Okay, it wasn't very likely, short of a crash, that I'd hitch a ride back in the sag wagon (support vehicle). However, given that I hadn't ridden more than 35 miles at a stretch and hadn't climbed any substantial hills this year, 62 miles of rolling hills was a bit daunting.
There's 60 miles of data there... No, I didn't fail to finish; rather, the course was not quite the length advertised. I suppose I would've reached 62 if I kept the clock running while riding the gravel roads to the farthest reaches of each rest stop (not good for average speed). Did I mention these were "rolling" hills? Yes, it was basically a windy false flat from mile 11 to mile 24, but otherwise the route went up... and down... and up... and down again. The oscillations in my speed (blue graph) are testament to that.Interestingly, the one point where I pondered my mortality was the last part of the very first climb, which I'm also sure was the steepest part of the route. As in the Copper Triangle last year (a post for another time), the first climb found me quickly retreating to my lowest gear and praying to hang on to the top. I did, but the lactic acid was there, and it felt less than good (I credit a total lack of sprint (interval) training for that).
Immediately after the first rest stop (see dip in speed at mile 16, I latched onto a small group of faster riders attempting to ride a paceline through the throng of wind-weary (and sometimes weaving) cyclists. Somehow we avoided disaster until we parted ways at mile 24 (since those intrepid folk were doing the 100-mile "Century" ride). Somewhere around mile 20, my right calf started to cramp, and at that point I knew it was going to get worse. Climbing out of the saddle (bike-speak for standing up when going uphill) made life easier on my calves, but put my quadriceps in danger of cramping.
Always in the back of my mind was the "bump" in the course profile at 46 miles. I didn't carry a copy of the profile with me, so the more I cramped up, the steeper I remembered that hill being. I conserved what energy I could on the long downhill stretch, and in the end that final hill was perfectly manageable without my 39x23 "bail out" gear. Phew. After a blazing descent, a group I had passed on the hill caught up to me, and I happily hopped on to their train (as evidenced by the prolonged stretch of 26-30 mph). I fell away from that group as my last remaining leg muscle cramped, leaving me to soft-pedal home and finish the ride in just over 3 hours. I would have been happy with 3:30, so I'll call the ride an unmitigated success.
Looking back, I'm happy to have challenged myself once more, and I was relieved to find I still have some basic paceline-riding (and road survival) skills left. So, looking forward to Copper Triangle in early August, my goals are to increase the length of my weekend rides and to get some time in the foothills. There's no substitute for long, steep climbs when you're preparing to ride in the High Country.
