Training Update: 2015 Ride to Remember
Recap: 2015 Ride to Remember
The Packing Phase (Wednesday, July 15)
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| Just some of the basics I need with me when I'm riding. |
All of my event rides start with some sort of packing, whether it is just loading up a bag for my cycling gear or loading up cycling gear and what I will need for a hotel later on. Logistically, this has always been a straightforward task and one that I typically over think. For the 2015 Ride to Remember, I'm adding a bit of stress to the packing phase. You see, this is a stage ride that will last three days. The only other stage ride that I do is the Tour to Tanglewood, and for that, I'm based out of the house, so no problem at all with that. The Ride to Remember is a bit different since it takes place in South Carolina and starts about two hours away from home. That will mean a hotel room for Thursday night in Simpsonville, SC, before I even clip into my pedals. The first stage will end after 65 miles in Newberry, SC, which will dictate another hotel. From Newberry, we head to Orangeburg, SC, covering 88 miles before staying at another hotel. The last day begins where we left off, and travels 100 miles to our last stop at Charleston, SC, and another hotel. If you have been keeping track, that is four different hotels in as many nights. I will have to pack for each night, as well as having all the associated items needed for the rides during the day.
The miles covered, a total of 252 will also dictate another slight change in my normal packing plans. Historically, I have not had to worry about prepping the bike for another day's ride while staying at a hotel. Since we are talking long miles, I will have to keep in mind bike maintenance and stay on top of that for each of the three days. For my own peace of mind, I will be doing at a minimum, a chain cleaning and lube after each day. This means that I will be bringing along a few items from my tool box. There is also the possibility that I will have to make some adjustments at the end of each ride, so there will be a few other tools. With the distance involved, it will probably be a good idea to have a spare tire or two, and a few extra tubes along as well. Speaking of tires, I'll be airing them up each day, so there is the need for the floor pump. At this point, I might as well bring the whole tool box! In order to make cleaning the chain easier and less messy, I will go ahead and bring the work stand too. Anybody got a spare team truck that isn't being used? I know that this is a lot of over packing, but I don't like to risk mechanicals on important rides like this.
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| In this little saddle bag I fit two tubes, tire lever, patch kit, and multi tool |
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| A fully stocked tool box, pump, cleaning supplies, and a spare tire |
Another thing that I normally don't have to consider is my electronics. It's a flippin' bicycle, what kind of electronics could I possibly have? Well, there are more than you would think, and all of them have a limited battery life that won't last for 252 miles. The Garmin Edge 510 is at the heart of it all. I am fortunate that it will connect and sync via the bluetooth connection with my phone, so I will not only be able to upload my rides at the end of each day without a computer, I will also be able to offer live tracking for those who want to follow my progress. The battery will probably last the entire 252 miles, but I don't plan on pushing it, so I will be bringing a charger for it. Along with the Garmin, I have three different sensors (cadence, speed, and heart rate/power) that all require batteries. I'll have to bring along spares for those, just in case. My head light and tail light are rechargeable via a USB connection. I typically hook them up through the computer after about 100 miles to recharge. Not wanting to bring the laptop, I've realized that the wall adapter for the Garmin will also charge the lights...COOL!!
Another issue that I have to face is food for the three days worth of riding. It's easy to get up in the morning and prepare my snacks, but doing things two days ahead of time for a three day ride is a little different animal. I've learned from Double Down that a powder mix that is added to my water bottle called Hammer Perpetuem is a wonderful source of calories, and essential fuel for my ride. I can pretty much sustain my energy levels with this drink mix in lieu of solid food. Since I won't really be able to maintain the freshness of macaroons, I won't be taking them, which brings me to my waffle and Nutella sandwich as the base for my solid food. I'll be taking along a Cliff Bar for extra fuel, just in case. Since I've found that I actually like Hammer gels, I'm going to take a few of those along for the ride as well as a source of caffeine and quick calories. The Perpetuem will be my staple though, and I will have a fresh bottle mixed up at the beginning of each ride, and with the longer rides, extra ziplock baggies to mix up fresh bottles along the way. I'll stick with my Double Down formula of one bottle of water with GU electrolyte tabs and and the other bottle with a two hour mix of the Hammer. I should be good for about 40-50 miles with those two bottles, even in the heat.
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| Three days worth of cycling kits, knowing that one more kit was waiting to be picked up |
As with the AOTC, there was a slight wrench that was getting thrown into the mix when it came to clothing. You see, thanks to a bunch of very generous friends out there, I was able to reach all of the fundraising marks that were set up by the Ride to Remember organizers. That meant that I had earned a full kit (jersey, bib shorts, and gloves) thanks to my fundraising efforts. Due to some shipping issues from the supplier, this kit was not sent out to me as early as planned. In fact, there was no time to ship it, and it would only be available for pickup Thursday evening at the hotel. That works out fine, but I wasn't sure the quality of the chamois, which put into question whether or not I would be able to wear it for the century. The idea that has been presented was to paint Charleston, SC purple as we came in on the last day, so it was recommended that we all wear Alzheimer's related kits on that last day. With the bibs in question, I wanted to have a pair that I could count on for a century, and just in case there was a problem with the jersey, I wanted to have an extra one...hence the three days of kits, for three days of riding, knowing that I was going to have another one waiting on me when I got there. Yes, OCD....the struggle is real!!! Don't get me started on socks...I have my matching ones for each jersey, even the one that I haven't seen yet....and they are supplying socks with the new kit. Don't worry, this is all being recorded for my sanity hearing later on in the year.
With the list checked and double checked, the bike cleaned, lubed, and ready to roll, it was time to focus on getting to the Starting point in Simpsonville, SC, where we would be staying until Friday morning when I started pedaling my way to the coast, once again.
Let the Road Trip Begin (Thursday, July 16)
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| With a little shuffling of the interior, everything fit just fine for the trip. |
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| The bike might be the most important thing to remember for this trip |
This was probably the first time I've ever been able to set out for an event ride without waking up well before dawn, and sometimes, closer to dusk the night before. Since the ride doesn't actually get started until Friday morning, Thursday morning was a low stress kind of day. I woke up at a reasonable time and started to get the truck loaded up and organized. As it turned out, it was just Toni and me going which made it very easy to fit everything in the truck. This was a nice turn of events because I really did have a lot of stuff to bring so I could be prepared for the unknown that was the next three days.
My day actually started at 9am, which was like sleeping in for an event like this. I got my breakfast made, finished the food prep for the weekend's fuel needs by making my waffle sandwiches. Then it was time to pull the cover off the bed of Toni's truck to put the bike in and lock it down on my Rocky Mount. Then I flipped the rear seat down and made room for the tools, and luggage that will be with us for the weekend. I actually kind of like not having a mad dash out of the door on the morning of an event. A man could get used to this lazy existence.
By 1pm we were ready to head out, but not after having Toni do the honors of writing some very important names on my bib number. You see, had I done it, there would have been a question about what the scribbles meant. This way, everyone has a fighting chance of reading the names. With that done, we plugged in Simpsonville, SC into the GPS and put the truck in drive! Here we come South Carolina!!!!!
July 17th, Simpsonville to Newberry, 65 Miles
What can I say, the first day was supposed to be the easy one out of the weekend. There was going to be no stress, and the ride was going to be short and sweet. Well, that wasn't quite the case. First of all, I woke up an hour early at 4am. I could no longer sleep, and by 4:30, Toni was awake. We were planning on getting up at 5 since we needed to get the truck loaded for the road trip to Newberry, and we needed to get breakfast done, all before check-in at 7:30. To add to the considerations, the start of the ride was a couple of miles away. While normally, I would just ride out to that point, I wasn't sure about the best way to get out there at that time of morning by bike, and since Toni would need to be there with the truck we just loaded it all up and headed out to get registered.
Of course, we got there early as we normally do. It worked out well since we both had booths that we needed to get to. I had to do the rider check in and Toni had to do the volunteer check in for her duties at the third rest stop of the day. We were busy for the hour and a half that we were there before the ride got started. After I got registered, I put some items in the truck and finished getting the bike ready and all my gear on. There is just so much to do before the pedaling starts! At about 7 or so, I was ready to make my way to the start line, and stopped by to get a kiss from Toni who was having to head out early for her duties.
While walking over to the starting line, I was still having a debate with myself about my predicted pace for the day. I had all but decided to ride solo since the wind, albeit was going to be a head wind was not going to be overly bad. I just needed to know where in line to start out. I figured that my best bet was to start with the A group so that I could drop down and ride between the A and B groups all by myself. I went ahead and secured my place on the back end of where the A group would be starting, recalling that there wasn't that many who had signed up for it. This would provide an additional benefit of giving me room to get rolling since I really don't like group starts in close quarters. I picked out my space and started to talk to one of the volunteers. It was a nice conversation and helped to pass the last 20 minutes or so before the announcements started to happen. While I was talking, I started to realize that everyone was filing in behind me....Wait, I was in the lead? This wasn't good, and not what I was planning on.
Well, I was here, and apparently nobody wanted to go in front of me. I had a guy squeeze between me and the curb, and another one start out on the sidewalk, but neither wanted to go in front of me. At this point, I realized that I didn't even know which way we were going out of the parking lot. In other words, don't follow me, I'm lost! I got a call from Toni who had gotten the email for my live track and she was concerned that I had left out early. This was a problem, because the route was just now starting to get marked. I assured her that we were still sitting in the starting gate, and they had time to get the signs out....I hoped.
The announcements started with about 10 minutes left to go before the start. I was still out front. We found out that thanks to all of the donations raised by the 300 riders the Alzheimer's Association had over $300,000 from this event so far. That was incredible! We were also told that the start would be right on time because there was going to be a live feed for the morning news on Fox. Nothing like being out front for the news to film, in the most unstable condition I can be in on a bike. Oh well, it was what it was.
45 seconds.....
That was the warning that we got to let us know we were about ready to roll. Of course, with that everyone who was already very close to me, got even closer. In case you haven't figured it out by now, I don't like group starts at all. Then there was the countdown and we were off...well, kind of. I started out and as I was trying to clip in with my left foot, the rider to my left started moving close to me, I missed my pedal, got unstable, made contact with the rider to my right who somehow stayed upright...as did I. It was sloppy, but we were all upright, and I was able to get clipped in. We started moving forward and followed a police car out of the parking lot onto Main St as we started in earnest.
I'm a big fan of warming up in the little ring for the first 10 miles or so, and that was what I did. The route was mostly on a slight decline so our speeds were very fast right out of the gate. It wasn't long before we were averaging over 20mph which was great! The problem was I found myself getting pushed out of the way as everyone behind me was jockeying for position. I was told that this wasn't a race, but here we were, I was getting pushed out to the side so that others could get closer to the front. There was no trading pulls, and we were rolling in a double file line. I wasn't liking this at all. I figured that I was in a small group, and I would let them pass and fill a void right behind them...
Well, as I pulled out of the line and moved to the back, I realized that this group was rather large, about 30 or so riders at least. There was no end in sight. This wasn't good at all. I went with plan B which included pouring on the coals and passing this group. That is harder to do that it sounds. There is power and speed in a group, I was out in the wind, mainly because I couldn't find a place to call my own in this group. In that vulnerable position, I made my way past the group and saw two riders well up ahead drafting the truck that was leading us out. I was going to work my way to them. Nope...
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| I am just over the shoulder of the rider to the left |
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| Here I am breaking free from the pack |
We came up on a stop sign and I was motioned to stop by a volunteer which I was about to do, when traffic stopped and we were motioned on through the intersection. It took me a second to transition from stopping to going, and I lost my pole position. I was passed, and found myself trapped next to the shoulder. I figured that I would just hang out there and let the peloton pull me around for a while. Keep in mind we were still well under 10 miles, and there had already been all this drama. The group seemed to have very little organization and there was still a lot of moving around for position. Once again, I was getting pushed out as riders wanted to get up to the front and stay with their friends. I somehow made it to the left side so I had some breathing room. I decided it was time to move into the big ring so I had a fighting chance to keep pace without having such a high cadence.
I found a hole to move into, and I thought that I was finally in a place I could maintain. I was keeping the wheel ahead of me, but for some reason the folks behind me would split the two columns of cyclists, effectively pushing me out of the paceline. This was getting ridiculous! To make matters worse, we were doing the accordion thing really bad by this point. It was a matter of "slowing" followed by a sprint it seemed. I was really getting nervous and was waiting on a crash. I opted to see where the rear of the group was. It was a lot closer than it had been before, so I found my happy spot at the back. I had yet to see the lead riders change out, and there seemed to be no rotation at all in the paceline, just a lot of moving around within it. I wasn't quite sure what was going on, but I didn't really care for it.
On the bright side though, our speeds were incredible. I saw an average speed of 22.6mph at one point, which meant that my discontent was not going to last all day because we would be making it to Newberry in a serious hurry. I made peace with being at the back and just did my best to keep from running over the rider in front of me, while passing those who were getting dropped. I was starting to think that this group wasn't going to make any stops at all which worked well for me, because at 40 miles I was going to stop to see Toni, and that would give me a good opportunity to let this group move on down the road. However, it seemed that everyone wanted to visit the PB&J stop, so we all pulled in to see Toni.
It was very nice to see Toni, and even nicer to have a bit of a respite from the fast pace so I could get some hydration in me, and consume some more of my Hammer drink. I was 25 miles away, and it felt like I had just started out. I was feeling really good which was surprising considering I was still averaging over 22mph. After a few minutes, Toni told me that it looked like my group was leaving. After about a split second of thinking, I let them roll out. There were some smaller groups that set out shortly there after as well. After a couple of minutes, I gave Toni a kiss and clipped back in. I was back on the road...solo.
I was in my element, slower than I had been, but much happier. I was facing a headwind at this point, not a terrible one, but enough of one that I could tell it was slowing me down. Without the protection of the peloton, I was going to be on my own dealing with this. That was fine by me because my stress level was now way down, and I was able to ride my own ride.
Surprisingly, I started to see other cyclists in the distance. We were getting into the hills, where I have started to become quite strong, here of late. It seemed that on each hill I closed the gap until I would pass them. I was picking off single riders at first, then I was overtaking groups of two or three at a time. This seems to be one of those fun little things that I do when I am solo riding and see a rider in the distance. I play fetch...and I'm pretty good at it. By the time I hit Newberry, 25 miles after going solo, I had overtaken a total of 11 cyclists who had left out of the rest stop before me. This wasn't a race, but doing that sure did put a smile on my face. I felt a little bit of redemption for being pushed out of the paceline so many times over the first 40 miles. It came at a cost though, I was getting tired, and I could tell that my legs were more stressed than I had hoped they would have been at the end of day one. Remember, I still have an 88 mile day and a 100 mile day ahead of me. Oh well, that was what they had rest for, and I was going to take advantage of my rest and relaxation time.
When I arrived at the Hampton Inn, in Newberry, I found a handful of riders already there...not many, and I was impressed with my personal finish. It had been a hard ride, but I had knocked it out of the park compared to my expectations. I let Toni know that I had made it safe and headed inside to get checked in.
There are times that we overlook the most basic of things. This was one of those times. I was trying to check in at 11:52...over three hours before check in time. Oops...that was an unfortunate oversight on my part. I had not considered that as a possibility before. Well, the staff at the Hampton did an amazing job and getting the rooms prepped for us and called us on a first come, first serve basis. I thought that was a great compromise, and the rooms started to get assigned in about an hour. I had plenty to do to keep me occupied until the room was ready. I found a spot on the floor and started to do my stretching so I would have a fighting chance at a fast recovery for tomorrow.
It was kind of odd doing my stretching routine in the lobby of the hotel, but for some reason, I think I actually fit in quite well with everyone else. While I was stretching, Toni joined me since it was getting much too hot for her outside. In typical fashion, she grabbed a bagged lunch for me so I could start replacing the 3000 calories I had burned. I had a nice sandwich along with my protein recovery bar (in lieu of my protein shake) for lunch. It was quite nice. When I got up though, I found a funny surprise below me....
Yep, I left a big ole wet spot on the floor from my sweaty bibs. I just had to smile!
With the room still not ready, we decided to go out to the parking lot so I could get the bike tended to. This was going to be the first time I had cleaned and lubed the bike in a hotel parking lot, and it was very strange considering I am a creature of habit. Every step of the way, I had to figure out where things went, how I would do things, and what the most efficient method would be standing out in the parking lot. It all worked out just fine, and I was able to do a full clean on the bike in preparation for the next day.
Just as I was getting everything put away from cleaning the bike, I got the phone call that the room was ready. Perfect timing. I was getting very tired, and Toni was about to pass out from being in the heat. We got registered and went up to our room. It wasn't long before we were both showered and resting before dinner. Day one was finished, and I had managed to do 65 miles at an average speed of 20.9 mph which was very respectable considering the last 25 miles were into a wind and with similar climbs to my home terrain. The fast portion was due to the group dynamic and the fact that it was primarily downhill. I knew that I had held my own in the rollers at the end, and I was very happy with the day!
Garmin data from stage 1
July 18th, Newberry to Orangeburg, 88 Miles
The warnings about this day started weeks ago on Facebook. Day 2 was the hardest day by far for the whole weekend. Looking at the elevation profile, I could see that it was hilly, but I really didn't think that it would cause me any problems. After a stellar first stage, I was all ready to go for the second day. My plan was to ride this one solo since I had such a good time with the last 25 miles the day before. My goal was to average between 19-19.5 mph which I thought was reasonable going alone and dealing with the climbs of the day.
The start was earlier than the first day by an hour and a half since there was no check in and announcements. This time, we just lined up at 7am and rolled out. I was again faced with the question which group to start with. Seeing that the parking lot was uphill, and had a major dip before entering the road, I opted to start near the front....well, actually out in front at the road. I just don't trust myself starting in large groups. When we were released to roll, it was a very low key start and I went right on out into the group. Just like yesterday, I found folks squeezing in to find position in the front of the peloton which brought back bad memories from the day before. I wasn't looking forward to 88 miles of this, but here I was in a group that I wasn't going to outrun, and couldn't see the end of. I had to suck it up and play along.
As the warm up miles started to click by, I had moments of thinking that I could make this work since the riders had calmed down a good bit from yesterday. However, each time I settled in and worked with the group, somebody would squeeze me over to the right and push their way into a spot in front of me. I just wasn't happy with this at all, but I was on the inside, next to the curb. What's a boy supposed to do? I was essentially trapped, so I figured that my only workable option was to allow myself to get dropped off the back. I slowed, and moved over to the right and had a half dozen or so riders pass me, then there was one rider who told me that I could move over and fill the space in front of her. How nice...she didn't know I was looking for the exit.
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| A hint of a smile on my face as I am freeing myself from the group |
With 8.3 miles in, I had had enough of the accordion nature of the group and saw a hole to my left. I took it and saw that the opposite lane was clear. I went ahead and started a sprint from about 20 riders back. I actually impressed myself at how quickly I moved out and past, which was good because there was a car coming from up ahead by the time I got close to the front. It all worked out, and I continued at a much higher wattage than I had wanted to produce on this ride. Not wanting to get overtaken by the more powerful group, I kept it in the wind for a total of 10 miles, picking my average speed up from under 19 mph to nearly 22 mph...solo!
In this ten miles I actually overtook some other riders that had apparently fallen off of the lead group early on. In one case, I happened to catch a shadow and saw that the last one had grabbed a hold of my wheel. OK, no problem, I was riding my ride, and told him what I was doing. He was fine with that arrangement and stuck with me. As we started to get into the rollers again, I slowed up, and didn't fight the speed since I figured I had a decent lead on the group. The other rider took the pull and I stayed on his wheel until another rider came up behind me. Well, this was getting a bit much. I worked my way to the back again and let them move ahead of me.
Well, this only worked for a bit as they started to slow, or I got done with my active recovery, or both, but I was back on the wheel again. I opted to get around and do some pulling to see if maybe I could move on ahead. Well, that didn't work out, I just didn't have the gas available in the tank for that, I knew that I had been red lined far too long for this route. I had to back it down so I just allowed them to drop me. We had picked up a fourth rider by this point, and he had just come off of a pull. He came back and looked like he was bridging the gap between me and the other two riders. Thinking this was his plan, I let him know that I was fine being dropped and that he should continue on with the group. I got a response that I would have never expected on a distance ride like this...He was doing intervals! He was on his three minute recovery and was going to end up where he ended up in line. You know what? He gets total respect doing intervals for any part of an 88 mile ride. He actually fell behind me shortly after, but I would see him several more times before it was all said and done.
As we started to get into some of the mid distance rest stops, the two riders which were out in front of me stopped off for a break and I found myself back in front again. Hey, this wasn't too bad at all. I continued at a comfortable pace and eventually heard cyclists behind me. Expecting to see the group I had left a hour or so before, I was surprised to see my three comrades who had been back and forth with me off and on. Mr interval was moving again, and left us all in the dust...much respect! I was again off the back and happy with my solo existence.
Then the hills started in earnest and I found myself back on the wheels of the two guys. I figured I would just stay here and let them go on after we crested. Well, that wasn't going to happen. They started to break up and I saw a gap forming. Since I had plenty of legs, I went on around and offered my wheel to help pull him up the climb. He either didn't want to take it, or couldn't, but he dropped. I eventually caught up with the lead and told him that the other had dropped back. I continued on around and went up to the top of the climb. I have to admit, it felt good to be able to outclimb a couple of guys who appeared to be a good bit younger than me.
I continued on with my forward progress until I saw Mr Interval coming in the opposite direction. I admit, I didn't know what his workout was for the day, but I was pretty sure it didn't include retracing steps along the way. I asked if we had missed a turn, and I thought that he said yes...so I did a quick turn and caught up with him....as he was turning around. He was just looking for the other two. I let him know that they had both dropped on the big climb and I wasn't sure how far back they were now. He asked if he could grab onto my wheel for a bit and I gladly obliged...after doing another "U" turn.
I settled into what I thought was a moderate pace and turned to ask if that was good for him. Well, he was falling back, and was already about 25 yards off my rear wheel. Oh well, I had places to be, and I wanted to get there.
Things were pretty uneventful as I ticked off the miles with the exception of a soaking wet road. I wasn't exactly sure what was going on with that until I got closer and saw an irrigation boom over to the side. It had apparently just done its rounds and soaked the road. I slowed a little bit to try and keep the spray to a minimum on the bike...that really didn't work all that well. Oh well, it was for the best because a very short distance ahead I found another one that was actively spraying the field. It was like a rain shower under completely blue skies. I went ahead and embraced that one and let the spray do what it would do.
On the other side of that, I heard what sounded like several dogs barking and getting closer. I caught a glimpse of about 7 hunting dogs coming down a driveway at full speed toward me. I was going too fast to stop in a controlled manner, so I kicked it up a gear and did another sprint. I was at nearly 30 mph and looked over to the right to see that one of the dogs was still even with the wheel. He wasn't gaining, so it was going to be an endurance battle with him. I won, but it took about 100 yards to do, and that was another large withdrawal on my energy bank account, which was running much lower than I wanted at this point.
The good news was that it wasn't long before I would enter Pelion where Toni was stationed at the 50.8 mile rest stop. This was going to be my first stop and I was looking forward to seeing her. In typical fashion, she took great care of me and filled my bottles with new Hammer and electrolytes. She also snagged me a Coke which was pretty good timing considering my energy reserves.
It wasn't long before other riders started to take advantage of the aid station. A whole lot quicker than I had expected, the main group I had gotten away from earlier showed up. I opted to just wait until they left before moving on with my ride. I let them have a good lead, and when I was about to leave, another group was coming through the intersection. Not wanting to get caught up in that group either, I gave Toni and quick kiss and put it in the wind again.
Pretty much immediately after leaving the rest stop, there was the really big climb of the day. It wasn't all that long, but it was pretty steep. In the interest of keeping my energy levels in good shape, I dropped into the little ring, for the first time since my warm up. I found the climb to be no big deal thanks to the low gearing, but it was enough to catch my attention for sure. I could see the other group in the distance and I had no interest in chasing them at all. I just used them to scout out the turns more than anything else.
By this time though, the wind had shifted from a side wind to a head wind, and it was significantly higher speed than the 2 mph that was forecasted this morning. This was the worst part of solo riding, but a part that I am all too familiar with from all of my solo training rides. I just kept pushing through, but I could feel the stress on my legs catching up with me. It wasn't a surprise at all. I had planned on a moderate paced ride, but had been well into my threshold zone for much of the beginning half, and then had fought the climbs, and now the wind. All of this was 100% my work load as opposed to sharing it among a group. It was the tradeoff, and one that I was happy to do in order to avoid a crash with how things had been going.
I was starting to get overtaken by several groups at this point. While I didn't like that, I can't say it wasn't expected. The power of a group is hard to ignore, and this was the proof. I could have joined in, and I actually did try once. It didn't last long because once again, I found myself being pushed over to the side so that somebody could move up in front of me. Screw this...I dropped off the back and let them move on down the road.
I was going to do this ride solo one way or the other. With about 10 miles left, I needed a refill on the water and stopped at a quick rest stop to refill. As I was getting ready to pull back out, I noticed a rider who I recognized from this morning. He was riding solo, and asked if I was about to pull out. He suggested that we ride together, and considering he was solo also, I agreed. Hey, it was only 10 more miles or so.
As we rolled down the road we both talked about our experiences from the morning. Surprisingly, he had had some similar experiences as I had and was more than a little displeased with how things had been going. I also found out that he was in worse shape than I was and was having some difficulties. With this information, I threw my own personal goals out of the window, which I was about to achieve with an average speed of 19.2 mph. I decided that one way or the other, I was going to help him complete his ride. This was the cyclist bond that I was familiar with, and I didn't want to let my earlier experiences change who I am as a cyclist. We moved on down the road at a comfortable, conversational pace, and even though we got passed by a few cyclists, we were not passed by the next big group, even though they were getting close. Had it not been for a train in the last few feet of the route, we would have stayed away from them completely.
In an ironic repeat from yesterday, I arrived in Orangeburg, SC at noon, three hours before check in. The difference today was, Toni was on top of things despite not feeling all that great. She had called ahead and gotten an early check in, but the room was still not quite ready yet. She had already scoped out where I could sit inside without being in the way, and knew where the food was. I got my bike propped up against the window on the inside while she went to get me food.
While I should have been stretching, I realized that I was having problems with the upload on my Garmin. For some reason, even though it was connected to phone, it would not upload the ride at all. I restarted both the computer and my phone, but it still wouldn't go. After getting overly frustrated with it, I gave up and got my stretching done. Toni got the word that our room was ready and she went to get the registration taken care of while I ate lunch. Then it was time to get up to the room. She grabbed our bags and I carried the bike and the assorted crap that went with it.
Once in the room, the A/C felt really good, and I didn't really want to go back outside, but I had to get the bike cleaned up, especially since I had been over very wet roads earlier. The chain also had to be lubed for tomorrow's ride. I had planned on going outside and doing it like I had the day before, but with a heat index of approximately 111 degrees, this was not a fun option at all. Toni suggested that I just bring the stand and my tools up to the room to do it. Well, there was room to work, and we could put a plastic bag on the floor to catch any drips. I was sold...it was a very good idea.
Unlike yesterday, the bike needed more than just a wiping down. In order to get to everything that I needed to, I had to pull the wheels off to get all the spray cleaned off. It took about an hour, but in the end, the bike was all cleaned, lubed, and ready for the last 100 miles tomorrow. The question was...Was I ready?
In order to be ready, I needed to address a big calorie deficit and the fact that all of my carbohydrate stores were depleted. We could have had baked chicken for dinner with the rest of the crew, but we opted to go next door to Cracker Barrel for dinner. I had plenty of protein for lunch, but not near enough carbs. I knew that I would be having the chicken and dumplings, but I never expected to get the plate that I did. I opted for two of my three veggies to be mac and cheese and mashed potatoes. Of course, biscuits came with the meal. Yeah, I have never eaten quite like this before, but it hit the spot and filled a huge void in my belly. I'm hoping that this replaced what was missing and gave me an excess for tomorrow.
With dinner done, it was time to rest and relax, then time for bed. Tomorrow would be the longest day, but the day with the least amount of climbing. That's good, because my climbing legs were done at this end of this day. Time would tell what tomorrow would bring, but I was hoping for my fastest century to date.
Garmin data from stage 2
July 19th, Orangeburg to Charleston, 100 Miles
I will admit, I was not feeling good at all about yesterday's stage. I was not happy with my numbers at all, and a little bit down on myself for burning myself out early in the ride. I know better, and I should have played the day different. Trying to move past that kind of feeling is hard to do for a cyclist. We are a strange bunch, and tend to base our abilities on our last ride only. My last ride, was sub standard for what I was capable of, and I had essentially thrown a hissy fit on the road which I payed for dearly by the end. That was how I defined myself as I went to sleep on Saturday night with thoughts of the third day, and the century ride ahead of me.
My thoughts as I went to sleep were full of self doubt. Would I be able to ride the century as well as I knew I was capable of, would I opt to do it solo and settle for a hard day in the saddle like my previous day? Would I crack half way there because of the current state of affairs with my legs? I didn't sleep that well at all. When I woke up, my first thought was to make sure that the parking lot was dry since we had experienced storms all night long. Fortunately the pavement was dry, so I wouldn't have to worry about rooster tails from other wheels which tend to taste like a combination of 10W-30 and road kill. My next thought was about the wind, which was minimal for the day. It was going to be hot, but not as hot as yesterday. Everything was in place that I needed except for my self confidence. I just wasn't feeling this ride today.
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| Airing up the tires first thing |
Regardless of my personal feelings for the day, I still needed to make myself go down to the start line to roll the dice and ride the full century route...it was to be my 10th century for the year! I still had to figure out where I was going to start. I was feeling like the B group would be the best choice, but when I seriously considered adding myself to the C group, I decided that I wasn't being fair with myself. I figured that I would go ahead and roll out with the A group once again and get dropped early on if needed because, quite frankly, I wasn't wanting to mess with any groups today.
As I was standing up at the front waiting on the line to form, one of the organizers got Toni's attention and had her hold the A group formation sign. Hmmm, I am a fan of seeing signs in my world, and this was too obvious not to pay attention to. Here I was at the front of what was going to be the A group while Toni had just been selected to do a job that had not been assigned to her previously...doing what? Holding a sign...the A group sign. As they say, "There's your sign." For some reason, I felt calmer about things and a lot of my self doubt dissipated. I still wasn't completely sure how the day would play out, but I knew I was in the right place at this moment.
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| Toni holding her sign for the morning |
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| As taken from Toni's vantage point |
As in the past, I pulled out and got swamped by folks wanting to get up front. Here we go again. Then all of a sudden, I got the crazy idea to form my own column. Hey, we had a police escort, there were already 2 different lines going, and it had not been uncommon for there to be 3 across the lane on the last two days of riding. I'll take a page from the SC cyclist's handbook and I just made a third line. I moved up to the front, right next to the two lead guys. This could work!
Funny story at this point, we were rolling out pretty fast, and I was clicking through the gears while keeping it in the little ring for my customary warm up. My speeds didn't really look like I was warming up though, and while I was clicking up gears I could hear some chain noise. I thought that something was out of alignment which would have dictated that I pull off to address the issue. Before I did that though, I took a quick peek down at the rear cassette. I had to laugh at myself because I was trying to shift into a higher gear than it will go quietly while still in the little ring. I downshifted twice and the noise stopped. My cadence was well over 110 rpms and I was comfortable with that...in fact, I was very comfortable with my existence.
Then it happened, a bunch came in fast from behind me and took a place on the front. Dammit!!!! here we go again with no organization. They were moving down to a single paceline and I saw my opportunity to move up again and make a double line which I did. The pace was a little higher and I was starting to get a little bouncy in the seat with a cadence way up there, so I opted to go ahead and shift into the big ring prematurely. That slowed my cadence down, but I kept it over 100 so I was still warming up at least. All of a sudden the bike came alive and I started to pull ahead of the neighboring rider. I gladly backed down on my power and matched him. This was going to work out nicely!
Unfortunately, after a turn, I lost my position and was moved back further in the group. It was a calmer group that I had seen in the past so I decided to stick it out as long as I could to conserve energy since we were talking about 100 miles. I had moments of not being happy, but I moved myself to the left side of the road where the blacktop was a bit smoother and managed very well. I happened to look down at my Garmin and saw that our average speed was 23+ mph. Holy Cow!!! This, more than anything else motivated me to hang out with the group.
There was the typical accordion effect with lots of slowing and sprinting. I also noticed that there was not much movement up front other than they had moved into a single file line once again. I started talking to my neighbor about that observation and she said it was because nobody wanted to lead at this pace. Hmmmm, I could do it, but not from here. Well, I decided to move on out and work my way up near the front. I wasn't able to make it to the front, but I did get into the single file line which worked out great for me. I planned to work through the rotation up to the front.
Before I had that opportunity though, we came to the second or third rest stop, I really have no idea because things were happening so fast at this point. It looked like we were pulling in for a break so I slowed, downshifted and started to turn in....but wait, there were several guys who didn't turn and had started talking amongst themselves. I heard that they were planning on continuing on with a smaller, more manageable paceline. Now, that was music to my ears. I was about stopped, but I did a quick check of my situation...
Did I need any water? Nope, hadn't had time to drink anything.
Did I need to eat? Nope, hadn't had time to get hungry.
Did I need to stretch? Nope, haven't been in the saddle that long.
Was there a reason I needed to stop? No reason in the world.
I corrected my path and did a quick chase on the handful of riders out front. It took a little doing, but I caught up to them as the front man was coming off the front. We both took our places at the back of the line. Funny thing about this group was, they actually rotated out the work, and it seemed that most of them would pull for about a mile and go to the back. This was what I knew, and understood. I liked this group.
I then looked at my average speed as we were coming up to around 50 miles. We were averaging 24.1 mph. An average speed of 24.1 mph is beyond significant to me. My fastest average speed on a ride has been just a tick over 21 mph, this was quite a bit more. What was more important was I was not exhausted, in fact, I was feeling pretty good, even considering I had done my share of the pulls out front keeping the pace between 23-25 mph, even up the slight inclines. I was now drinking my Hammer, and hunger was not an issue, and neither was thirst.
At the mid point, we stopped for a quick rest stop to refill our bottles. I went ahead and refilled my Hammer with fresh water, drank some electrolytes, and we were back out on the road again. The average speeds dropped down to about 23.8 mph, but that was still crazy fast, and I knew that we were the first group out of all the riders today, which motivated us all to keep plugging along.
It was shortly after that rest stop that I started to have an inner debate with myself. You see, Toni was stationed at the 75 mile stop which was a small scale water stop, just 6 miles before a mandatory stop at 80 miles to pick up a police escort. I knew that none of these guys would stop at that stop because it didn't make any sense with our pace, and strength. I wanted to see her, and I didn't think that it would be appropriate at all for me to blow past her waving just to keep with this group. As we started to get closer to it, I told myself that I would bow out and visit with her briefly. Then I started to let the group know I was going to be leaving, and I thanked them for the pulls.
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| The group that I called home for many miles |
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| Pulling in to a stop at 75 miles |
While I was talking with Toni there were two more riders that showed up solo which had dropped off the back of the group I was with. Both were cramping so I got them hooked up with electrolytes while Toni got them each a Coke. We were just about ready to move out and we saw another group moving down the road toward us. We decided to leave with them and make our way with a slightly slower group than we had been with earlier.
This group was not too bad, and behaved similar to my last one, but the speeds were a little slower. After being used to the previous pace, this seemed to be rather relaxed. Oh well, I was still having a great time and doing my pulls. We only had about five miles until the mandatory rest stop where we would meet the police who would escort us down Hwy 17 into Charleston. I was hoping that my old group would still be there, but knowing they were the first there, I was sure they had already moved on....I was right.
Since I was still well stocked from Toni's stop, I waited on the opposite side of the road under a shade tree as everyone refilled and joined us. We had been told that the police would be shuttling us out every 30 minutes so we figured that there wasn't too much more time before they came to get us. Boy were we wrong!
As we waited, we were joined by several other riders and the next large group behind this one. We had about 35 or so riders and we were all waiting on the police. After about 45 minutes of waiting, which is a lifetime for a cyclist who still has to ride another 20 miles on legs that are starting to get stiff from lack of movement, we were told that the police were actually waiting for us on Hwy 17. What???? We could have been on our way a long time ago. Oh well, the time had passed and we couldn't get it back. We moved on toward the highway and found several marked cars waiting to escort us safely into Charleston.
I was looking forward to drafting a motor vehicle and had been told that this section was really fast. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed with the speeds we were traveling. It seemed to be between 18-20 for the most part and that felt like we were standing still after my earlier pace. It was still pretty cool to have intersections blocked, lights, sirens, and the whole nine yards. It wasn't long and we were entering the town of Charleston, SC, and the escort broke off as we entered the tangle of bridges leading into the heart of the city. At this point, speed was no longer a concern, it was just safely navigating the roadway. This section was not marked as the rest of the routes had been, so we were essentially feeling our ways through town based on assumptions and memories from previous year's routes.
This was the part of the ride that had several warnings issued earlier in the day. This section (as photographed by Toni) was a metal grate that spanned about 100 feet or so. We were warned not to ride on the grate because several riders had crashed on it in previous years. When we got to it, I had to do something that I have never had to do on a ride. The verbal information from the front of the peloton went a little something like this...."Slowing"...."Stopping"...."Dismount". Yep, we were off of our bikes and walking them now. It was a beautiful day to walk your bike after all. I had started out about mid way through the peloton and because of my difficulty walking across in my Speedplay cleats (hard to walk on a solid floor, much less a cheese grater surface), I ended up being last off the section to mount back up and continue. I had to chase back to the group which was not a big problem at all.
The next couple of miles consisted of lots of stop and go through the center of town with lots of traffic, both foot and vehicular...oh, and a horse drawn carriage. The splinter group that I had ended up with came to a stop at a traffic light, and said that they were going left instead of straight. They wanted to make a little side trip which I wasn't really wanting to join in on. They told me that the route went straight through. I could see the rest of the group in the distance, which initiated a sprint to catch up to them. Remember, there are no markings through Charleston, and I had no idea where I was at. I caught up to them, and found my way to the next major portion of this ride.
The next section was the climb on the Arthur J Ravenel Jr Bridge which was probably the hardest climb of the day (the only one actually). I was surprised that my legs were quite happy to power on up the bridge. The interesting thing was there was a protected bike lane which was shared with pedestrians. Now picture this, a sidewalk essentially that was about 12 feet wide. In that width there was a two lane bike path on the left and a single lane pedestrian path on the right. The climb up was fraught with obstacles like riders coming the opposite direction, runners, walkers, spectators, etc. Somehow we made it through without a problem though.
If you have been paying attention, you are aware that I have had no serious issues on the bike short of some dogs forcing a sprint. Well, at 250 miles out of 252, I ALMOST had a big problem. On the descent side of the bridge which was a fast one at about 41 mph, right at the base, I was moving right along and all of a sudden my front wheel slipped hard to the left. I felt the whole bike coming out from under me and I tried to correct in that split second, but knew I was going down (I have no idea why though). Then the rear wheel hit the same thing that the front one had which miraculously corrected the uncontrolled path I was about to take. I was upright still, and in control. My tires still had air, and there were no noises indicating that the bike wasn't happy. I was alive...whew!
With the bridge done, it was just a couple miles to the finish at the hotel. As I rolled in, I realized that I had done my first sub five hour century ride at an average speed of 22.3 mph! This actually cemented me in the A group category after many months of toying with it. I was stoked to say the least!
Something else I realized was that I had only gone 99.8 miles. This was not a century, not even close. I needed to get those extra .2 miles, which I promptly went out and got, thanks to a quick ride back out to the street and a "U" turn. When I got back, I had a total of 100.33 miles. This was more like it, I had done my century....Number 10 for the year!
While Toni and I were chatting at the finish line, I happened to start talking with one of the riders who came in with me. I told him about the incident on the bridge, and he told me that he had a similar problem where his wheel had found a perfect gap in the pavement and almost got his front wheel stuck. That had to be what I had run into. Strange as it sounds, I did like that I hadn't had some fluke handling issue, and it was actually something in the road that had caused my issues
While I had been completing the last few miles, Toni had been on top of securing our room. We were able to register pretty much right upon my arrival. That allowed us to go up and me to change clothes to come back down for lunch. I tell you what, it really was awesome to share this event with her considering she is the primary reason I am doing this ride. Together, we have taken a stand against Alzheimer's and refused to just sit back and accept what might become. This was the first time she participated on the level that she did as a volunteer. She stood out in the heat and humidity taking care of other riders, and not just me for a change. While it might not seem like much, every one of the volunteers had a tremendously hard job. They would sit and wait for long periods to then be bombarded by a hoard of cyclists needing all sorts of attention for a very short amount of time...and then they were gone. Some of these stations stayed functioning for the majority of the day. There was very little shade, if any at all, no breeze, just blazing sun and swarms of insects. Without the volunteers like Toni, this ride would not have been able to happen. All of us cyclists owe each and every volunteer a debt of gratitude, and I owe Toni so much more for always being there taking care of me.
Garmin data for stage 3
A Special Thank You to my Sponsors
The 2015 Ride to Remember is all about raising funds and awareness for the Alzheimer's Association. I have learned a lot about this disease since agreeing to participate back in the Fall of 2014. I have tried to share what I've learned along the way while attempting to raise the much needed funds.
Over the months that followed, I changed my fundraising goal several times. At one point, I even promised to shave my legs if I reached $1,750.00. I didn't think that it would happen, but it did. My legs are still shaved as a result of that, and I actually do like it, but that is an entry for another day. My final goal that was set was $2,520.00 which might seem like an odd amount, but it actually represents $10 per mile that I was pledging to ride. Somehow that just seemed right.
With just hours left before we started riding, I actually surpassed my goal at $2,540!!!! The list of sponsors is long and represents donations between a single dollar, up to $288.00. Each and every donation is appreciated by not only Toni and myself, but the Alzheimer's Association as well. As of the morning of the first stage, they had raised over $300,000.00 through this event. Every donation that was raised by every one of the riders, regardless of amount was important and added up to this huge number.
I would like to take a moment to thank every one of my sponsors who took the time to make a donation, and were generous enough to share their hard earned money to help others. Their generosity will echo throughout the Alzheimer's Association and will show the more than 5 million sufferers of this disease that while they might have forgotten a lot, we have not forgotten them!
THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!
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