Wheels for Everyone
I pushed myself hard this weekend. Instead of slowly building up the miles, I decided to ride in the Wheels to Succeed charity ride. I found out about the ride the day before. I stopped at my local bike shop to pick up some tubes and they roped me in.
The day of the ride was COLD! I cocooned myself in my favorite wet weather commuting gear to prepare - bike shorts and wicking tee, sweatpants and polartec long-sleeve shirt, wind/waterproof shell (pants and jacket), windproof fleece gloves, and helmet with a beanie underneath. Most of my riding these days is on a mountain bike with slicks. The roads around here are in desperate need of repair and the big tires really smooth out the bumps. But I thought it would be better to go fast than be comfy, so I rode my only road bike, a Redline Conquest. This would come back to haunt me later.
I'm not really tied in with the local cycling community, so I decided to chat with some of the locals to get a feel for the ride. Wouldn't you know it, the person I meet is from Biloxi! Either way, he was a great guy. He is part of the Gulf Coast Cycling Association who came over from Biloxi to enjoy the day.
The starting line had two distict groups. The first were the guys and gals decked out with cycling gear and expensive bikes. The second were the good folks on their mountain bikes, cruisers, etc. I started out at the back of the pack. As we rolled out, there was a lot of banter. The last joke I heard was from a guy on a mountain bike. He said something about being able to keep up if the pace was going to stay this easy (about 14mph at the time). It wasn't long after that the pace changed. I slipped up to front group just in time for the pace to increase over 20mph+. Sheesh.
I hung on for about 12 miles then my body remembered how much training I really had. I took the opportunity when I fell off the back to remove some of the layers which were keeping me a little too warm. I took off the hat and switched to some regular cycling gloves then opened up the pit zips on my jacket. Then I started trying to drag myself through the substantial headwind. The next 10 miles or so were a solo trial of pain. Thankfully, my Biloxi buddy came by (he had a small equipment problem at the start and didn't leave with the pack) and picked me up. He was already dragging another fall-off, so I didn't feel too bad sucking his wheel.
We had a nice pit stop at around 24 miles. Peanut-butter and cheese cracker never tasted so good! I left the rest stop with another local rider (howdy Ford!) who kept me company for the next two or three miles. By then, I was just too wiped out to keep the pace. It was along these last few miles that I really started to regret riding the road bike. The road was doing its best to beat me into submission. I really need to get some bigger, more comfy tires on that bike....
I managed to complete the ride and I'm happy I did. It was a painful reminder of how proper preparation is so important. Although I was ready for the cold, I wasn't ready for the distance at the A-group pace. I also wasn't riding the right bike for the conditions - either the road or my own physical condition. Ah, one other thing - I discovered that my computer is a little off. My computer logged the 34 mile trip as 36.77. It's time for a recalibration! In all, I completed the 34 mile loop in two hours, 11 minutes and 28 seconds for an average speed of 15.5mph.
The day of the ride was COLD! I cocooned myself in my favorite wet weather commuting gear to prepare - bike shorts and wicking tee, sweatpants and polartec long-sleeve shirt, wind/waterproof shell (pants and jacket), windproof fleece gloves, and helmet with a beanie underneath. Most of my riding these days is on a mountain bike with slicks. The roads around here are in desperate need of repair and the big tires really smooth out the bumps. But I thought it would be better to go fast than be comfy, so I rode my only road bike, a Redline Conquest. This would come back to haunt me later.
I'm not really tied in with the local cycling community, so I decided to chat with some of the locals to get a feel for the ride. Wouldn't you know it, the person I meet is from Biloxi! Either way, he was a great guy. He is part of the Gulf Coast Cycling Association who came over from Biloxi to enjoy the day.
The starting line had two distict groups. The first were the guys and gals decked out with cycling gear and expensive bikes. The second were the good folks on their mountain bikes, cruisers, etc. I started out at the back of the pack. As we rolled out, there was a lot of banter. The last joke I heard was from a guy on a mountain bike. He said something about being able to keep up if the pace was going to stay this easy (about 14mph at the time). It wasn't long after that the pace changed. I slipped up to front group just in time for the pace to increase over 20mph+. Sheesh.
I hung on for about 12 miles then my body remembered how much training I really had. I took the opportunity when I fell off the back to remove some of the layers which were keeping me a little too warm. I took off the hat and switched to some regular cycling gloves then opened up the pit zips on my jacket. Then I started trying to drag myself through the substantial headwind. The next 10 miles or so were a solo trial of pain. Thankfully, my Biloxi buddy came by (he had a small equipment problem at the start and didn't leave with the pack) and picked me up. He was already dragging another fall-off, so I didn't feel too bad sucking his wheel.
We had a nice pit stop at around 24 miles. Peanut-butter and cheese cracker never tasted so good! I left the rest stop with another local rider (howdy Ford!) who kept me company for the next two or three miles. By then, I was just too wiped out to keep the pace. It was along these last few miles that I really started to regret riding the road bike. The road was doing its best to beat me into submission. I really need to get some bigger, more comfy tires on that bike....
I managed to complete the ride and I'm happy I did. It was a painful reminder of how proper preparation is so important. Although I was ready for the cold, I wasn't ready for the distance at the A-group pace. I also wasn't riding the right bike for the conditions - either the road or my own physical condition. Ah, one other thing - I discovered that my computer is a little off. My computer logged the 34 mile trip as 36.77. It's time for a recalibration! In all, I completed the 34 mile loop in two hours, 11 minutes and 28 seconds for an average speed of 15.5mph.
posted by Buck at 1:55 PM
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