Heh...I saw a few of you guys in the start area, including Kevin and the crew that headed out just before the rest of us went off. Cuda, if you had to run back through that field I'm surprised that you didn't get stuck in the mud along the way, or drown. I hate the parking for this rally which almost always seems to be a bit of a mess, so I got to the ride early and parked down a bit closer towards town. It gave me a good warm up and a nice cool down after the ride. So I got to the start line early and staked out a section of the road in the shade for the wait until they sent us off. My plan was to go off with the front group and stick until the far (PBA) rest stop on the 55 route.
Here's my ride log from my Cycling Peaks entry.
Collin County Classic
83/ENE5/ 70%
Actual ride time was 2:34 for the 59.6 miles, including warm-up and time to get back to my parking area from the finish line. My goal was to finish the event distance inside of 2:30, which I definitely did.
I stayed with the front group from the start and held on through to the PBA rest stop. We passed a couple of PBA guys who had headed out pre-ride to work at their rest stop. Otherwise, we didn't see anything but traffic control ahead of us. When we got the PBA rest stop one of their more enthusiastic members flagged us down at their turn off. Somehow, the entire lead group took the turn up to the rest stop instead of staying on course. I was planning on stopping to say hello to the other PBA folks, but I thought it was really weird that everybody in the front of the peleton was pulling off. Once they figured out what they had done they backtracked and got back on course. I wonder if they were pissed?
After a popsicle, a PowerBar or two, and a few laughs and hellos I took off with a knot of other folks from the lead group who had also stopped. We went back to work and kept a fairly strong pace from there through to the finish. The last 15 miles included some climbing back up through a steady series of rollers, with the slower riders mixing in from the shorter routes. This split the group up a bit especially the closer we got towards the finish. Most of the folks quit working with each other with some just dropping back to a calmer pace. A few were launching off the front though whenever they could gap the rest of the main group. I stayed with most of the surges and it was fun watching everybody continue to bridge back together and work. Some folks stayed off the front though and disappeared ahead into the crowd of slower riders. I ended up passing a few of them in the last couple of miles. The heat was coming up by then and you could tell that it got to a few of them who tried to solo in to the finish. One tri guy with aero bars stayed away though. I saw him pulling into the parking area just as I continued by and back into town. Props to him for having the legs to make it all the way in on his own.
My gut was acting up this morning pre-ride. So I think earlier this week I was fighting off a virus or something. It pretty much cleaned me out before send off time though, so it wasn't too big of a deal. May have dehydrated me a bit though. I never cramped but my legs didn't feel all that good, especially in the last 10 miles. It might have been a little fatigue from the Power Intervals training that I have been doing this week as well. But this is by far the best ride time and speed that I have ever done at this distance, especially with several thousand feet of rolling climbs mixed in over the 57 miles.
I am headed down to the pool to try and shake out some of the fatigue in my legs. Great ride today. Not a bad birthday present for the week that you find yourself turning 49.
Time: 2:34
Distance: 59.6
Avg Speed: 23.2
Max Speed: 42.1
Avg Cadence: 90
Max Cadence: 133
Avg Power: 205
Max Power: 997
Work: 1778 kJ
And as of tonight, besides eating a nice dinner, all that I have otherwise done since hanging out at the pool is to sleep. I'm feeling more or less squashed. It's a good squashed though. Nice going today boys. We did the Texas forum proud.
