Yea, go ahead, call me a slacker...haven't written anything here since the Covered Bridge Metric. But, really, there's not been much to write about. The bronchitis I got in the middle of July pretty much wiped out my riding for that month (8 rides for only 290mi). August had a little more mileage but still a slack month (7 rides, 387mi).
Here we are in September and it looks like I might get something like 450mi for this month. Yay!!! I had a ride planned for today up in WNC (Tour de Tuck), but since I've not ridden there since May and have some kind of allergic bronchitis, I opted to not ride. It was also forecast to be a cool wet day - had no desire to suffer through all that climbing and be wet too. I wish that I could have ridden more in WNC, but circumstances just didn't allow for that.
I've usually just been riding with some of the Hammer guys (Dallas, Cliff, Randall, Russell) on Tuesday/Thursday and Saturday. We usually get in anywhere from 27-35mi during the week and longer rides on the weekend. Today, Dallas and I rode with another friend, Ken, and a friend of Ken's, Amanda. Was to be a 67mi ride and Ken advertised as 20+ pace!! Initially, I wasn't going to ride because of the pace, but talked with Dallas and decided to ride since he was too. Met at Dallas's house and he & I rode from there to the Grocery Bag where the ride started. Very good route and in general, the pace wasn't too bad - 19.7 by the time we rode into Pine Level at 40mi.
Dallas and I ended up with 73.5mi/3:57hr. Not a bad pace - Dallas and I slowed it down a bit with about 8-10mi left and let Ken & Amanda dial it up. Neither of us have ridden that far in a while and when one member of the group attacks EVERY friggin hill, it just makes it hard for the rest of the group. A nice easy spin up the hills works better and keeps everyone together instead of splitting us up.....so - very tired legs and sore ass. I think I'll probably get out for an easy 25-30mi tomorrow morning.....
Oh yea - Dallas, Cliff and I rode our fixed gear bikes last Saturday - Archers Lodge/Wendell/Zebulon/Middlesex/Archers Lodge for only 45mi. That dang 45mi kicked my butt! Pretty hilly. I also had a couple other fg solo rides, a 70mi ride down to the Bentonville area and a 64mi solo ride to Kenly. Good rides.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Covered Bridge Metric
I had been registered for this ride for quite a while and planned on making a weekend of it...the plan was to get up to Lancaster, PA around 3pm, check-in to the hotel then meet up with some BF folks for an easy social ride of around 18mi. Well, I left the house around 8am, but I had "other" things on my mind and I headed out on I-40W. Where the hell I thought I was going I have no idea (yes I do - I was headed back to G'ville). When I realized my mistake (Jones Sausage Rd) I turned around and headed the right way. For a short time. I get to I-95 and which way do you think I went?? That's right. I went SOUTH instead of NORTH. Sheesh...I should've taken the hint and just went on back to G'ville, but I turned around and finally got headed in the right direction by 9am!!!
One would think that traffic on the weekends around DC wouldn't be too bad. Wrong. From Fredricksburg to past DC, the traffic was awful. Stop. Go. Stop. Go. This was absolutely killing my time and I didn't arrive to my hotel until right at 4pm. Quick check-in, change clothes and hurry over to the Hampton Inn to meet everyone. I brought my fixie for this ride, figuring that 18-20mi would be good on the fixie. I meet 5 or 6 guys from BikeForums, but for the life of me, cannot remember everyone's name....sorry guys.
The Saturday afternoon social ride was very nice...rolling countryside, horses & buggies, cows, corn & tobacco. Big gardens too. I /love/ big gardens & fresh veggies - those reminded me of my grandmother's gardens. No trouble riding the fg either, except one little hill that was a bit steep, had to stand to climb it - otherwise, no troubles.
I was hoping to meet up with one of my good friends (& his wife) from BF on Saturday but it just didn't work out. They were late getting to Lancaster and missed the ride, but left a msg on my voicemail that they made it and hoped to get together that evening. Didn't happen. By the time I got back from the ride, showered, changed, it was after 6pm, long lines everywhere I went to find food, except the Pizza Hut next to the motel. /rolleyes/ Ended up there with some pasta & salad, back to the room and made it an early night.
Next morning I met Phil & Jen in the lobby and we headed on over to the ride start. OMG. I haven't been on a ride where there were so many people!!! StupidlyBrave (Jim) was in the same lot as Phil and I, and we met up with the BF members from Saturday's ride around 7:30am. It was a rolling start from 7:30 on, so we headed out shortly after the meet-up and getting a few pictures taken.
Here are the photos I ended up taking. Not too many because I was riding Steve's wheel and we were rolling! No time to take pictures of the countryside. These pictures are from when we stopped..
ok, a few at the ride start and the first rest stop..Phil & Jen in the orange & yellow jerseys
Steve and another BF guy (can't remember name)
Foo Jersey:
Phil (pgoat) and StupidlyBrave (Jim) to Phil's left
at the lunch break today on the Covered Bridge Metric
a few pictures by other riders:
the first covered bridge
and, Jim brought me a present:
wow....i almost forgot this picture....SB brought something special for me...
Overall, it was a great ride, tons of riders (something like 4100). Lunch stop was great - had Subway sandwiches with the fixins for us. Bad thing though....I sat under the shade tree with the guys at lunch and sat too long. When I went to stand up, both legs cramped something terribly. The outer quad on my left leg and the inner/middle quad on the right. So much pain. I managed to finally get them under control and head out with the guys, but was unable to maintain the pace set by Steve due to my legs.
Jim fell back and rode with me at times, waiting on me at turns and various other spots. I told him he didn't have to do that, but he said it was fine. :) We eventually make it back to the start and despite my difficulties on the last 30mi, I still ended up with a decent average - 63mi/3:45hr/16.8avg. Changed clothes and proceeded to go find the rest of the crowd and have some ice cream!
Later that evening, went out for supper with Phil & Jen to a local brew pub. Great greasy cheeseburger and about half of some kind of beer. Don't remember what it was, but everything tasted great!
Packed up the next morning and headed home around 10am. I initially thought I would try to take a different route home because of all the traffic encountered coming up, but changed my mind. I-95 straight home and in 5.5hr. Very glad to get back home. I think my next vacation/trip will not involve an automobile.....thinking that I'm going to do any traveling on my bike.
So....overall, I had a great weekend but, I doubt I travel 400+mi to do a 63mi ride anytime soon....
One would think that traffic on the weekends around DC wouldn't be too bad. Wrong. From Fredricksburg to past DC, the traffic was awful. Stop. Go. Stop. Go. This was absolutely killing my time and I didn't arrive to my hotel until right at 4pm. Quick check-in, change clothes and hurry over to the Hampton Inn to meet everyone. I brought my fixie for this ride, figuring that 18-20mi would be good on the fixie. I meet 5 or 6 guys from BikeForums, but for the life of me, cannot remember everyone's name....sorry guys.
The Saturday afternoon social ride was very nice...rolling countryside, horses & buggies, cows, corn & tobacco. Big gardens too. I /love/ big gardens & fresh veggies - those reminded me of my grandmother's gardens. No trouble riding the fg either, except one little hill that was a bit steep, had to stand to climb it - otherwise, no troubles.
I was hoping to meet up with one of my good friends (& his wife) from BF on Saturday but it just didn't work out. They were late getting to Lancaster and missed the ride, but left a msg on my voicemail that they made it and hoped to get together that evening. Didn't happen. By the time I got back from the ride, showered, changed, it was after 6pm, long lines everywhere I went to find food, except the Pizza Hut next to the motel. /rolleyes/ Ended up there with some pasta & salad, back to the room and made it an early night.
Next morning I met Phil & Jen in the lobby and we headed on over to the ride start. OMG. I haven't been on a ride where there were so many people!!! StupidlyBrave (Jim) was in the same lot as Phil and I, and we met up with the BF members from Saturday's ride around 7:30am. It was a rolling start from 7:30 on, so we headed out shortly after the meet-up and getting a few pictures taken.
Here are the photos I ended up taking. Not too many because I was riding Steve's wheel and we were rolling! No time to take pictures of the countryside. These pictures are from when we stopped..
ok, a few at the ride start and the first rest stop..Phil & Jen in the orange & yellow jerseys
Steve and another BF guy (can't remember name)
Foo Jersey:
Phil (pgoat) and StupidlyBrave (Jim) to Phil's left
at the lunch break today on the Covered Bridge Metric
a few pictures by other riders:
the first covered bridge
and, Jim brought me a present:
wow....i almost forgot this picture....SB brought something special for me...
Overall, it was a great ride, tons of riders (something like 4100). Lunch stop was great - had Subway sandwiches with the fixins for us. Bad thing though....I sat under the shade tree with the guys at lunch and sat too long. When I went to stand up, both legs cramped something terribly. The outer quad on my left leg and the inner/middle quad on the right. So much pain. I managed to finally get them under control and head out with the guys, but was unable to maintain the pace set by Steve due to my legs.
Jim fell back and rode with me at times, waiting on me at turns and various other spots. I told him he didn't have to do that, but he said it was fine. :) We eventually make it back to the start and despite my difficulties on the last 30mi, I still ended up with a decent average - 63mi/3:45hr/16.8avg. Changed clothes and proceeded to go find the rest of the crowd and have some ice cream!
Later that evening, went out for supper with Phil & Jen to a local brew pub. Great greasy cheeseburger and about half of some kind of beer. Don't remember what it was, but everything tasted great!
Packed up the next morning and headed home around 10am. I initially thought I would try to take a different route home because of all the traffic encountered coming up, but changed my mind. I-95 straight home and in 5.5hr. Very glad to get back home. I think my next vacation/trip will not involve an automobile.....thinking that I'm going to do any traveling on my bike.
So....overall, I had a great weekend but, I doubt I travel 400+mi to do a 63mi ride anytime soon....
Centuries
I've been pretty lax about keeping this updated. Pretty much all of July, since around the 15th, I was sick, but still tried to get a ride in with the guys on Tuesday evenings. I did the HP&A ride, rode maybe, 1x the following week then jumped right onto a century with the guys for August 1.
That century was really good...four of us riding (me, Dallas, Cliff, & Randall), the route had a little bit of hills/rollers from Dallas's house to Middlesex & Elm City, but we kept the pace reasonable - 18+/- average and I felt good despite my lack of riding. Once we left Elm City, we headed out towards Wilson - made a route around Wilson and headed towards Fremont. Very good roads to ride on, traffic minimal, and what traffic we did have, was courteous.
Weather was good to us as well - overcast for the majority of the day and the temps weren't too high. I hit the wall big time around 87-90 miles into the ride. Yes, I had eaten and drank enough, but I suppose asking my legs to churn out 100+ miles with not much mileage in them was a bit much. Dallas & Randall waited on me and paced me back in until we got on Thanksgiving Rd. They left me then, but I was ok with that - I knew where I was going. Finished up the ride about 10min later than those guys.
Stats (best I can remember): 101mi/4hr40min...
I didn't ride any the following week....too hot, not feeling great. Another century for the weekend was planned though. Same route but we added 2 more people and Randall was out. This ride didn't start out as planned - too fast to Middlesex/Elm City. The 2 new guys kicked the pace up to 20mph average for that 40 miles and it was just too much for me. I felt bad at Elm City, but didn't mention anything to the guys. Somewhere along 50miles or so, I started feeling those familiar twinges in my right quad. Yep, cramps coming on. They were bad.
I made it to Fremont and then finally to Kenly, where I had planned on waiting and having Dallas come back to get me. But, after scarfing down 2 cheeseburgers from McDonald's, I felt slightly better and thought I'd try to make it on back - it was only about 20-25 more miles back to Dallas's house. But, no, my legs were done. I made it to the little church at Old 222 and told Dallas I just couldn't go any further. He caught up with the guys (who had left us - he was riding with me now), but blew himself up in doing so.
I lay on the porch of that church in the shade (very hot on this ride) and cramped like I haven't cramped in a long time. So bad were the cramps they brought tears to my eyes. When Dallas finally made it back to me, he said he cramped up when he got home - rode his ass off to catch the guys...anyways, only made it 85miles in 4:40hr. Once home, had lots to drink and some food, plopped my butt on the couch, legs up, trying not to move much because if I did, my legs cramped.
These cramps were so bad, that on Monday I could hardly walk - the muscles were SO sore. Tuesday was a little better and of course, I didn't do any riding the remainder of this week.....
That century was really good...four of us riding (me, Dallas, Cliff, & Randall), the route had a little bit of hills/rollers from Dallas's house to Middlesex & Elm City, but we kept the pace reasonable - 18+/- average and I felt good despite my lack of riding. Once we left Elm City, we headed out towards Wilson - made a route around Wilson and headed towards Fremont. Very good roads to ride on, traffic minimal, and what traffic we did have, was courteous.
Weather was good to us as well - overcast for the majority of the day and the temps weren't too high. I hit the wall big time around 87-90 miles into the ride. Yes, I had eaten and drank enough, but I suppose asking my legs to churn out 100+ miles with not much mileage in them was a bit much. Dallas & Randall waited on me and paced me back in until we got on Thanksgiving Rd. They left me then, but I was ok with that - I knew where I was going. Finished up the ride about 10min later than those guys.
Stats (best I can remember): 101mi/4hr40min...
I didn't ride any the following week....too hot, not feeling great. Another century for the weekend was planned though. Same route but we added 2 more people and Randall was out. This ride didn't start out as planned - too fast to Middlesex/Elm City. The 2 new guys kicked the pace up to 20mph average for that 40 miles and it was just too much for me. I felt bad at Elm City, but didn't mention anything to the guys. Somewhere along 50miles or so, I started feeling those familiar twinges in my right quad. Yep, cramps coming on. They were bad.
I made it to Fremont and then finally to Kenly, where I had planned on waiting and having Dallas come back to get me. But, after scarfing down 2 cheeseburgers from McDonald's, I felt slightly better and thought I'd try to make it on back - it was only about 20-25 more miles back to Dallas's house. But, no, my legs were done. I made it to the little church at Old 222 and told Dallas I just couldn't go any further. He caught up with the guys (who had left us - he was riding with me now), but blew himself up in doing so.
I lay on the porch of that church in the shade (very hot on this ride) and cramped like I haven't cramped in a long time. So bad were the cramps they brought tears to my eyes. When Dallas finally made it back to me, he said he cramped up when he got home - rode his ass off to catch the guys...anyways, only made it 85miles in 4:40hr. Once home, had lots to drink and some food, plopped my butt on the couch, legs up, trying not to move much because if I did, my legs cramped.
These cramps were so bad, that on Monday I could hardly walk - the muscles were SO sore. Tuesday was a little better and of course, I didn't do any riding the remainder of this week.....
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Hurt, Pain, & Agony
Well............
First of all, for the month of July, I have been sick with a cold/bronchitis and have not gotten in teh typical mileage i'm used too...only about 250mi, maybe, just maybe, 300mi. Typical mileage for me is 500-600mi/mo. So, I definitely wasn't really ready for this ride, but did it on an impulse....here goes...
The ride started in Traphill, NC, which, per mapquest, was 180mi from Clayton. I went to bed at 10pm last night, got up at 3:45am and was on the road by 4:30am. Arrived in Traphill at 7am. Yes, I was cruising.
Got my stuff ready, rode around for about 20min for a warm up, then went to the start. I have no idea how many riders there were...maybe 200? The ride starts out fairly gentle, but you then make a turn onto another road and begin a 6mi + climb. I had charged my Garmin, but forgot it
so, I can't tell you the grade up the climb. There were several sections that I got out of the saddle to climb - just seemed easier to break it up a bit. Then.....the last part of this 6mi climb was a short (but seemed like friggin forever) climb at 18%. 
I wasn't sure that I was going to make it, but there were people at he crest, ringing the cowbell and shouting encouragement, and I made it!
I rode past these people and pulled off to the side, this " " close to puking. OMFG. I don't think I've ridden anything that hard in WNC, save for the Allison Watts climb, which was a lot shorter than this climb. Damn...now, I really didn't feel all that great. But, those knowing wp, know that I was going to continue on....for a while at least.
After resting a bit, I started back on the ride. Unfortunately, I could really tell that I hadn't ridden much by now. I developed a headache from hell and my quads/hamstrings begin to inform me that they were going to start causing problems. It was also pretty much a solo ride...all the fast boys/girls were WAY gone. That also came into play, in my mind at least...I just wasn't in the mood for a solo ride...
Most of the roads were really good, light traffic, great downhills, beautiful scenery. The temps weren't too bad either. Once I reached the first rest stop, I headed out on the BRP. I
riding the BRP. It is a lot different in this area as opposed to the BRP in the WNC area. The vegetation is different, as is the roadway grade. At least for the section I rode on (roadway grade). Did I say that I riding on the BRP? 
A couple more turns, more climbing, more solo riding, stopped to take a few pictures along the way, legs hurting, head hurting....I do wish that dang SAG driver had NOT stopped to ask if I was ok. No, I wasn't, but if he hadn't been there, I would have motored on. But, since he did stop, I decided to catch a ride back in. Fark. I have to start riding more next week. No, if's, ands, or buts about it.
So, I caught a ride back to the start, changed clothes, got some lunch and headed on home. I know everyone will tell me it's ok (that I bailed again), but to me, it's not. I'm sorry, it's just not. Feels like major FAIL to me. Guess I need to get my ass in gear and do something about that then....
I may try to do this ride next year and, hopefully, I will be in peak condition instead of being sick. I hate being sick.
Here are some pics from the ride...
Sorry, but, there is no wp smile...that climb hurt!
more pics...(the 18% climb - it doesn't look like it from this pic, but trust me...it was!)
on the BRP:
First of all, for the month of July, I have been sick with a cold/bronchitis and have not gotten in teh typical mileage i'm used too...only about 250mi, maybe, just maybe, 300mi. Typical mileage for me is 500-600mi/mo. So, I definitely wasn't really ready for this ride, but did it on an impulse....here goes...
The ride started in Traphill, NC, which, per mapquest, was 180mi from Clayton. I went to bed at 10pm last night, got up at 3:45am and was on the road by 4:30am. Arrived in Traphill at 7am. Yes, I was cruising.
Got my stuff ready, rode around for about 20min for a warm up, then went to the start. I have no idea how many riders there were...maybe 200? The ride starts out fairly gentle, but you then make a turn onto another road and begin a 6mi + climb. I had charged my Garmin, but forgot it
so, I can't tell you the grade up the climb. There were several sections that I got out of the saddle to climb - just seemed easier to break it up a bit. Then.....the last part of this 6mi climb was a short (but seemed like friggin forever) climb at 18%. I wasn't sure that I was going to make it, but there were people at he crest, ringing the cowbell and shouting encouragement, and I made it!I rode past these people and pulled off to the side, this " " close to puking. OMFG. I don't think I've ridden anything that hard in WNC, save for the Allison Watts climb, which was a lot shorter than this climb. Damn...now, I really didn't feel all that great. But, those knowing wp, know that I was going to continue on....for a while at least.
After resting a bit, I started back on the ride. Unfortunately, I could really tell that I hadn't ridden much by now. I developed a headache from hell and my quads/hamstrings begin to inform me that they were going to start causing problems. It was also pretty much a solo ride...all the fast boys/girls were WAY gone. That also came into play, in my mind at least...I just wasn't in the mood for a solo ride...
Most of the roads were really good, light traffic, great downhills, beautiful scenery. The temps weren't too bad either. Once I reached the first rest stop, I headed out on the BRP. I
riding the BRP. It is a lot different in this area as opposed to the BRP in the WNC area. The vegetation is different, as is the roadway grade. At least for the section I rode on (roadway grade). Did I say that I riding on the BRP? A couple more turns, more climbing, more solo riding, stopped to take a few pictures along the way, legs hurting, head hurting....I do wish that dang SAG driver had NOT stopped to ask if I was ok. No, I wasn't, but if he hadn't been there, I would have motored on. But, since he did stop, I decided to catch a ride back in.
Fark. I have to start riding more next week. No, if's, ands, or buts about it.So, I caught a ride back to the start, changed clothes, got some lunch and headed on home. I know everyone will tell me it's ok (that I bailed again), but to me, it's not. I'm sorry, it's just not. Feels like major FAIL to me. Guess I need to get my ass in gear and do something about that then....
I may try to do this ride next year and, hopefully, I will be in peak condition instead of being sick. I hate being sick.
Here are some pics from the ride...
Sorry, but, there is no wp smile...that climb hurt!
more pics...(the 18% climb - it doesn't look like it from this pic, but trust me...it was!)
on the BRP:
Friday, July 10, 2009
wolfpack's new ride
so, i replaced the '01 626 that was broke with a 2010 Mazda3 5dr 6spd....here it is 
trunk area:
trunk area:
2009-2010 NCCX Series & Winter Cup Dates
Oh yea!!!!! This is what I've been waiting on all year...ever since I raced those 2 cx races in January.
I have 2 organized rides left to do for the remainder of the year (Covered Bridge Metric - Lancaster, PA in August and Tour de Tuck in September) and then I'll be ready for cross season! Guess I need to work out some sort of training plan for cx.
Ohhhhhh....so excited!!! :)
I have 2 organized rides left to do for the remainder of the year (Covered Bridge Metric - Lancaster, PA in August and Tour de Tuck in September) and then I'll be ready for cross season! Guess I need to work out some sort of training plan for cx.
Ohhhhhh....so excited!!! :)
Monday, July 6, 2009
Fabulous Fourth Weekend
Unfortunately, I started feeling bad about the middle of the week (prior to the FF) and progressively got worse towards the weekend. My plan was to go to G'ville on Friday, spend the evening with Hank and get up Saturday morning to do the ride. Felt awful Friday night, several bouts of coughing, trying to hack a lung up, meant that I didn't get a good nights sleep either. I went back 'n forth about whether to get up and go do the ride or not. I knew, just as sure as I didn't go, that I would undoubtedly feel better and then wish I had gone. Then again, there was also the chance that I would go to do the ride and not feel too well as the day went on.
So, I decided to go ahead and do the ride....arrived over in Tryon around 7:15am, went to registration and signed up. Saw the used-to-be friend from WNC and amazingly, he acknowledged that he saw me and said hi. Finished up registration, got the bike stuff ready and then rode off to see if I could find Neal. I saw him near the start talking to some other rider, so I rode over there to say hi and wait on the start. WNC guy rolls up and says he has my t-shirt from the CC ride in TN last month and I just tell him ok. Neal gets the great idea that the riders he sees out on the road (who are actually warming up) are already starting the ride, so he suggests we go ahead and start the ride.
The four of us (myself, WNC, Neal, and Richard) start out at 7:40am and immediately WNC sets out at a pace that I know is much faster than his normal warm up pace. I know exactly what he's trying to do and I just say to myself that he's not getting away with this. Yea, I know....very bad idea, especially considering I'm sick with a chest cold. I knew better than to try and keep up with him, but I couldn't help it. It was that damn ego & pride I have that told me he wasn't going to drop me. I think at one point, I heard Neal say this was a pretty damn fast pace...no shit. WNC didn't drop me until we came to a short little hill and I didn't downshift soon enough and tried to do so while climbing. Not good. The chain became stuck on the big & small ring and cranks wouldn't turn. I had to stop, get off the bike and fix that.
While I'm fixing that little problem, I keep my eye on both Neal and WNC...not once did WNC look back to see if I was ok. Not one damn time. Strike 3. That's all I needed to see to confirm certain things about the so-called friendship. So, I get the chain back on, Richard catches up to me and asks how I'm feeling because he knew I was sick. I tell him I'm sorta ok, not breathing too well and I can tell I'm running out of energy. We ride together for a short spell, then a guy comes around us, just spinning away so I decide to catch his wheel and get pulled as far as possible. We do really well and eventually catch up to Neal and WNC, who appear to be just taking it pretty easy riding and talking. I think "what an asshole that guy is" and when New Guy pulls out to go past those 2, I go with him - not even acknowledging those guys.
I stay with New Guy till we come upon more hills, get dropped, catch back up, Neal & WNC eventually catch us on another climb and I let them ride on past me...I've already expended way too much energy and I'm losing steam pretty quickly. Decide to just finish the ride at whatever pace I can. But, I'm feeling real crappy by now. Sorta lightheaded & dizzy. I manage to get to the first rest stop, refill teh empty bottle and head on out again. I do fairly well, get caught by the group(s) of riders who left at that proper start time, but, I'm unable to hang on to the group. Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. Should've been able to hang with a group like that - guess that shows me that I shouldn't have been riding at all on Saturday.
After getting dropped by 2 separate groups of riders, I latch onto the wheel of some guy coming around me and let him pull me all the way down SC 11 and to the first Grunt climb. OMG. That climb was seriously steep. I haven't looked at it on mapmyride, but I bet it's over 18%. Last year, I had to stop, get off the bike and walk up that climb. This year, even as sick as I was feeling, I was determined to ride my bike up this. Success. But, I swear, I bet I wasn't climbing any faster than maybe 3-4mph. It was very hard and took every bit of energy I had left to make it to the top. Once at the top, took a right onto 176 (or was it 276? don't remember) and headed back towards Tryon.
About 2mi outside of Tryon, the route took a left and up another hill. I just couldn't do anymore - knowing I had another Grunt climb and the Watershed climb ahead of me and asked one of the volunteers how far back to town. They suggested that I wait on one of the trucks to take me back, but I decline and ride back to the start. I finished up with 33mi in 2:10hr or something like that. Yea, I am disappointed that I didn't finish the ride...but, I also wasn't really prepared for the ride and was riding sick. Oh well. I have the route and can go back and ride it any time I want to.
I load my stuff up and head on back to Greenville. Spent the remainder of the weekend there - coming home Sunday morning. I've spent a bit of time (on the way home, yesterday evening, and some today) thinking about the remainder of the year, as far as riding. I've come to the conclusion that I'm not going to do Roan Moan this year (I'm not ready for it either), that my last organized ride in this area will be Tour de Tuck in September, then I will be getting into cyclo-cross season. Next year, I'll do Assault on Mt Mitchell again to see if I can decrease my time, most likely Tour de Tuck and that will be it for organized rides. It's time for something else. Anyone can go out and ride metrics/organized rides - well, I don't want to be just "anyone". I want to be different.
Different....I really enjoyed the 200k Brevet I did back in April and doing more of those could be in my future. Riding all of the BRP is definitely on my list. What else? Not sure yet....I'm sure I'll think of something and also get plenty of suggestions from others.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This week I'm still sick, but I'm going to get out and ride tomorrow with the friends from IOS in Cary, do the OMV group ride Wednesday (fixed too) and ride with Dallas on Thursday. The weekend - not sure yet, but considering the Cyclepath ride Saturday morning......
So, I decided to go ahead and do the ride....arrived over in Tryon around 7:15am, went to registration and signed up. Saw the used-to-be friend from WNC and amazingly, he acknowledged that he saw me and said hi. Finished up registration, got the bike stuff ready and then rode off to see if I could find Neal. I saw him near the start talking to some other rider, so I rode over there to say hi and wait on the start. WNC guy rolls up and says he has my t-shirt from the CC ride in TN last month and I just tell him ok. Neal gets the great idea that the riders he sees out on the road (who are actually warming up) are already starting the ride, so he suggests we go ahead and start the ride.
The four of us (myself, WNC, Neal, and Richard) start out at 7:40am and immediately WNC sets out at a pace that I know is much faster than his normal warm up pace. I know exactly what he's trying to do and I just say to myself that he's not getting away with this. Yea, I know....very bad idea, especially considering I'm sick with a chest cold. I knew better than to try and keep up with him, but I couldn't help it. It was that damn ego & pride I have that told me he wasn't going to drop me. I think at one point, I heard Neal say this was a pretty damn fast pace...no shit. WNC didn't drop me until we came to a short little hill and I didn't downshift soon enough and tried to do so while climbing. Not good. The chain became stuck on the big & small ring and cranks wouldn't turn. I had to stop, get off the bike and fix that.
While I'm fixing that little problem, I keep my eye on both Neal and WNC...not once did WNC look back to see if I was ok. Not one damn time. Strike 3. That's all I needed to see to confirm certain things about the so-called friendship. So, I get the chain back on, Richard catches up to me and asks how I'm feeling because he knew I was sick. I tell him I'm sorta ok, not breathing too well and I can tell I'm running out of energy. We ride together for a short spell, then a guy comes around us, just spinning away so I decide to catch his wheel and get pulled as far as possible. We do really well and eventually catch up to Neal and WNC, who appear to be just taking it pretty easy riding and talking. I think "what an asshole that guy is" and when New Guy pulls out to go past those 2, I go with him - not even acknowledging those guys.
I stay with New Guy till we come upon more hills, get dropped, catch back up, Neal & WNC eventually catch us on another climb and I let them ride on past me...I've already expended way too much energy and I'm losing steam pretty quickly. Decide to just finish the ride at whatever pace I can. But, I'm feeling real crappy by now. Sorta lightheaded & dizzy. I manage to get to the first rest stop, refill teh empty bottle and head on out again. I do fairly well, get caught by the group(s) of riders who left at that proper start time, but, I'm unable to hang on to the group. Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. Should've been able to hang with a group like that - guess that shows me that I shouldn't have been riding at all on Saturday.
After getting dropped by 2 separate groups of riders, I latch onto the wheel of some guy coming around me and let him pull me all the way down SC 11 and to the first Grunt climb. OMG. That climb was seriously steep. I haven't looked at it on mapmyride, but I bet it's over 18%. Last year, I had to stop, get off the bike and walk up that climb. This year, even as sick as I was feeling, I was determined to ride my bike up this. Success. But, I swear, I bet I wasn't climbing any faster than maybe 3-4mph. It was very hard and took every bit of energy I had left to make it to the top. Once at the top, took a right onto 176 (or was it 276? don't remember) and headed back towards Tryon.
About 2mi outside of Tryon, the route took a left and up another hill. I just couldn't do anymore - knowing I had another Grunt climb and the Watershed climb ahead of me and asked one of the volunteers how far back to town. They suggested that I wait on one of the trucks to take me back, but I decline and ride back to the start. I finished up with 33mi in 2:10hr or something like that. Yea, I am disappointed that I didn't finish the ride...but, I also wasn't really prepared for the ride and was riding sick. Oh well. I have the route and can go back and ride it any time I want to.
I load my stuff up and head on back to Greenville. Spent the remainder of the weekend there - coming home Sunday morning. I've spent a bit of time (on the way home, yesterday evening, and some today) thinking about the remainder of the year, as far as riding. I've come to the conclusion that I'm not going to do Roan Moan this year (I'm not ready for it either), that my last organized ride in this area will be Tour de Tuck in September, then I will be getting into cyclo-cross season. Next year, I'll do Assault on Mt Mitchell again to see if I can decrease my time, most likely Tour de Tuck and that will be it for organized rides. It's time for something else. Anyone can go out and ride metrics/organized rides - well, I don't want to be just "anyone". I want to be different.
Different....I really enjoyed the 200k Brevet I did back in April and doing more of those could be in my future. Riding all of the BRP is definitely on my list. What else? Not sure yet....I'm sure I'll think of something and also get plenty of suggestions from others.....
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This week I'm still sick, but I'm going to get out and ride tomorrow with the friends from IOS in Cary, do the OMV group ride Wednesday (fixed too) and ride with Dallas on Thursday. The weekend - not sure yet, but considering the Cyclepath ride Saturday morning......
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