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11-16-09, 05:35 PM
When I could barely walk around the block back in August because of my DVT, I hoped to be able to do a metric century before Christmas.
Well, it's DONE!!
I rode the Pyrenees Magic 100K put on by Audax Australia!!
The ride attracted somewhere between 100 and 150 people, which surprised Rowan and me when we arrived at the Start/Finish area in Avoca. Audax/Randonneuring events in the Canadian Prairies don't attract anywhere near that number of people. We'd be lucky to get 10 - 15 people out.
The ride was also fully supported including manned controls with food provided, medical personnel, and a sweep vehicle. That's the second Audax/Randonneuring event, under 1200K, I've done that has had manned controls!! I'm used to persuading gas station attendents out in the middle of nowhere to sign my brevet card to prove I've been there.
The route is relatively flat, although it did have a few challenging climbs in the middle. The temperature was probably the biggest challenge, topping out at 36C (97F) in the shade, and likely at least 40C (104F) in the sun.
The registration started at 8 am, and already the temperature was warming up. We registered and then relaxed in the shade waiting for the 9 am start time. We knew of one other rider that was going to be there, and managed to find him in the crowd. stevegor, from these forums, was doing the event on a tandem.
At 9 am Rowan and I started the ride. The fairly brisk pace was all right for me for about 15 km, and then I started to struggle with it and we had to slow down a bit. The hilly part started, gently, around the 20 km point. By the time we reached 35 km, my legs informed me that they needed something to eat. Fortunately there were a lot of trees along the route so we were able to find a shady place to stop for a moment.
The first control was at about the 45 km point and was a welcome sight. We refilled our bottles and ate, and I "bathed" in cold water in the washroom. I was so impressed that, although we were near the back of the pack, there was still ample food, water, etc. available!
The second control was at about the 75 km point, but those 30 km were the hilliest part of the route including one particularly steep hill which had me down to 5 km/h. Slow and steady is the way I handle hills ... especially when it is nearly 40C out there. I made it to the top of all the hills without walking any of them.
The second control had a big cooler full of ice!!! Wonderful!!! They also had lots of water and fruit for the riders, as well as spray bottles full of water for us to spray each other with.
We were directed down a road and just when we started to get into our stride, we were stopped by a secret control run by an older couple. They were lovely people, spraying us with cold water, offering us more ice from a big cooler, and giving us gummy candies.
By then we only had a little over 20 km to go, and we had a tailwind all the way in. We cruised along at a good pace along flat, quiet roads to the end. It helped that there was a bit of cloud cover through this part, and trees now and then, for shade.
I handled the heat fairly well given that I have just come out of a whole year of winter (from about mid-October 2008 to mid-October 2009). I had some minor cramping (left foot, right side of back, left calf, and then my right foot right at the end), and I've got a mild case of heat rash, but otherwise I feel pretty good. I did drink an incredible amount for me, so perhaps that helped.
When we arrived there were still quite a few people around, and stevegor, who had finished earlier, was there to greet us as well. It was great to meet him, and I hope we cross paths again at other events.
Photos of the ride: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14302884@N04/sets/72157622681266839/
So I've completed my goal of doing a 100 km ride before Christmas ... well before Christmas. We're now looking at a couple more in the weeks to come.
Well, it's DONE!!
I rode the Pyrenees Magic 100K put on by Audax Australia!!
The ride attracted somewhere between 100 and 150 people, which surprised Rowan and me when we arrived at the Start/Finish area in Avoca. Audax/Randonneuring events in the Canadian Prairies don't attract anywhere near that number of people. We'd be lucky to get 10 - 15 people out.
The ride was also fully supported including manned controls with food provided, medical personnel, and a sweep vehicle. That's the second Audax/Randonneuring event, under 1200K, I've done that has had manned controls!! I'm used to persuading gas station attendents out in the middle of nowhere to sign my brevet card to prove I've been there.
The route is relatively flat, although it did have a few challenging climbs in the middle. The temperature was probably the biggest challenge, topping out at 36C (97F) in the shade, and likely at least 40C (104F) in the sun.
The registration started at 8 am, and already the temperature was warming up. We registered and then relaxed in the shade waiting for the 9 am start time. We knew of one other rider that was going to be there, and managed to find him in the crowd. stevegor, from these forums, was doing the event on a tandem.
At 9 am Rowan and I started the ride. The fairly brisk pace was all right for me for about 15 km, and then I started to struggle with it and we had to slow down a bit. The hilly part started, gently, around the 20 km point. By the time we reached 35 km, my legs informed me that they needed something to eat. Fortunately there were a lot of trees along the route so we were able to find a shady place to stop for a moment.
The first control was at about the 45 km point and was a welcome sight. We refilled our bottles and ate, and I "bathed" in cold water in the washroom. I was so impressed that, although we were near the back of the pack, there was still ample food, water, etc. available!
The second control was at about the 75 km point, but those 30 km were the hilliest part of the route including one particularly steep hill which had me down to 5 km/h. Slow and steady is the way I handle hills ... especially when it is nearly 40C out there. I made it to the top of all the hills without walking any of them.
The second control had a big cooler full of ice!!! Wonderful!!! They also had lots of water and fruit for the riders, as well as spray bottles full of water for us to spray each other with.
We were directed down a road and just when we started to get into our stride, we were stopped by a secret control run by an older couple. They were lovely people, spraying us with cold water, offering us more ice from a big cooler, and giving us gummy candies.
By then we only had a little over 20 km to go, and we had a tailwind all the way in. We cruised along at a good pace along flat, quiet roads to the end. It helped that there was a bit of cloud cover through this part, and trees now and then, for shade.
I handled the heat fairly well given that I have just come out of a whole year of winter (from about mid-October 2008 to mid-October 2009). I had some minor cramping (left foot, right side of back, left calf, and then my right foot right at the end), and I've got a mild case of heat rash, but otherwise I feel pretty good. I did drink an incredible amount for me, so perhaps that helped.
When we arrived there were still quite a few people around, and stevegor, who had finished earlier, was there to greet us as well. It was great to meet him, and I hope we cross paths again at other events.
Photos of the ride: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14302884@N04/sets/72157622681266839/
So I've completed my goal of doing a 100 km ride before Christmas ... well before Christmas. We're now looking at a couple more in the weeks to come.