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04-26-10, 08:41 AM
...never having to say "I set a new PR"! :lol:
That thought went through my mind over and over again as I did my first metric of the year this weekend. The forecast was for light winds of 10 gusting to 20, but once you get north of town the winds always pick up.
We had a decent turn-out, so there were riders strung out all along the course. I was feeling good and doing a decent tempo, clocking 10 miles in the first half hour. I hadn't intended on shooting for a new PR, but this was looking good!
Then I reached the dreaded north end of town. Right on cue, the winds got mean. (An online weather station nearby recorded winds at 20 gusting to 40 all day.) Although the wind was coming from about my 10 o'clock, it was more than enough to slow the pace.
I reached the first aid station, refilled my water bottle and had the nice mechanic drop some lube on my chain. (The only thing worse than battling a strong wind mile after mile is listening to an intermittant squeak while you're at it.)
Then the fun began -- the course turned north again, with the quartering headwind growing stronger all the time. It was bizarre, moving barely 11mph and still managing to pass people, or huffing it downhill at something near time-trial effort just to hit 13. Windy.
Finally, after about 23 miles, we made a glorious right turn that put the wind behind us. Suddenly 22mph -- uphill -- was effortless. (I thought, "it's about time, wind -- you owe me!") :notamused:
The next 20 miles went by in a flash, but heading south, an occasional gust would brush across your chest and knock 2mph off the speedo in an instant -- that crosswind component is a b-tch no matter what. That's when I thought, "riding in a cross wind means never having to say you set a new PR".
At the last aid station I refilled my bottles again. This time I was out of my own energy drink, so I tried what they had there: Accelerade powder and some other tablets that work sort of like Alka Seltzer: you drop a tablet in your bottle, shake it up, and voila! Great idea, but a horrible taste, like some kind of cleaning fluid. Bleah.
The last 20 miles included about 6 miles directly into the wind, but by this time we were back in town and the winds were truly mellow. Fortunately the last 8 miles were all downwind. That put a smile of relief on everyone's face.
At the finish line, everyone said it was the hardest metric they'd ever done. Most agreed that we'd done full centuries that weren't as hard. Where bragging rights are concerned, there's no wind equivalent of saying you had X,000 feet of climbing. About all you can say is, "it was brutal!" :)
That thought went through my mind over and over again as I did my first metric of the year this weekend. The forecast was for light winds of 10 gusting to 20, but once you get north of town the winds always pick up.
We had a decent turn-out, so there were riders strung out all along the course. I was feeling good and doing a decent tempo, clocking 10 miles in the first half hour. I hadn't intended on shooting for a new PR, but this was looking good!
Then I reached the dreaded north end of town. Right on cue, the winds got mean. (An online weather station nearby recorded winds at 20 gusting to 40 all day.) Although the wind was coming from about my 10 o'clock, it was more than enough to slow the pace.
I reached the first aid station, refilled my water bottle and had the nice mechanic drop some lube on my chain. (The only thing worse than battling a strong wind mile after mile is listening to an intermittant squeak while you're at it.)
Then the fun began -- the course turned north again, with the quartering headwind growing stronger all the time. It was bizarre, moving barely 11mph and still managing to pass people, or huffing it downhill at something near time-trial effort just to hit 13. Windy.
Finally, after about 23 miles, we made a glorious right turn that put the wind behind us. Suddenly 22mph -- uphill -- was effortless. (I thought, "it's about time, wind -- you owe me!") :notamused:
The next 20 miles went by in a flash, but heading south, an occasional gust would brush across your chest and knock 2mph off the speedo in an instant -- that crosswind component is a b-tch no matter what. That's when I thought, "riding in a cross wind means never having to say you set a new PR".
At the last aid station I refilled my bottles again. This time I was out of my own energy drink, so I tried what they had there: Accelerade powder and some other tablets that work sort of like Alka Seltzer: you drop a tablet in your bottle, shake it up, and voila! Great idea, but a horrible taste, like some kind of cleaning fluid. Bleah.
The last 20 miles included about 6 miles directly into the wind, but by this time we were back in town and the winds were truly mellow. Fortunately the last 8 miles were all downwind. That put a smile of relief on everyone's face.
At the finish line, everyone said it was the hardest metric they'd ever done. Most agreed that we'd done full centuries that weren't as hard. Where bragging rights are concerned, there's no wind equivalent of saying you had X,000 feet of climbing. About all you can say is, "it was brutal!" :)