Saturday -- Rowan and I cycled the Tour de Granny Gear (not the official name
)
Distance - 212.7 km
Elevation - 2,123 m (6965 ft)
Moving Time - 11:40:27
Elapsed Time - 12:48:25
Speed - Avg: 18.2 km/h; Max: 50.4km/h
Heart Rate - Avg: 144bpm; Max: 176bpm
Queen of the Mountain on a 58.8 km segment.
Challenging ride.
Hills: According to Ride with GPS, there's over 2400 metres of climbing ... Strava's total is a bit lower. Nevertheless there were a number of significant climbs (Cat 3 and 4) and numerous lesser climbs.
Weather: The temperature hit 29C, officially. My on-bike thermometer showed 37C at one point. Whatever it was ... it was surprisingly and unexpectedly hot. And believe me, slogging up a long Cat 3 climb in that heat was definitely more of a challenge than expected. And then we were hit with a strong sea breeze right at the end. Didn't need that.
Ride Length: Because of a last minute route change, the length of the route changed from about 203 km to 212 km, and yet it had to be completed within the same amount of time that a 200 km ride would be completed in. So not only were we faced with more hills than I usually do on a 200 km, but also 12 extra km.
But despite the challenges, it was a good ride. Although it was hot, at least we didn't have rain or much wind throughout the ride (until near the end). Plus, the event was well supported and the route was good. The ride organiser went out of his way to make sure we were fed and watered throughout the event.
For example, I have a set of waterbottles which are rather old but I'm still using them. Today I had a new waterbottle and an old one. The old one cracked mid-ride, so I could only fill it halfway up. The ride organiser met us between controls to refill our bottles because he knew it was hot and I was working with 1.5 bottles instead of 2.
So that's our March Century done and also my 32nd 200K.
