up and I eventually blew up and fell out of this group as well, just as we hit the second rest stop. I decide to stop and fill up on water and have a snack and watch a few riders riding the 1/2 century ride come through, and even a few peel off and get onto the 100 route. Hmm, perhaps I was never last.

A few others stopped for drinks but I got back on the road. Eating a gel every 10k and staying hydrated, ticking off the 10k laps. Up ahead I see a flashing light. A rider. A rabbit. A goal. I picked up my pace just slightly and try to determine if I'm closing he gap whenever I catch a glimpse of him as on the winding, tree lined, beautifully smooth farm roads. Yep, I appeared to be gaining. It took me about 20k but I closed the gap and got onto his wheel. After a brief rest I did a pull and we traded off a time or two.

I pulled to the front as we crossed the river and headed up the the "big climb" which was used as a KOM point on the ride. I did not hit it hard, just steady but I still pulled away. As I crested the hill I looked back to see if I should wait and continue to work together, but he was too far back so I just got on with it.

Pulled into the the final rest stop to refill the bottles and have a snack just as two others were leaving. I considered not stopping and following their wheel but I needed the water so decided against it. While refilling, the guy I had worked with came in and one other. I appeared to be third last now.

Back on the road. The stop was probably less than 3-4 minutes but my legs had already started seizing up! Crazy. The k continued to tick away. I was into the final 30k. Then 20k, I turn onto the road I've ridden with the Tuesday/Thursday night rides and pass another rider who had stopped for a nature break. I'm fourth last.

10k to go. I cross the river one last time and head up turbo hill. 10k of uphill riding. Maybe it was the snacks I had earlier, maybe it was the rush of knowing was going to complete my first 100k of the year, but for whatever reason my legs felt really strong and I switched into "diesel mode" and started powering over the road.

Up ahead another rider. I claw my way up to him and pass him without slowing or sitting on. More power riding, another rider ahead. I pull up to him and pass.

Just 2000 meters left. Powering home, I finish really strong, and check my time.

I crushed the day. 40 minutes faster! I averaged 28.8kph over 100k! This was faster than my 50 mile ride from Wednesday! What an awesome day. 

Distance: 102.39 km
Speed:  28.76 kmh
Cadence:  86 rpm
AVG HR:  155/185 bpm
Weight:  205 lbs

Breaking the barrier

This was the group ride I was expecting the first time I went out.

From the start, I was feeling the pressure. My legs were not feeling strong all week so I made the decision before the ride to not do a pull and just practice sitting in the peleton. That turned out to be a very good decision. Everytime I looked down at the cyclometer (different from Wednesday's and actually worked), we seemed to be travelling at 35+ kph. On the way to the regrouping point we crossed the Yadkin river and headed up the other side. The last time this hill was easy. Not last night. I was under pressure. Not enough to cause me to drop back or standup but I definitely felt the effort.

The route was very similar to last time, but a little shorter (55K vs 62K) so the route was more familiar and I had a sense of how much effort I was acually putting in. While I kept the cadence high and had no difficulty keeping anyone's wheel, my HR felt higher than I would have liked. 

When we returned to the Yadkin river and started up what riders call "turbohill" the "racing" began. It started ok but the pressure never letup. I got closer and closer to the redline but was holding my own. As the hill continued, it became more difficult holding the wheel. Then the pace picked up again. I simply could not lift mine.

Suddenly I was off the back. We were about 5-7 K from the end and I knew my way back so there was a very brief thought of just sitting up and cruising in. But then I thought, "Why not try what I did last night and settle into a sustainable steady rhythm"? The group was going faster than me but they also contantly changed speed so it was not unrealistic to think I could maybe get back on. As the meters passed beneath my wheels I saw more and more riders fall off the back in front of me. Now I had some rabbits. These riders were not sitting up, so I really had to keeping working, focusing on my form, a steady cadence, and regular breathing. I slowly reeled one back and closed within a few meters of another before the finish and everyone sat up and soft pedalled back the final 1 K.

This is what I was expecting to happen last time so I wasn't disappointed. However, satisfaction with my performance quickly turn to joy when I checked the cyclometer. My average speed was 33+ kph! In old school money, I crossed that psychological 20 mph barrier. This was my fastest ride ever and on a 55K ride!

So, while I was on the rivet from the moment I started turbohill, the fact that I kept up as long as I did was damn impressive for me.

Distance: 55.81 km
Speed:  33.15 kmh (20.6 mph!)
Cadence: 79 rpm
AVG HR:  ?? bpm
Weight:  202.6 lbs

Ego Boost

Oh so happy!

I decided to try the 17-20 mph group ride with the PFBC after several weeks of riding the 14-17 mph social ride. My experience last week on the Clemmons bike shop ride was positive enough that I could accept being dropped from this ride if it happened and, if I wanted to improve, I need to ride with this group.

None-the-less I was nervous. This was a 56K ride on roads I've never ridden, in a new group. All day my stomach was in knots. My over active imagination racing through different scenarios and what I would do in each. Forcing myself to remember that it would be OK to be dropped and why. I didn't want to be dropped but I had my mental defenses ready.

It did not start well. The group rolled out @ 6pm sharp and I arrived about 3-4 minutes before 6 so I was still getting my shoes on, garmin on the bike etc. as they rolled. EEK! What if I never get back on? What if I arrive at the regroup spot just as they left and I didn't have time to recover from the hill I was worried about getting over?

Fortunately, two others came back to pick up something they had forgotten so I ended up having someone to pace my up to the group, which was a relief since I had no idea where I was going. We got back on before the river and the climb up the other side was surpisingly easy. I was expecting the pack to explode but I didn't even have to get out of the saddle. I kept good regular cadence in the big ring and was even able to slow up in places to avoid crossing the wheel in front of me.

The regroup was quick and I was still worried about getting dropped somewhere along the ride. I had looked at the profile and there were a few short steep sections and if faded back I might have been left behind. Maybe the easy speed to the regroup point was simply a warmup before really hammering it. So, I rode near the front. It was a group of about 40 riders of all ages, ranging from university students to a grandmother. The roads were flatter than the ones around home so as I got going I was able to relax a little. Confidence started to build that I could keep up and even had a second or two of thinking that this was not difficult enough. Maybe I should try the faster group. I did a few pulls, but each time I pulled off before I went into the red zone since I had no idea how far we were from home and wanted to have something in reserve.

As we headed back, we had to cross a bridge at 40K, but it had been closed and we could not even hike the bikes across. So we had to retrace our steps, back up the hill an add 5K to the ride with even more climbing. The light was starting to fade but we stepped up the pace and I still had no difficulty keeping up. the HR got up there a few times but it was always manageable and I never felt under pressure. I always felt there was room to shift down and spin faster or up and slower depending on whether it was the legs or heart that felt under strain.

We eventually returned to the original river crossing. I knew how to get back but from here but it was 10K of almost contstant uphill after already putting in 50K. Could I do it? The legs were beginning to feel the effort and some sections steeper than others. However, the folks doing the pulling did an awesome job of pace setting and there were even parts where those at the back were calling for the pace to pick up...and I was good with that.

By the end of the ride I was feeling tired but very happy. I never got dropped I climbed fine, I did 2 pulls, came in with the first group, got personal best speed, and longest ride this season (follow the link for stats and details on the funky cool new site I found for tracking rides).

Distance: 61.55 km
Speed:  30.61 kmh
Cadence:  87 rpm
AVG HR:  159 bpm
Weight:  201.2 lbs

A nice follow up

Personal best average speed on the Centenary Church Loop route today, and pretty dang close to a personal best overall. Two things seemed to fall into place today. One, I found a rhythm that allowed me to keep a steady cadence doing the full stroke while in the saddle without sending my legs into lactic acid overload. Two, I found a rhythm that allowed me to attack the hills, getting out of the saddle when the grade went over 3-4% but not red-lining it. When the grade backed off and I sat back down I still had the strength to straight back into a strong steady cadence. It kept the progress a whole lot steadier.

Distance: 32.67 km
Speed:  29.01 kmh
Cadence:  82 rpm
AVG HR:  147 bpm
Weight:  203.1 lbs

New personal bests

On one of my earlier PFBC rides, people were telling me about the Clemmons Bike shop Wednesday ride. I was told that it was a repeated loop, with each loop being faster than the previous and that you could do as much as you could handle and be done. Sounded like just the thing to gauge of my abilities and to see when I improved. So last night I gave it my first try.

It was lots 'o' fun. Definitely going to be doing this on a regular basis. The first 3 loops were easy and each slightly faster than the previous. First loop completed @ 28.4 kmh, the second @ 29.1, and the 3rd @ 29.7. On the last lap the hammerheads went to town and was the whole reason for going. I did not expect to keep up but I would at least know where/when I would get dropped and have a marker for later comparison.

Frankly, I was quite surpised at my performance. The first part of the loop was simply more speed and no problem keeping up. I spent most of my time just monitering those in front so that I could jump across if a split happened. The real push came as we went down the one fast descent and up the other side @ 33.5K. Given my mass, I coasted past pretty much everyone and flew by several others on the way up who were pedalling. I did nothing but navigate around them in a tuck. Once we got to the top it was a long gradual uphill to the end. I began near the front but wasn't sure what the deal was so I just followed the wheel in front. Very shortly though the big boys came through and I jumped onto their wheels.

The speed kept ramping up and up and I was keeping a good steady effort with little difficulty. Then the person in front of me cracked and pulled out. A gap had been forming and he couldn't hold the wheel. This meant I had to close a 2-3 bike length gap to the group travelling @ 40+ kmh. I leaned into it and slowly started to bring it back.

3 lengths. 2 lengths. 1.5 lengths. Definitely feeling the effort. 1.25 lengths. Heart pounding. Can't get closer. But I don't give up. I hold that position until about 800 m from the end and have to pull out. The guy behind goes past and gives an appreciative "Thanks for the awesome pull man" and the original guy off the front fades back to me and this other guy and we wheeled into the finish fast but just not quite as fast as the front group. In retrospect I realized I should have gotten out of the saddle to try to finish off the gap; rookie mistake. We finished that lap @ 34.9 kmh. Here is the link to the details should you be interested.

Given it was my first time on the ride, I'm still recovering from the chest cold and I had no expectation of holding the wheel of any of them, I'm happy with this result. As an added bonus I also acheived a personal best average speed of 29.5 kmh and new max speed of 69.7 kmh . My previous best average was 29.33 kmh and max speed was 68.33 on my own. Looks like the season still holds lots of promise.

As my wife and friend have noted, being dropped that Sunday several weeks ago may have been a gift in disguise. It resulted in my joining PFBC and hence to this ride. Thanks for all the support.

Distance: 41.35 km
Speed:  29.49 kmh
Cadence:  88 rpm
AVG HR:  151 bpm
Weight:  200.4 lbs