So I did the Centurion Grand Fondo / Race today. 100 km, 4200 feet of climbing. 3:05 was the chip time, which put me 333rd overall. Winner had 2:30 so that's, I think, pretty respectable for a 218lb fatty.
The last 10km were agony though.
Here's the comparison between me and the guy who came in 10th, 5 seconds off the win:
http://raceshape.com/strava-segments/1756184
I find this analysis fascinating. Partially because it is me, and I find anything that has to do with me fascinating - but partially because it shows the effect of mass so well.
I make a metric assload of power. 1400W 2 second sprint. LT measured at 270W last fall, and I think it is a little higher now. CP(60) on the order of 250W based on observation from real rides. But I'm also a ******.
I was over a minute ahead up to 19.5km in - when the first big climb happened. By the top of the climb, I was a minute back. On the flat-ish section that followed, I held that gap steady, then the next climb at 32 km in knocked me back another minute - and the pattern repeats.
But on top of that, each one of these climbs "burns a match" so by the halfway point, I can't keep station on the flats any longer. And to throw further salt into the wound, the last 20km was all climbing, and me with no matches left.
This matches what I observed on the road - stick with a group until the road pitches up. Get spit off the back. Get swallowed up by the next group back, hang with them until the next climb. Spit off the back again, lather, rinse, repeat - until the last 20km, when I couldn't even hold on to groups any longer (all matches gone) and it was all I could do to keep moving.
It also is not lost on me that most of my training rides are 40-60 km long (1.5-2 hours) and I started fading once I got past my usual distance/duration.
So then, conclusions:
1. I am too fat for this sport;
2. Train as you fight, fight as you train. While my fitness is pretty good (in fact, the best it has ever been on a bike), preparation for this event needed to be more longer rides with more climbs;
3. Notwithstanding items one and two, I'm reasonably satisfied with this performance. I'm not setting the world on fire, but I have nothing to be ashamed of an can only get faster as the weight comes off.
DG