One week to go now. I had the longest ride yet yesterday. I went 40.4 miles!! It was mostly flat, with one killer hill at 39 miles. Granny gear and crawl up I did...but I made it and didn't walk!
The ride started out to be with my group (cycling camp/group/etc...) Only 4 of us showed up for the ride and two turned back at about 8 miles. Then it was just me and my trainer/leader. I tell you: she put me through my paces. We just kept going...and going....and going. Criss crossing the back roads between Albany and Lebanon in Oregon. She kept up the pace staying between 17 and 20 mph for a lot of it. I thought I was going to die! I kept going...and learned how to draft in the process.
Then I was exhausted, and had to ride another 7 miles to get home...and up that damn hill at the end.
Exhausted, got the runs last night and into this morning. Pulse was +13 from my normal 50. Weight was down 3 pounds in 24 hours.
No ride today...just rest.
speedlever
06-08-08, 07:50 PM
See? Isn't this fun?
:D
But seriously, that pace sounds pretty stiff so early on. Hey, whatever works...
Rick@OCRR
06-08-08, 08:15 PM
You'll do fine, no worries!
Rick / OCRR
zonatandem
06-08-08, 08:43 PM
If you lost 3lbs in 24 hrs you probably should drink more on the ride . . .
You'll do fine on the half-century!
doctor j
06-08-08, 09:02 PM
Congrats on riding up the killer hill and not walking. That's a well-deserved victory:beer:
If you did the 40 miles, you'll probably be good to go for the 50. Pay attention to fuel and fluids so you don't bonk toward the end of the ride.
Give us a report after you finish the 50.
stapfam
06-09-08, 12:07 AM
If you lost 3lbs in 24 hrs you probably should drink more on the ride . . .
You'll do fine on the half-century!
Yep
In these early days of riding- weigh yourself before the ride. If you weigh significantly less after the ride- start drinking to bring the weight back up. If you don't- you will pay for it the next day. And once you have got fit- you won't have any weight to lose in any case.
Any body mass loss will come in the next few days- but Fluid loss is something you cannot take a chance with. Replace it within an hour of finishing the ride and recovery will be there. And on recovery- get out for a gebtle 10 miles or so today. No effort required and spin a bit faster in a lower gear. This will get the muscles moving and stop some of the stiffness from coming in.
And out of interest- HOW OLD were the dropouts? Sounds another case of 50+ rules to me.
Mikey Likes It
06-09-08, 01:11 PM
Just a foot-note:
The two riders that dropped out and went home were both in their early 40's..
stapfam
06-09-08, 02:10 PM
And out of interest- HOW OLD were the dropouts? Sounds another case of 50+ rules to me.
Just a foot-note:
The two riders that dropped out and went home were both in their early 40's..
Thats what I like to hear.
tsl
06-10-08, 06:58 AM
The two riders that dropped out and went home were both in their early 40's..
Bah! Kids these days...
TomRides
06-10-08, 09:50 AM
If you lost 3lbs in 24 hrs you probably should drink more on the ride . . .
You'll do fine on the half-century!
+1 on staying hydrated..drink when you don't think you need it. A few members of my local club and I just did one of the Massachusett's Tour de Cure rides this past Sunday. At 6am when I got into my car, the temps were 75. We peaked out at close to 96 on a VERY sunny day. I probably drank 2 bottles of water/ Gatorade per hour and every opportunity we were all reminding each other to drink. We ended up doing the full 101.8k or about 65 miles...
Don't forget this on your 1/2 century....sometimes when you get going you forget about it..but remind yourself...you should be sweating most of the time if the temps are warm..if you stop sweating you're in trouble.
Good luck!
skiph
06-10-08, 10:17 AM
Mikey:
Glad you're getting in some miles.
Hopefully by now, you've looked over the course maps at the Santiam Spokes web site.
You have until the return leg on the way back just before Sweet Home to make up your mind if you want to do the 72 instead of the 53 mile route.
If you are feeling good and the weather's nice, there's really only 1 hill out to the SW of Sweet Home on the 72 mile route, then after that, it's pretty flat, even quite a bit of real gradual downgrade out to Brownsville and the freeway.
You don't have to do it as fast as you were riding on Saturday, but drafting others really helps. If they are going too fast for you, just drop off....there will be another group/line coming by after awhile. Just ask them if it's OK, since they don't know you and you are a bit of a newbee and it can get tricky drafting others. Don't overlap their back wheel, because if you touch it with your front tire, YOU will go down.
Now, if this crappy weather will just clear up some so I can get in more than 1 ride this week before Saturday....
gcottay
06-10-08, 01:21 PM
One week to go now. I had the longest ride yet yesterday. I went 40.4 miles!! It was mostly flat, with one killer hill at 39 miles. Granny gear and crawl up I did...but I made it and didn't walk!
Best wishes on your century ride.
In my book, if you hit a hill or a situation where granny is still not good enough and decide to walk, that still counts as making it up the hill.
LynnH
06-10-08, 01:25 PM
Nice job, way to go!
skiph
06-14-08, 06:05 AM
Mikey:
Ready to rock and roll???
Going to be really nice today.
Seeing as you never posted a pic of you or your bike (that I can remember...), won't be able to pick you out of the crowd.
Great day to do the 70....if you don't you'll be kicking yourself for the rest of the summer (we'll give you a pass on the 100 since it's your first big ride, that's the next one).
About 6 of us leaving Newport at 6-ish, hope to be on the road a little after 8. 2 people on a tandem, and 2 others doing the 70, myself and another guy doing the 100.