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01-15-07, 06:03 AM
I knew this was going to be a tough ride when I found out who was going to show up. Then when I got there I saw team cars pulling in and guys with “coach” on their jersey and guys with zero fat and zero weight bikes.. Oh, man. There were 187 cyclists in all from all over the region. And a lot of them had one thing in mind: make others suffer.
At about 1:15 in the windy, warm afternoon we were off. And sure as you knew it, we were flying. About 30 of us were taking on the speed, wind, and rough pavement through York County, SC. It was like a mangled group of competitors struggling to stay with lead man. Several times I shot up closer to the front, hanging, on battling the wheels and wind. It was fierce. People were flailing around trying to avoid massive potholes and other wheel. We all were battling the perfect spot to be shielded from the wind. At one point I looked at my Cateye and it was reading 31 mph. My God man, am I really doing this. My legs answered that question for me with a resounding, "yes. And you won't be for long."
Several times on hills, after intersections, and whenever the leaders felt like it, the pack had to practically sprint to keep up. Riders were being spit off the back one by one. I was praying to God just to hang on as long as possible. I did until I was at the wrong place.
About 20 miles in I was caught in the back. Not good. It seemed like the wind was really hitting me hard. I tried desperately to hold on to a rear wheel, but couldn't. And unfortunately, I was dropped. And dropped like hard.
From that point on I was on my own- out in the elements. Eventually, I began to get my cadence back up - relaxed and spinning smoother than before. I began passing others who were either dropped off the back or who stopped at a rest station.
Around 40 miles I began feeling some good pain in my legs - especially my left. At one point, my calf began cramping. Relaxing my feet helped and so did taking on a lot more fluids. I drank two large bottles of Powerade and downed 3 gel packs during the ride. This was more than I usually do for 50 miles but I was hurting in a good way trying to keep up my tempo.
Well, I pulled into the school with an average of 20.5 mph - somewhat faster than I've done at this length. Plus, with the wind I was pretty impressed. Overall, it was a great ride. I learned a bunch about pack riding and speed and how much slower I am than I thought. I guess I could say that I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't hold on longer. But hey, I can either uses at a deterrent or fuel to improve. I choose that latter.
At about 1:15 in the windy, warm afternoon we were off. And sure as you knew it, we were flying. About 30 of us were taking on the speed, wind, and rough pavement through York County, SC. It was like a mangled group of competitors struggling to stay with lead man. Several times I shot up closer to the front, hanging, on battling the wheels and wind. It was fierce. People were flailing around trying to avoid massive potholes and other wheel. We all were battling the perfect spot to be shielded from the wind. At one point I looked at my Cateye and it was reading 31 mph. My God man, am I really doing this. My legs answered that question for me with a resounding, "yes. And you won't be for long."
Several times on hills, after intersections, and whenever the leaders felt like it, the pack had to practically sprint to keep up. Riders were being spit off the back one by one. I was praying to God just to hang on as long as possible. I did until I was at the wrong place.
About 20 miles in I was caught in the back. Not good. It seemed like the wind was really hitting me hard. I tried desperately to hold on to a rear wheel, but couldn't. And unfortunately, I was dropped. And dropped like hard.
From that point on I was on my own- out in the elements. Eventually, I began to get my cadence back up - relaxed and spinning smoother than before. I began passing others who were either dropped off the back or who stopped at a rest station.
Around 40 miles I began feeling some good pain in my legs - especially my left. At one point, my calf began cramping. Relaxing my feet helped and so did taking on a lot more fluids. I drank two large bottles of Powerade and downed 3 gel packs during the ride. This was more than I usually do for 50 miles but I was hurting in a good way trying to keep up my tempo.
Well, I pulled into the school with an average of 20.5 mph - somewhat faster than I've done at this length. Plus, with the wind I was pretty impressed. Overall, it was a great ride. I learned a bunch about pack riding and speed and how much slower I am than I thought. I guess I could say that I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't hold on longer. But hey, I can either uses at a deterrent or fuel to improve. I choose that latter.