kajero

I want to try to do the 60 mile part of the Iron Man but I am scared I'm going to be the last one home! I have been bike riding every weekend and increasing my mileage by 10. Last Sunday I road 40 miles. But I think I am too slow and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get enough speed up 'cause it took me 3.75 hours to ride the 40! So is it worth trying the ride this Sunday? Or should I practice getting my speed up for the MS150 in June?

Monoborracho

If you want to ride the Iron Man just do it. There is nothing wrong with being the last one in as long as you finish.

Don't ask me how I know this.

LAriverRat

If you keep any kind of records of your rides this is one to keep. After awhile you can look back on it as a stepping stone to becoming bike fit. I started almost two years ago and can see the improvment over time.

steve0257

At 10 mph you won't be the last one to finish. this is not a mass start ride so some of the 60 mile riders probably won't be leaving until around 9 and you can leave about 6:30. Last year I did their century and including breaks averaged right around 10 mph and was not the last one back.

kr32

Go for it and have a good time, do not worry about being last one in. Who cares? It is not a race.

cyclinfool

Do it for the experience.
If you have not participated in this kind of event it's worth it as a building experience.

Last year I did my first race, it was a staged start, 10 minutes between packs. I was in the last pack and finished last. I didn't feel bad about it, I just used it as an opportunity to see how much I needed to improve. What I found out when they posted the final results and after the correction for the various start times I did not finish last, near last but not last.

kajero

I am SO disappointed. I didn't know you couldn't register for the 68 mile Gran Fondo the day of the event so participating may be out. But . . . we are going to the Minnesota Bike Expo at the State Fair Grounds today, (leaving in a little while) and there could be the possiblity of someone trying to sell their registration because they can't make the ride. It's going to be 32 degrees, windy and cloudy when the event starts. What do you do with the clothes you take off as the ride progresses? I imagine I will learn all this at the Expo as well as other useful information. Anyone in this thread going to be there? Oh, if hadn't been for this ride I never would have known about the Minnesota Bike Expo so I guess something good came of learning about the 68 mile Grand Fondo! I still wish I could ride in it; it would be good practice for the MS150!

MinnMan

You can register for the regular Ironman ride at any distance the morning of the ride. It's only the Grand Fondo that requires ealry registration - that's the timed part of the ride, which I don't think you want.

High winds tomorrow are going to make the ride an extra challenge. But I'm told that the Ironman is always an extra challenge.

I'll be riding the 105 mile route. Also, I may stop by the expo later this afternoon.

RobertL

My brother is riding the timed hundred mile route tomorrow as well. Good luck, may the weather break and give you guys a great day to ride.

steve0257

I'll decide which route when I get to Jordan. It depends on how much the wind beat me up in the first 20 miles. If it wouldn't be for the wind it would be good riding weather. Cool and overcast so there isn't as much worry about the heat.

MinnMan

Yeah, the winds might be rough - looks like a steady 20 MPH W wind with gusts to 30. The first 25-30 miles are pretty much straight west, so either we'll get it out of the way and have nice tail winds for the ride home or we'll get exhausted early and never quite recover.

Time to get some sleep for an early start....

steve0257

I got beat by the wind and opted for the 68 mile route. I'm a slow rider to begin with so when you toss in that headwind it just took to long to get to Jordan.

MinnMan

Yeah. The 22 miles to Jordan were some of the toughest I can remember. After that I changed my plans and did the shorter route. I think many others did the same.

There was a brief section after the second rest stop where the road again turned west. It was a modest descent maybe 2-3%, but the wind was blowing so hard that it took all my strength to manage 10 MPH. That's DOWN HILL.

steve0257

Haven't heard back if the OP did the ride.

Talked to a couple of friends that got up, looked at the weather, and decided to go back to bed.