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:

wolfpack's new ride

so, i replaced the '01 626 that was broke with a 2010 Mazda3 5dr 6spd....here it is


















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!!! :)

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......

Post Caesars Head Challenge

Well, after that ride, I was really not feeling much love for the bikes. I was tired & sore and the thought of riding my bikes last week was very unappealing. I talked to Andy Sunday evening and told him that I wasn't going to go to TN to ride Cheohala - I just wasn't ready for it, mentally or physically.

The weather helped me out a couple of days the first part of the week with rain, so no riding. I just didn't want to ride. Felt burnt out. I decided (with the suggestions/advice from a couple of friends) that I would just not ride last week, but try to get out over the weekend and do some riding...smell the flowers, enjoy the scenery rides. I broke out the fixie for rides over the weekend.

Saturday, I was up fairly early and took the fixie on a 30mi/1:50hr ride...omg...loads of fun riding that bike!!! Only 2 almost mishaps...first one going over RR tracks - you can't coast!! and the second one was on my first downhill section. The speed picked up quickly and I suppose I became a bit scared of it...losing control...but regained and continued the ride without further incident. The downhills weren't all that bad after I just let my legs go. The uphill sections weren't too bad either - keeping the momentum going, standing out of the saddle for parts. It was actually kind of easier climbing with the fixie on the few upgrades I encountered vs the geared bike. I started to continue on for another hour towards the end of the ride, but thought it might be best not to for the first ride.

Sunday, I didn't get up early enough to ride in the morning, so I had to wait till later in the evening to ride. The wind was also a factor earlier but not so much later. Only rode something like 15-18mi around Clayton - I did entertain thoughts of doing the Saturday ride again, but my legs told me no.

The bike is loads of fun to ride - I just can't believe how much fun it is...I'm entertaining thoughts of doing the Clayton-Goldsboro Century on the fixie....that would be so cool. The fit is pretty good - I do feel a little stretched out and may need a shorter stem, but I'll just leave it as is for right now.

Today, commuted into work on the fixie. I don't know if I looked at my watch (timer) incorrectly when I got to the parking lot, but I thought i read 44mni. If that's the case, that's a 20+avg for the 15mi commute. Hard to believe that. Maybe it was 47 or 48min...dunno...there is no coasting, so maybe it was a fast pace. It won't be that on the way back I don't think.....

Remainder of the week...maybe go do a group ride in Cary with some of the Inside-Out friends tomorrow, commute on Wednesday, Hammer ride on Thursday, commute Friday, weekend not sure...

Caesars Head Challenge 061309

I found out about this ride the first part of last week, maybe on Tuesday, and decided to go down for the weekend and participate in the ride. I wasn't prepared at all for riding Saturday...meaning, I haven't been getting enough sleep, I didn't hydrate during the week, and I didn't eat all that well - skipping supper a couple of nights after riding because I wasn't hungry....

Well, that proved to be my downfall. This ride was FAIL. I didn't make it to the top - bailed and turned around with something like 4-4.5mi to go. I had already stopped 2x and by the 3x, I knew I couldn't do it, that it was going to take me at least an hour to get to the top. No way. I was hot, tired and cramping. Cramping bad. Someone stopped and asked me if I was ok, no I wasn't...they offered ice - but it didn't help much. When I asked and was told that it was that far to the summit, I knew I couldn't do it.

I know that everyone has told me I did great, but in my books, it's still a FAIL. The Ruby Ride was almost a FAIL too. I've fallen off the Reservation while Andy was gone west and I have to get back on. And back on this week because I have another major ride coming up on Saturday....anyways - back to the ride report...

It started at 9am and was already fairly warm & humid. I started out with my friend Neal, but it didn't take very long for him and the rest of the riders to drop me on the first long climb. I have no idea how long it was, but it was long enough and I was slow enough to get dropped by the main group. I ended up riding with about 4-5 other riders that were going at a pace I could handle. I have no idea what that was because I don't have a computer on the bike. (that's changing this week). It was really a beautiful day and great scenery on the ride.

I stopped at the 1st RS, hoping for some bananas/oranges, but all that was there was fig newtons, Power gels and Power Bars, neither of which I really like. But, I did eat half of a Power Bar and headed on out with the group I had been riding with. The route, best I can remember, wasn't too bad from that point to the 2nd RS. Same food at this one. The temps were getting up by this time - it was around 11am and I was really feeling the effects of the heat/humidity...I'm really glad I chose to carry an extra bottle of water for just pouring on my head. It helped, but not enough.

I drank both bottles of Perpetuem and then refilled with water on subsequent stops. I didn't realize how low I was in P or I would have gotten more before I left Raleigh. I didn't have enough for the whole ride, only 2hrs worth. I was expecting pretzels, bananas, oranges, cookies, pb sandwiches at the RS's, so I didn't really worry about not having enough P. Wrong. I guess being the inauguaral ride, they (sponsors) didn't know what all to have at the RS's.

From about the 40-45mi mark, it started going downhill and not literally. I started feeling the first twinges of cramps coming on in my quads, rode through them, but knew I was in trouble. I finally made it to the rest stop prior to starting the climb and they had oranges!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I ate 3 while sitting in the shade. Filled the bottles up and continued on. Once I got to the intersection of 276 & 8, where the climbing starts, I was really having doubts. First 2x I stopped, I got off the bike and stretched a bit, poured water on my head, got back on the bike and rode on. But, the last time I stopped, I just knew. Knew I couldn't go on. Fail. Disappointment. Upset/mad at myself for screwing up the week prior and not being able to finish. This was on par with the Fabulous Fourth of last year. But, I did finish that ride.

So, I turned tail and descended back to teh campground. Cramping on every little speed bump I had to go over. Loaded the bike up, saw Neal & talked to him a bit, went and got some food then headed to the hotel. I was so damn tired, I didn't really even feel like taking a shower. I don't think I've ever felt that bad. And cramps...did I mention that I had cramps? Yes, all night. The tops of my shins, the tops of my feet, my calves, inner thighs, quads, everywhere you can get a cramp in your legs, I think I had them. Not a great night. Seriously dehydrated because I never went to the bathroom till the next morning. This won't happen again. Nope, not again.

Anyways, that's it. I'll either get back down to that area and just do the CH climb or stay somewhere in Greenville and ride from there and to the top. I have a few pictures that I'll post later.

Redemption Will Occur Next Year:
June 12th, 2010 at 7:30am for the second annual Caesars Head Challenge!!!

New Addition To wolfpack's Stable

Yes, there is a new addition to the bike stable. I now have six, yes, that's six, bikes. 80's Lotus Excelle, Felt F1x cross bike, Mangusta FG/SS, Fuji Team RC, The Ruby, and the Rossin (need components to build it up this summer). I was offered a deal on a Specialized Ruby Sworks with SRAM Red that I simply could not pass up. I purchased the bike from Motion Makers bike shop in Sylva, NC.

All I can say is Wow!! This bike rides like a dream - accelerates like crazy when you get out of the saddle and put the power to the pedals, descends like a rocket, and smooth as butter ride. What a big difference between the Ruby and the Fuji. It has been great - I've put around 300mi on it already, with the first ride being The Ruby Ride in Franklin, NC on 5/30. That bike is just great! I'll post some pictures later tonight when I get home (can't do it from work) and maybe do a little more write-up...Not much more to say about the bike except it's just awesome!!!!