Originally Posted by
grahny
Just got home. I would officially like to say that that course was F'N BRUTAL. I surprised myself and did it in 5:55 including stops. About 90% solo too 'cause everyone was so spread out due to all the climbing (haven't done a century in over a year too... not too shabby
)
Congratulations! You should be very pleased with your time on that course. I agree 100% with your description of the course
Originally Posted by
grahny
-Miles 80-95 were even better. We merged at some point with the 70 & 40 mile riders, and I was blowing past them one at a time, trying to give words of encouragement as I went..
One of those riders might have been me....thanks for the encouragement. I chose to do the 40 (really 44.7) due to old age, high humidity and a drive back to Ohio after the event
Originally Posted by
grahny
I think the event itself was organized fairly well, other than the late start. The local & state police were awesome in stopping traffic for everyone and the volunteers were always encouraging. SAG seemed to be around every turn, which gave a feeling of comfort knowing help was there if you needed it. The route was very difficult, and some of the roads SUCKED (fresh chip seal anyone? bah!).
Personally though, I think they made it too hard for the general cycling population. I know there's probably a lot of people out there who would take a big event like this as an opportunity to complete their first century and the LAF should recognize that in their planning. 100 miles is difficult enough, but throwing in 8,000+ ft and several very steep climbs caused a lot to call in SAG or reroute to the 70mi route. I saw a lot of people walking their bikes. It could be disheartening to those people, especially if they can't complete it. I saw someone calling it quits around mile 40 and calling in SAG. Stopped halfway up a climb, and he seemed really disappointed in himself (I would be too). For a lot this was more a nightmare than a challenge and the fun was sucked right out of it. The LAF could make it hilly and challenging without making it brutal... make it so that no one will have to walk, and everyone should be able to complete it. There are other century rides out there to sign up for for those that want the sh*t kicked out of them. I found it to be challenging at my skill level, and could have even done more climbing, but I'm glad it ended when it did. I was thinking at one point how nice it would have been to have a triple
.. I ran a 53-39 w/ 12-27... used my 24 a lot, and my 27 on the tough ones.
Hope everyone had a good ride and no crashes/incidents to report.
A couple times I tapped my Garmin because I thought the grade reading was stuck in the 7-10% range. I even saw one 17% reading
I have a triple on my bike and I used every one of those gears. Even the 40 mile course was a little tough for the average rider. I do a lot of riding and rode the event last year so I was prepared for hills. We encountered the 17% hill after the 40 mile cutoff from the 70/100 mile route.
There was no chance I would catch LA on the course but I did have him pass me in the other direction. I was spinning up one of those hills when a SUV and a couple motorcycle policemen approached me with a rider behind them. Yep! It was LA on his return route. I got a smile and wave as he passed
The volunteers and residents along the route were fantastic. Near Harleysville in the middle of one of those long gradual climbs was a father and his 3 young daughters passing out iced bottled water to riders. I didn't need water but I welcomed the break from the heat and the climb and enjoyed chatting with the family and others who had stopped.