Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Ride Report - Long and pointless

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View Full Version : Ride Report - Long and pointless


BasicJim
07-03-07, 08:05 PM
So, I moved to a new town a few months ago. I found the local club and went to the Tuesday night "A" ride. I had to answer a lot of questions to establish that I could hang with them and ended up pulling a few of them home. Then I took some time off the bike, got a vasectomy, gained a few (more) pounds, and now went back for another "A" ride.

So, I show up and it looks like I could have eatten any two of the other riders. They are ALL stick people. One of the guys tells me the pace has picked up since my last ride and I think "I may have 2 or 3 or 40 extra lbs, but I have NEVER had trouble hanging with a club ride!!" I smuggly tell them I have a GPS to find my way home if I get dropped. (like that'll happen!! Sheesh!)

So, the ride picks up the pace at about 4 miles. We're averaging about 22 mph. That is a bit more than the 19 mph avg we did earlier in the year. That's when I start noticing that these guys are in a LOT better shape than they were a few months ago! I start feeling my motor slip, so I pop a Hammer Gel and shorten my pulls.

Okay, so we're doing about 20 - 22 mph and I am thinking, I can hang in here. Then this pair on a tandem decides their bored. They go to the front and start pulling at 25 - 27 mph. There taking some long pulls and I am crawling up on their back wheel to stay in the draft. They pull through and it's my pull. I got NOTHING. I pull through and the next guy comes up. 20 mph. The next guy, 20 mph. The tandem goes back to the front, 27 mph. I am in the middle of the pace line and can't hold the wheel in front of me. I pull out and fall to the back... and watch them go.

They go around the next bend out of sight. I go around the bend and can't see them. CRAP.

I turn my Garmin Edge onto the breadcrumb mode and slog my way back the 18 miles to the LBS. I averaged over 19 mph ALONE on the way back, but couldn't hang with that paceline.

I waited around for them to get back so they didn't think I was dead in a ditch some where. They were all cool and tried to make the fat guy feel better and I actually think I got some respect from a few of them.

Anyway, with my ride to the LBS I did over 50 miles today. I realize a) I am getting old and can't abuse myself and expect to still perform, b) I was WAY too cocky (I still think of myself as 9% BF and 22 years old) and c) I am WAY out of shape. Time to throw myself out and lose some of this (*$@@# weight! How did I get like this?!?!


Dr_Robert
07-03-07, 09:13 PM
You're still in better shape than I am. There's no way I'd be able to hang with a 27 MPH pace line for more than a couple minutes.

-DR

jaxgtr
07-03-07, 09:13 PM
holy cow, did you tell them that they were not suppose to be in their car??


Stujoe
07-03-07, 09:19 PM
I would have been dropped as we left the parking lot. lol

brodie
07-05-07, 02:13 AM
i coulda went about 100 yards. im pretty good at 100 yards.

brodie
07-05-07, 02:14 AM
27 mph !!! thats crazy talk.

(51)
07-05-07, 04:17 AM
I would have been dropped as we left the parking lot. lol

+1

http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~loeffel/conejos/media/AnimGIF/n055.gif

Neil_B
07-05-07, 04:28 AM
27 mph !!! thats crazy talk.

Who was on that tandem, Lance and Floyd?

Neil_B
07-05-07, 04:29 AM
I would have been dropped as we left the parking lot. lol

Ditto that!

Caincando1
07-05-07, 06:36 AM
27mph, I didn't know bikes went that fast.:D :D I know mine won't even do that over a cliff...:D

Neil_B
07-05-07, 06:58 AM
27mph, I didn't know bikes went that fast.:D :D I know mine won't even do that over a cliff...:D

I've hit 39 on a downhill.

Caincando1
07-05-07, 07:09 AM
I've hit 39 on a downhill.

Wow, I'm riding a nav 300 and the best I've EVER seen was 28 and that was sprinting down hill. What did you do to your bike to make it so fast? Mine does seem to pedal hard than it used to.

Neil_B
07-05-07, 07:17 AM
Wow, I'm riding a nav 300 and the best I've EVER seen was 28 and that was sprinting down hill. What did you do to your bike to make it so fast? Mine does seem to pedal hard than it used to.

I'm riding a Navigator 3.0, which I gather is the new name for the 300. I replaced the old tires with slicks, and found a very steep country hill. My usual downhill, depending on the hill, is from 24-34 MPH. I live in SE PA, and such hills are common.

PATH
07-05-07, 08:51 AM
Wow! You are a much better rider than me! The fastest I ever went was 24 mph over a 400 yard stretch before I ran out of gas as it were! I would have been dropped like a rock pretty quickly by this crowd! It sounds like a rocket ride with no mercy dropping episodes!

That you hung with them as long as you did shows you just need to train and get back up there. Gotta tell you that I am envious of your ability to hang with them like you did!

CliftonGK1
07-05-07, 09:31 AM
Last time I could keep a pace like that, even in a line, was years ago in my late teens. I was really happy yesterday that I had a 16mph average over 30 miles. My typical group rides are 13-15mph average. Just thinking about pushing 27mph makes me tired (and I think I heard my bike cry when I said that speed out loud.)

root11
07-05-07, 07:06 PM
I could hang at 27-mph, downhill, with a tailwind....

Neil_B
07-05-07, 08:28 PM
Wow, I'm riding a nav 300 and the best I've EVER seen was 28 and that was sprinting down hill. What did you do to your bike to make it so fast? Mine does seem to pedal hard than it used to.

Clean the chain. No, I'm not kidding. It makes a difference.