Great day for
the inaugural Garrett County Gran Fondo on June 26th.
Another excuse for a big blogging swan dive into Lake Me. Reading shouldn't hurt much more than the ride. If you made it thru an email report from me this will only confirm what you know: I'm no master of
brevity, humor and drama complete with cute illustrations.
I finished. I never walked, weaved or toppled over. The day was right up there on my personal hardman scale alongside my one and only marathon in 2000, the Savageman Half (
report, etc.), and the
Triple T OH. It's got to be one of the most challenging of the
many century rides out there. And all for a
good cause.
The rides (125mi Diabolical Double, 102mi Century and 50mi Fab Fifty options) started and ended atop Wisp Mtn. We all rolled out at ~7:35a with nice skies and ~60F. I don't think it ever broke 80, and low humidity all day.
Down hill for the first few miles, and most of the way to check point 1 (CP1) at mi18. I coasted whenever possible and was cautious on the descents. A constant blur of folks whizzing past me (uh, death wish anyone?). I felt like the rube on the metro escalator, always in the way.
I started out wearing arm warmers. Nice for the cool, shaded early morning downhills, but not needed after CP 1. Carried 3 bottles - 2 water, 1 water with electrolyte powder. Carried extra electro powder and replenished all 3 bottles at every CP. Used a 4th bottle to hold a fix kit, cash, spare contact lens, etc.
Just out of CP1 I rode along with an ultra runner who explained he was "mostly a 30 or 40miler guy when I ride, but figure I can just keep going and make my way to the end of this thing." Saw a handful or guys and gals in Air Force jerseys, up from Northen Va. Met a crew from Ohio. Plenty of WVa jerseys.
I started with jersey pockets full of gels, clif bar, banana, phone. Could've left most all of the food at home. The organizers had ample food at all the checkpoints: bananas, oranges, Hammer gels, sports drink (Heed), cookies (pb, choc chip, choc-choc chip), water, coke, sunscreen.
A welcome recovery section starts straight out of CP3. Riders descend into and through New Germany State Park and ride in shade along the river before climbing up out of the river valley. This makes CP3 am ideal place to take in some significant calories and the have some easier cruising time to enjoy the scenery and digest before the final hard stuff.
The support was solid at every CP. Personal attention the norm. Volunteers digging into boxes for added gel flavors, making sure I knew of all the items available.
How about some cookies? Apple gel? Raspberry? I can find some Chocolate for you I bet. Heed over there. Here's water. Plenty of bananas. You better have a cookie with that. How 'bout I bag some up for the road?
I happily discovered ice (
ice?! Yes please.) at the last CP where the support crew catered to me, cramming bottles with ice, topping one off with coke - hell yeah, sugar and caffeine! - others with water while I downed some icy Heed and water and inhaled a cookie or two and a gel.
I finished at about 3:40p. Just over 7hrs of actual riding time for me, another 1hr of stoppage time for nature breaks and snacks/drinks at 4 check points. Riders continued to stream in for another 5hrs.
Do NOT pull into McHenry planning on drafting your way to a painless finish, or any kind of finish. Precious few miles allow for any worthwhile wheel sucking. On the descents, well, you're descending. Almost all technical twisty. If you're comfy with steep technical descents, use your speed and skill to steer clear of others, esp the likes of me. I'm an awful descender, corner like I'm on stilts and braking often and unpredictably.
If you're not descending, you are climbing. Of course, that's why you're here, right? You paid for the privilege of going up enough brutal
hills and mountains (I'm calling it. They're
all mountains.) that you can brag and blog about the epicness of your accomplishment for years.
You're welcome to sit on my wheel as I plod upward at 7mph. But at that speed I'm not helping you much and I guarantee the view is better if I'm not planted in your grill.
If there is such a thing as a "social century" this probably isn't it. The up and down and extended climbing really breaks things up. There are short talk friendly stints on the softer
hills climbs and along the river. But save your good material for the CPs, the only prime chat time.
I believe a few determined two and threesomes stayed together. Tho I saw just one or two other riders after CP3. Where'd everyone go? Miles ahead of this slow descender, I guessed. Actually, jst very spread out.
I was the 4th century rider to hit CP4, measurably behind no.3, a nice gent about 20yrs my senior whom I met at the finish. A seasoned vet he. Nibbling absently on a cookie like he was at a workplace function, softly commenting that "yeah, I think this thing lives up to the big-climb billing."
Priceless detail: the take-your-breath-away cold showers and locker rooms available a short walk from the finish.
BBQ dinner for riders in the evening. Over chicken, baked beans, corn on the cob, potato salad, cole slaw, cookies and cakes, I commented on seeing a couple riding a
tandem. "A tandem! - Wonder if they finished." "That's us. And, yes." said my table mates. Not their first mountain century either.
Mountains of Misery is one their faves. That marriage has legs.
Stats from the Fondo folks:
- 200 riders registered - an inaugural year sellout
- 168 picked up their packets.
- 80 riders started the Diabolical Double and 56 finished, including 7 females.
- 46 riders started the Savage Century and 37 finished, including 11 females.
- 42 riders started the Savage Century and 32 finished, including 12 females.
I was one of the more successful fundraisers and was given a Garmin Edge 500 bike computer preloaded with the century route. (
Brilliant!) I stuck it on my handlebar and rolled along with upcoming turns displayed for me start to finish.
Here is how the Garmin recorded the ride. It's just a bit off on the calories. No way did I use 7,500. More like 4,000.
More Bits and Pieces:
I rode 7-8lbs heavier than I was at this time last year. About 148-150lbs, or 67.5kg. Can't say I noticed it or that the
hills mountains would've felt any better.
Bike legs are unpredictable. Sometimes AWOL, sometimes awesome. Sometimes better in the saddle, sometimes standing. Fortunately, my two stems showed up and worked like the boss was watching.
Gearing: road bike with a triple ring up front (52-42-30), 12-25 in back. Lots and lots of time in the 30-25 granny gear. Can't grasp how anybody with a standard 2 ring set up, esp on a tri bike, got thru the day.
My avg speed 14.5mph
Max speed 44.7mph
Of the 7hrs moving time, I spent
1hr 48mins moving at just 4-8mph, and working hard to manage that. As
Paul Sherwen might say,
this young rider was forced to dig deep into his suitcase of courage, he's learning how to suffer today. Or, in my case, a middle aged rider rummaging his fanny pack of dreams.
Miles 73.5-78 were particularly chewy - a not so gradual 4 1/2 mi climb from 1500ft elevation to 2600ft all on a freshly poured bed of crushed pea gravel. I was flying along, like a turtle slogging through a peanut butter bog.
Over 11,000ft total ascent.
~22 sections where the up grade was over 10%, including a 13% stretch within the final mile (ouch).
~6 stretches at over 15%
45mins pedaling at 40-60rpm, 2hrs at 60-70rpm. Guh-rind. Even with the 30-25.
Heart rate got up into the 170's at times. Rare territory.
I had decent legs, but could they have been better? Was I well peaked? Slightly over cooked? Under rested?
I could climb seated or standing for measured efforts (
he's launched an attack! Not.) pretty much all day. Was compelled to get out of the saddle for much of Killer Miller and a handful of sections on other climbs.
Until mi 100. Climbing Wisp was a seated affair. Oh, I had visions of popping out of the saddle like Contador. The quads would've vetoed that.
image via inkstain.net
So, for 6mins and about 7/10ths of a mile I was seated, avging 6.5mph, at 64rpms, and 269watts (4w/kg) (bike-geek alert just went off again), eyeballs bouncing to my heartbeat, chin on chest, lungs gasping, legs screaming, head repeating just. keep. pedaling.
Heavenly.
I might just go Diabolical on this thing in 2011.
Gas at $2.55 at exit 22 along 68. Always the cheapest at exit 22. For years.
A few post-ride
pics here. Pics by
another rider here, and
also here.
++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ ++++
Geek Time
The PowerTap data for the day:
Entire workout (158 watts):
Duration: 7:10:36 (8:04:10)
Work: 4074 kJ
TSS: 616.6 (intensity factor 0.929)
Norm Power: 200
VI: 1.26
Pw:HR: -0.35%
Pa:HR: -9.6%
Distance: 103.635 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 427 158 watts
Heart Rate: 27 xxx 139 bpm
Cadence: 20 xxx 70 rpm
Speed: 2.3 44.7 14.5 mph
Peak Power numbers:
Peak 30secs - 334watts
Peak 1min - 318w (Guessing this was first part of Bowman Hill around mi45)
Peak 5mins - 281w ("Killer" Miller)
Peak 10mins - 260w (full Bowman)
Peak 20mins - 224w (Old Morgantown Rd just after CP2)
Peak 30mins - 207w (Morgantown plus)
