There are two Giro ride report threads ... so I guess I'll post my ride report here, and pics in the other one.
This is my third year doing the Giro. There was concern about the air quality, due to all the fires in Northern California, but I am glad to report this was not even an issue. It was overcast most of the day, but it was definitely a great day to go for a ride.
I got to registration at 6 am. However, they did not have my name on their list. I kindly explained that I got about 5 reminders about this event via email, so I know I am registered. They were kind enough to just get my contact information, and let me ride it. I applaud them for this.
Met everyone by Curtis's car. We were all ready to roll by 6:30 am, but one person was missing ... hmmm I wonder who that could be??? Marco .... POLO !!!!!! Even though he is the closest from the start, he was the last to show up. We got rolling at 6:45 am. We even passed by the street where he lives ... < 1 mile from the start!
The pace was brisk and aggressive in the first 5 miles. I knew I would not be able to keep up at this rate, so I eased up quite a bit. We all decided to regroup at the first rest stop. That was the last time everyone would be together.
As we started on Hwy 84, the gladiators went up ahead. Meanwhile, the sacrificial lambs concentrated on simply turning the crank over. I tried to go up Hwy 84 on my middle chain ring, but half way up, I was just not climbing well. I couldn't resist, so put it in my granny. My cadence started going up again, and that helped my pace going up the hill.
Going down 84 was fun!
I picked up some pretty good speed, and hooked up with two other riders, and the three of us kept a pretty good pace. We kept this up almost till the next rest stop, but I just could not sustain the pace. Then, one of the riders put the hammer down, and there went the paceline. Oh well ... it was fun while it lasted.
The actual route, from the 2nd rest stop, had the route going straight to Hwy 1, then heading northbound till making a right on Tunitas Creek. However, we took Stage Road instead, just so we could avoid all the car traffic on Hwy 1.
Pete and I were climbing from the back. Pete had bonked a little, but he waved me on ahead. I was not climbing the best, and was being passed by quite a number of riders. Then, one woman, Claudia, passed by me slowly, and seemed to want some company, so I more than happily obliged. What a difference climbing, while chatting has on you ... the climb would have been miserable for me, but being able to converse takes the struggle on the backburner. If you are reading this Claudia, thanks.
Descending Kings Mountain was also fun. Hmmm ... do we sense a theme here? I was able to make my left turn onto Woodside before the large motorcycle pack rolled through. In retrospect, I should have took out my camera and took a picture of it. It was quite a site.
At the next rest stop, I decided, along with Eric, to just head straight back to the finish (instead of climbing Page Mill). I did this for two reasons ... first, I knew headwinds would be bad the later in the afternoon you get, and second, I didn't want to descend Altamont (where I had my fall several months ago).
Thanks Eric for waiting for me. The headwinds were really brutal and painful. Eric waited for me at the last rest stop, and we rode back together to the finish. Still, even with the draft, it was difficult riding back.
Saw Ty and Kari at lunch, and they were kind enough to stick around to eat with us. It was cool, and nice to compare our on-call sob stories.
I waited around for the century riders. Ty, Kari, and Eric had to boogie. After hearing from Ramon, they had just about as bad a time with the headwinds that I did. At least that made me feel a little better.
This was a great day for a ride. Great support, and great company too. Pictures to be uploaded in the other thread.