The Cop Rides the Tour de Pig

Yes, I admit it, this might just be a little bit heavy handed.  I'm a cop, and I'm riding in a ride called Tour de Pig (no relation).  This is actually part of the Lexington BBQ Festival, and is sponsored by Novant Health.  The money raised for this ride goes to support the Davidson County Mental Health program.  I have been looking for a charity ride that benefits the mental health field or suicide prevention for a few months now.  There are just not that many out there.  I just happened to stumble upon the Tour de Pig shortly after riding in the Tour of Farmington.  Since I had enjoyed myself so much on that ride, I went ahead and signed up for this one with the intention of doing the 100K route.  It was a happy coincidence to find out that this was the type of ride I had been looking for.

I didn't know much about this ride other than it covered the Northern part of Davidson County.  I had ridden several of the roads on the route both in my own personal training rides and during the Tour to Tanglewood.  I wasn't all that concerned at all since this was just a 100K, or 62 mile route.  There were no major obstacles either, so this was just going to be a ride for fun without the need for any specific training at all.  Much like Farmington had been, the Tour de Pig was going to be about how fast could I ride the course.

In the week leading up to the ride, the weather forecast was looking like rain for Saturday.  I wasn't too upset about that since I didn't really have much invested in the ride itself.  Either I would go, or I would pass, and go to work (I had to take a vacation day for this ride).  On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which I had to jump on since it was likely my only chance at this destination for the remainder of the year.  I ended up riding 70 miles with some intense climbs thrown in to the mix.  I felt really good the next day so I went out for another 50 miles close to home and pushed hard the whole way.  The following day, I went out once again to ride another 50 mile route close to home. This one was supposed to be a little bit less intense, but my legs were feeling good once again and I hammered it.  that left me with Friday to use as a rest day.

Typically, I like about two to three rest days before an event ride to make sure I'm in top form for the route.  This time, the route didn't really cause any concern for me, and there was still the question if I would take a rain check.  I spent the vast majority of Friday looking at the weather and pondering the chances of rain.  It looked like the ride would be starting in a light rain, with heavier rain coming in around lunch time.  I could deal with that, I suppose.

Before going to bed, I had loaded up my bike and all the assorted goodies I have to take on these rides, but I still wasn't sure if I would be going.  I did know that I was going to keep the vacation day from work though, and that also played into my potential guilt for not going in the morning.  I had pretty much made up my mind that if the weather didn't look any worse, I would put on my big boy Lycra and go get rained on.

When the alarm rang in the morning, I checked the weather first, before even getting out of the bed.  The hourly was still looking the same, and the minute cast had the rain starting in about a hour and a half in Thomasville.  I could live with that, but there was a huge blob of orange and red coming up the Appalachian chain from Georgia that looked to be aimed right for Davidson County.  The radar image concerned me, and I thought about rolling over and going back to sleep.  But...I had made peace with having to wash the bike when I was done, so a little rain, or a lot of rain really didn't matter.  I had taken the time off of work for this ride, and it was for a cause that I really believed in.  OK, I'll get up and go do it.

I left the house at 7am and pulled into Davidson Community College at 7:30, right when the registration tents opened up.  I went ahead and got signed in, and got my bag of goodies before the lines got long.  I wasn't sure how many would show up today, but for right now there was no rain.  I was quietly hoping for that to continue.

I went back to the truck and pulled my bike out of the bed and finally got to use my bike stand thanks to parking on the asphalt.  The lights, Garmin, and bottles were all put on.  I then got myself dressed out and ready for the ride.  I still had about 30 minutes before the ride started, but I like to have that time to get my mind calmed down, and get into my personal zone.

Some of the things that I was thinking about were pretty typical of these rides.  As always, I found myself wondering if I would ride with a group or not?  Actually, that was a pretty short internal discussion.  With the rain in the forecast, and the wet roads, I would not feel comfortable in a group at all.  The decision was made very quick that I would ride this one solo.  The next question was what kind of pace would I try for?  Again with the wet roads, and potential for rain, I decided that I would keep speeds reasonable and not worry about setting any speed records for myself.  The final question was where did I want to start?  That was a no brainer...I would start at the front as I have grown accustomed to.  I'm much happier out there, and don't feel overly crowded.

As I waited up front by the exit, I watched the riders come into the parking lot in a steady stream.  There were quite a few riders in fact.  I guess it still amazes me how many riders are willing to ride in poor weather.  Speaking of which, there was still no rain falling, and I was seeing dry patches on the pavement.  This might not be all that bad at all.  I know that there were quite a few who were planning on having a grand time with this ride.  I could see pig costumes on some riders, and tutus on others.  This was not a surprise as I had seen pictures from past years with just this type of "fun riding".  In addition to these folks, I also saw what I could only assume were serious racers lining up at the front.  They were a bit more serious, and had expressions on their faces that I recognized in my own face. There are different types of fun to be had at these rides, that is for sure!

Well, it was about 8:30, and that was the time when the 100K folks would be heading out.  I had my place at the front of the line, my Garmin was on, Live Track started, and lights turned on.  I was all ready.  Oddly enough though, they had us lined up at the head of the parking lot which dictated that we follow the lot to the left, around the tents, and then onto the road that would lead us out of the college.  That seemed like a lot of twisting and turning considering the hundred or so riders that were bunched up behind me ready to head out. Oh well, I had my place at the front and I was prepared.  The MC was on the loudspeaker getting everyone corralled  that was riding the long route.  I'm really pretty sure that he was still communicating with people in the lot and getting barricades set up for our exit, but I saw riders to my right starting out.  Well, with that, everyone was off, and I was now an island in a swarm of twisting and turning bikes as everyone pushed off and started out.  Well nuts, there went my first plan for the day.  I wasn't going to be out first today.  In fact, I had to sit and wait until things cleared out a little bit before I could safely get started.  One of these days I'll get more confident in mass starts...maybe.

I was finally off, and on my way.  the weather was still holding which I was very thankful for.  The roads were mostly dry at this point with just some dampness in areas.  I was in my easy gears warming up as I always do.  Since I had made the decision to take this one easy, I wasn't at all concerned with pushing the speed.  I just sat back and pedaled as other riders passed me and pulled away.  This worked out because nobody wanted to get on my wheel which meant that I would be staying solo today.  It was going to be a good day!

Then it happened, I came up on a cyclist and passed them.  Then there was a group...passed as well.  My speeds were climbing, but my legs were not feeling all that great.  I was still very fatigued from the earlier rides in the week.  Nevertheless, I was accelerating and overtaking more and more riders.  The pavement was still mostly dry, and there was nothing kicking up affecting my braking performance.  I decided to see what my legs had in them.  I started to keep my power output at that point where I could feel the tension in my legs, which I have come to really enjoy.  I wasn't as fast as I've been, but I was a lot faster than I expected.  After the first 10 miles, I was switching into the big ring, and really started to find my groove.  It was also at this point that I realized that the fatigue I was feeling in my legs was more due to the headwind that I was fighting than anything else.  Once I turned out of the wind, the bike was sailing effortlessly across the pavement.  I played my little cat and mouse game with cyclists I could find in front of me which really kept me motivated.  I had no idea where in the pack I was, but I knew that I was now holding my own, and I was still solo.

The 100K route was set up as two different loops that ultimately made a

figure 8.  The first loop was the one to the right and was ridden counterclockwise.  The second loop was to the left and ridden clockwise.  The wind was coming from the Northeast, so it took quite a while to get out of the wind.  By the time we turned to the South in Walburg, I was really starting to enjoy myself.  There was a little bit of drizzle, and there were wet patches of roadway, but nothing so severe as to impact my brakes.

Before I knew it, I was half way through with the ride and had really only dealt with the wind.  The rain had been insignificant at best.  Coming down Ridge Rd (for the first time) we were given the option of turning onto Yokely Rd and ending at the college for a 50K, or 31 mile ride.  Some riders had been debating about doing that if the weather had gotten bad.  I hadn't really given it any thought, especially at this point.  My bike was already dirty from the road grit and would need to be washed.  Might as well carry on with the full route.  The weather seemed to be holding as well which made the decision very easy.  However, within a mile of passing the turn off, the rain drops got bigger and more frequent.  Was this going to be my clue that I was in for some less than favorable weather?  It didn't matter, I was going to do the full route, wet or dry.

As I approached the town of Arnold, I was back into the wind again.  It had not relaxed any at all I'm afraid.  I kicked down a gear or two and trudged on.  I also realized that this second loop was full of deep rollers which were starting to try my climbing legs.  They had not fully recovered from the previous rides, and I was starting to have to will them to turn the pedals.  They did continue to turn the pedals without too much fuss, and for that I was happy.

When I got to Arcadia, I was fully in the wind once more, and I started to consider easing off of my pace.  Currently, I was averaging in the upper 19 mph range.  While not a spectacular pace for me, it was very respectable, and one that I could ease off of considering the weather.  Well, that was a nice thought, but no sooner than I had thought it, I saw another rider up ahead.  OK legs, go and play.  It wasn't long before I was saying "on your left" and passing by, only to see another cyclist in the distance.  This was my game, and I enjoyed it.

After a handful of place changes, I passed another cyclist coming into Midway.  I didn't think much about it since like the others, he had fallen behind.  However, I had to stop at a stop sign not far down the road which delayed me long enough for the other cyclist to catch up with me.  We turned on the road together and he stayed on my rear wheel.  I wasn't watching behind me, but I could hear the freewheel spinning every so often and the gears changing behind me.  It looked like he was there to stay.  We came up to a left turn with railroad tracks which we both had to slow for.  He came out in front, and as if second nature, I sprinted back out in front.  I could have just let him go on ahead, but what fun was there in that?

I decided that I was going to use his presence to keep me motivated to finish strong.  My speeds were creeping up, and I was putting some serious work in at this point.  I could still hear the freewheel and gears changing behind me, but now I was also hearing some sounds of stress and fatigue.  He was holding my wheel, but it was hurting it seemed.  Whether he wanted to or not, he got to take part in my little game which was back in full swing again.  "On your left!" was said more than a couple of times as my two man paceline moved down Ridge Rd.  I was still making excellent time, but I was really starting to get tired at this point.  I remember looking at my mileage several times and doing the math for what was left.  I was going to have a hard time keeping this pace all the way to the finish, but I was pretty sure that I could.  I made a mad dash down the hill to Lake Thom-a-Lex and pushed very hard climbing back to Old Greensboro Rd.  At the top of the climb, I had very little left in my legs, but we were also just a couple of miles from the finish.  I had made it.

At 61.6 miles, I saw the sign for the college, and could see the parking lot where we started.  Hmmmm, that is not 62 miles.  Well, I could finish with about 61.8 miles and a 20.0 mph average (I told you, I was hammering the last bit), or I could risk dropping my average speed and wheel around the parking lot to get 62 miles.  Well, for me, if it isn't 62+ miles, it isn't a 100K route, so I had to explore the parking lot for a few minutes.  I saw my Garmin register 19.9 mph for an average which took a little out of my sails, but I also saw an even 62 miles register which made me happy.

I was done, and for the most part I had stayed dry.  There were brief showers that I rode though, but nothing that I would consider significant to the ride.  There was enough water on the road that I was going to need to do a little bike washing when I got home, but I had already made my peace with that.  I had set out to ride a moderate paced ride that I figured would be in the neighborhood of 19-19.5 mph depending on the rain.  The rain had held off, and I had a bit more gas in my legs than I had thought to boot.  My official moving average according to the Garmin was, in fact, 20.0 mph.  I had ridden the 100K route in 3:06:35 which is on par with what I did the Tour of Farmington in.  The difference was the wind and rain for this ride.  I gave up about 10 seconds between the two rides, but this one was much harder to ride fast I thought.

It wasn't but a few seconds after I stopped the computer and officially ended my ride that I felt the big rain drops once again.  There wasn't any need in

delaying putting the bike back in the truck and heading home.  I got everything secured, and got out of my wet jersey in favor of a dry t shirt.  All of my associated equipment was tossed in my cycling bag and put back in the truck.  It was a wrap.  There was a BBQ lunch available for the riders, and I had considered partaking, but with the threat of rain, I decided it was best that I just head home.  Plus, Toni would be getting up soon before going to work and I wanted to say hi to her, and visit for a bit before she had to leave.

Before I got my truck out of the parking lot, the rain was coming harder and faster than it had on any portion of the route.  I was very thankful that I had made it when I did.  As I was exiting the college, I went past several cyclists still coming in from their routes.  They were fighting the rain that I had missed.  At least they were about done.  I'm not sure how many were still out on the course, and I don't know how many of the 100K riders had opted to cut the day in half.  I do know that there were still a good many riders coming in.

Once I got home, the rain was pretty steady.  I opted to wait on cleaning the bike until Toni left for work in hopes that the rain would stop long enough for me to give it a much needed wash.  According to the hourly forecast, that was a pretty good possibility.  However, when she left at 4, the rain felt like it was getting heavier.  This was just not going to work out at all.

I decided to back the truck out of the garage, and wash the bike in the rain.  I could then bring it in to dry off and get lubed up.  I'm sure the neighbors got a laugh at me out in the driveway in a steady rain with hose and bucket washing a bicycle.  I will say this though, Flo cleans up nice after a bath.  I made sure that everything worked and was lubricated before putting her back in the wheel stand.  After about 2.5 hours of work, she is all ready for the next ride which hopefully will be on my next off day.

With that, my sixth event ride of 2015 has come to a close.  This has been a year full of event rides when compared to previous years.  I don't know if it is because I'm just so happy to be riding again, or if I have just decided to explore this end of cycling more.  Either way, I've been having a great time doing charity event rides this year.  Ironically, the shorter rides (the 100K ones) have been some of the more fun for me.  I might be looking into doing more of these rides instead of just waiting on the century rides to come around.  Who knows, there might be another one of these shorter rides in the future for 2015.  Time will tell.

Garmin Data

2015 Tour to Tanglewood: 30th Aniversary

Part 1: Intro to the 2015 Tour to Tanglewood

Part 2: The Rides

It is hard to believe that the Tour to Tanglewood is 30 years old this year.  Of course, I have not ridden in it that many years; this will only be my fourth year participating.  However, in those four years, the Tour has become a staple of sorts here in the Kiser household.  Within months of starting to ride a bicycle seriously in 2011, I was riding back to back 50 mile rides for this event which benefits the National MS Society.  In the following years, I upped the mileage to a full 100 mile century on Saturday, and a metric century of 65 miles on Sunday.  These were the maximum distances that you could go on the planned routes...that was until 2014.  Ironically, that was the year that I missed due to lack of fitness, and having just been involved in a bike crash earlier in the month.  This year would mark my return to the Tour to Tanglewood, to tackle the "new to me" double century weekend.  The route for Sunday has been revamped completely, allowing for another fun filled day of 100 miles in the saddle.  They are playing my song!

I won't bore you with my typical day before prep for this ride.  Just know that it is the same as all my other rides that take place away from home.  Everything is packed and prepped the night before, numbers are affixed to my jersey, and food selected.  Since this will be a supported ride, I will be relying on my Hammer Perpetuem once again for "on the bike" nutrition.  It has served me very well in the past, and I've come to trust it for all day long energy.  I just have to have access to fresh water along the way to keep the concoction from souring in the bottle.  Nobody wants that!!

So, what were my expectations for the weekend.  Well, I knew that I had reached my peak fitness in the middle of July which was supposed to be my biggest ride event planned.  The Tour to Tanglewood, while not an afterthought, was not at the forefront of my mind when it came to training.  Plus, I wasn't even sure that I would be participating in it with a heavy load of long distance rides already on my plate.  However, since you are reading this, you know that I did choose to attend, and since distance is my thing, it was for the 100 mile routes each day.  My training average for centuries has been around 19 mph give or take, with faster ones happening on flatter terrain out toward the coast.  Since my fastest century in 2013 was at Tanglewood (18.1), I did expect to see a slight increase in my speed over my average training speed.  Honestly, I was expecting to see about 19.5 for the weekend, with maybe a 20 average on Saturday, and a slower, recovery average of 19 on Sunday.  The goal was going to be to do Saturday solo, and Sunday, was going to be played by ear.

Saturday, Sept 19th

The morning started out early enough, just like a work day.  Toni and I woke up shortly after 4 and got things ready to roll since I had to be there at 7 for team pictures.  Needless to say, we were at Tanglewood well before daylight appeared.  As has become my tradition on a bike ride, I finished getting dressed at the back of the truck before getting the bike out and put together.

I was feeling pretty good after some rest days with a light spin on the trainer a couple of nights before.  I wasn't sure what the day would bring, but I knew the route, and knew that I could knock out a pretty good pace on it.  I loaded up my jersey pockets with a Cliff Bar, a Gel, and two Ziploc bags of Hammer Perpetuem.  I've fine tuned my nutrition for centuries and I know pretty much what I will need, and always pack just a tad bit more, just in case.  I also stuck the route sheet in my pocket, on the off chance I got off course at some point.  With my air pump added in, I was all loaded up and ready to roll.

Now it was time to get the bike put together.  By that, I mean, putting the front wheel on after removing the bike from the cleat in the truck.  I also make sure that I have both my front and rear lights attached, as well as my Garmin.  Remember, if the ride doesn't record, it didn't happen.  This was going to be my 13th century for the year, and I wanted to make sure that it recorded.  Not only that, but I was really looking for my strongest solo century to date...at least based on my history with this course.

After getting everything ready, it was time to get to the infield for team pictures.  The Kernersville Cycling Club was scheduled for 7:10, which was cutting it kind of close for the 7:30 roll out time for the century riders.  I wanted

to make sure that I was up front for the start.  Not because I wanted to make any statement, but because I have found that getting out first makes for a less stressful start for me since I have a better chance of not knocking anyone over with my unsteady starts.

The team pictures were a little behind schedule, but we got in and out pretty quickly.  There were only five of us with the team, so there wasn't much to getting us organized.  There are always three pictures done, one with a banner, one serious one, and then a final fun one.  Since Toni was there (and technically a member of the KCC), she decided to photobomb the last shot.  That will always be a fun memory for me from this year's tour.  With that, we were done with the pictures and Toni and I hot footed it back to the start line.  It was time to ditch the sneakers and put on the riding shoes, which just aren't designed for walking at all.  Thanks to Toni, I knew that my shoes would be secured and ready upon my return.

Just as I had planned, I placed myself at the head of the line.  Ever since "A Ride to Remember", I have had the best luck with this placement, and it makes me so much more relaxed for the first few pedal strokes.  The other century cyclists started to arrive as I was getting the Garmin turned on, sensors paired, and the live track started.  The live track is a wonderful little feature with my Garmin which allows my GPS signal to travel through my phone to Garmin's website.  With this, I can provide a link so that whomever I choose can track my progress.  Toni, of course, got a direct link so that she could see where I was on course at any time.  I also sent a link to Facebook so that pretty much anyone could follow my progress.

I spent a few minutes chatting with some of the other riders nearby.  I knew of a good many of them through Facebook, but was just finally getting a chance to meet them in person.  That is part of the fun of rides like this.  There are always a lot of like minded folks that get together for a common reason.  My plan, of course, was to let everyone ride their rides as they chose to do while I rode my own ride.  It was ambitious, but I was wanting to do today's ride solo, while leaving enough energy to repeat the mileage again on Sunday.

I'm in the center with the headlight

At 7:30, the morning announcements and safety statements were done and we were on our way.  There wasn't much fanfare for this group, as that was reserved for the bulk of the riders leaving 30 minutes later.  It was still kind of dark considering I was looking through my sunglasses.  I did my normal little ring warm up start and just easy pedaled out of the park.  I was expecting to get passed, by a good chunk of the riders to the rear, but they never did.  The first direction sign that I came to was a left turn.  I signaled my left turn, but became confused because the sign was a short distance beyond the road to the left.  Add to that, I heard a voice yell behind me that we should be going straight here (which was what I had thought from previous years).  I corrected myself, and continued on straight.  Here I was, still in the park, and already getting confusing directions.  This did not bode well at all, but I didn't let it bother me.  I just continued on with my warm up routine which would last for a total of 10 miles.

In just a couple of miles outside of the park, I got passed by several groups, which I expected.  I wasn't putting out much wattage, and even on the descents, I was running out of gears and had to coast.  I wasn't worried at all, because I was going to ride my own ride.  I also looked down and saw that I was already averaging between 19-20 mph which was faster than my typical warm up.  I just needed to be careful not to overcook the first half of the century causing a major slowdown for the second half (not to mention the follow up century tomorrow).

At some point, after my warm up, I found myself passing other cyclists as well as other groups.  This has become my standard beginning for these rides, and something that I have come to expect.  I don't recall exactly when, but still very early in the ride, I happened to catch a shadow of a rider behind me.  I tried to push a little to see if I could pull away, but everything that I was doing, he was able to match, so I backed down to my cruising speed to maintain my energy reserves.  I could see that there was a line of cyclists behind me at this point.  They were making no effort to get around me, and I wasn't feeling crowded at all, so I just decided to go with it.

I happened upon a realization at this point.  As long as I was in front, I was still achieving my solo ride, so I decided not to fight it.  If they chose to go around me, I would let them, and then drop myself behind.  I had my game plan, and just settled into my cruising rhythm.  I've learned throughout the year how to actively recover from intense efforts, and I have figured out how to incorporate that into my longer rides.  There were times that I would ease up, and allow my legs to rest, and then would start putting the pressure back on again.  Through all of this, I never once disrupted the flow behind me.  In fact, I found out that there was a train of about 30 behind me...THIRTY!!!!!  Holy cow, I was leading a full on train and responsible for their pace.  If they did decide to move around me, it would take a long time to fall back in all of that.  That fueled me a little more and I stepped things up to make sure that I maintained a good pace to keep me where I was.

Then it happened, I was passed by the rider behind me.  I was starting to get tired, so I went along with it.  it was just one rider, and I was still up front.  After I rested for a bit, I would move back into my place at the front.  I settled into watching the wheel in front of me, since I'm not the most proficient in a draft position.  I don't think a mile had passed, and I heard a voice far in the rear talking about a missed turn.  I could hear bikes slowing behind, and several were bunching up around me.  I confirmed that a turn had been missed, and we were turning around.  As it turned out, a sign had been removed, but apparently somebody was more familiar with the route than I was, and caught it as we were passing the turn.  The missed turn wasn't too much of a concern, but now I had gone from being in the number two slot to being dead last.  This was not acceptable, I had invested a lot of time at the front, and didn't want to give it up just yet.  Once we got on the right road, I went ahead and committed to passing everyone and getting back up front.  It was a lot of effort that wasn't necessary, but I wanted to make it happen.  I'm young and dumb sometimes, but I have fun.

I was back in the lead again, and decided that I was going to stay here and set the pace as long as they would allow it.  I could hear several riders behind me volunteering me to lead the whole day.  Little did they know, that was the plan in my head.  I tell you what though, it was working out very well.  I was looking at an average speed of 20.3 already.  I knew that there were a good amount of rollers at the end that would subtract from that speed,but I was well in the range where I wanted to be at this point, and I was having a blast.

As we came to Lake Thom-a-Lex, at approximately 50 miles, I was told that the group was going to be stopping.  My initial plan was to stop here as well since I was planning on being out of Perpetuem, and possibly needing more water.  Due to the pace and intensity that I had been going, I had not consumed much liquid at all.  In fact, I still had about 2/3 of my Perpetuem, and a full bottle of water in reserve.  Here was my chance to break away from the group, and get some recovery time for my legs.  I let them know that I was going to continue on for about another hour or so before I needed to refill my supplies.

I was now on my own, the way I train.  My pace relaxed a little bit and I started to revamp my rest stop plans.  My initial plan was to stop at 50 and again at 80 miles, but now, I was going to try for one around 70 or so.  I was having a great time, and I was doing the course substantially quicker than I had done before.  When my bonus loop rejoined the main route, I started to find other riders ahead of me.  Now it was time to play my little game when I see a rider off in the distance.  I work harder in order to overtake them.  It's kind of like an interval program in a way.  On longer rides, it helps take my mind off my own pain, and motivates me to keep the pressure on the pedals.

At 68 miles, I found a rest stop, and it happened to be one of the smaller ones.  This would be nearly perfect for me!  I pulled in and went straight for the water coolers.  I emptied out the last sip of Perpetuem and filled the bottle with a fresh batch of powder and water.  My water bottle with electrolytes was actually in good shape so I didn't refill that.  I figured that worse case scenario, I could stop at the last rest stop if I needed more water.  Before I set off again, I downed a gel for a quick boost in calories and a little caffeine.

It wasn't until I got home and looked at the Strava data for the multiple riders, that I found this bit of information.  It was while I was at this rest stop, that the group that I had been leading for nearly 30 some miles earlier in the day passed me by.  I didn't even see them when they went by.  The couldn't have been far behind me since I was at the stop for only a few minutes.  I didn't take any time to rest before getting back on the road after replenishing my bottle.

The last 22 miles went about like I was used to.  My fatigue levels were building up.  When you add in the final loop takes you past the same rest stop twice, and follows the same route to the entrance to Tanglewood, it tends to wear on you.  There were also some sizable rollers in the bonus loop that have always slowed

me down.  It is a total grind to get through this last section.  To make matters worse, I saw a rider off in the distance.  He was going substantially slower than me, which was good.  The bad part was, a car had just passed me and was approaching him.  As they got to a hill, the car tucked in behind the rider and refused to pass.  I caught up to the pair of them, and had to downshift and soft pedal to match the speed.  As we crested, the speeds rose slightly, but the car still didn't pass.  The next hill was the same, and there was plenty of room for the car to pass.  I wasn't sure what was going on, but it was driving me absolutely nuts.  By the third hill, I had been in that situation long enough.  I could see that I was clear to pass, the car was making no effort to move over, so I shifted up, and moved wide into the opposite lane, watching the car very closely.  I sprinted up the hill to get ahead of the car and the other rider.  Dangerous, I know.  Stupid, maybe, but I have to say, it was a little fun in a way too.  I was in the open again, but that delay cost me a couple of tenths in my average speed.  Oh well, there was nothing that I could do about that now, and I was about 13 miles from the finish.  At least my water and Perpetuem were holding out well.  I wasn't going to have to stop again before I finished.

The rest of the ride felt like it took forever, mainly because I had just been down these roads.  That is the one part of the Saturday route that I really don't like.  Deja vu is not something that anyone riding a 100 miles wants to experience in the last 10th of the ride.  Your mind is already being played with enough at this point.

It was right around 1:00 or so when I arrived back at the park.  There was Toni waiting on me at the finish line.  I always like seeing her face when I am done with event rides.  It makes it a much better experience overall sharing it with her.  Today was worth celebrating too, I had finished the ride with a moving average of 19.6 mph.  While not my fastest century, it was my fastest solo century to date, and I bested my time from 2013, by 1.5 mph.

I was hurting though.  The tempo that I had carried for the first segment had taken its toll on my legs.  Much like my first appearance in 2011, I was having knee issues.  My right knee was a little tender and I was having a hard time walking without a limp.  I had done my record breaking century, but now I was worried at what cost.  I still had another century to ride tomorrow, and it was in uncharted territory.  I was committed to riding the century for Sunday, but I was starting to worry about how much it was going to hurt me to make that happen.

In order to make sure I had the best chance for a follow up success story, I went straight to the truck and started stretching out my muscles.  I had prepared for this recovery routine with a protein bar with 30g of protein since making a shake or having my yogurt wasn't much of an option with the heat.  I tell you what, protein bars are hard to eat when you are tired, and your mouth is dry.  They are very dense, and don't always taste the best.  This was not for enjoyment though, I was eating it to speed up my recovery.  I needed to be in good form for tomorrow.

An interesting thing happened while I was doing my after ride routine that is worth mentioning.  I had realized that the group that I had lead for a while this morning had gotten back a little before I had.  A few of them saw me crossing the finish line and complemented me on my pace setting earlier.  One of the riders had followed me to my truck and wanted to thank me personally for what I had done.  I wasn't really sure what to say except for thank you.  I had not really set out to do anything special in a group setting, and felt that I was only with them for a little bit of time anyway.  They had finished at an average speed of 20.2 mph which was great.  The biggest compliment that I was paid though, was when I was told that I had been one of the smoothest leaders he had been with in a paceline.  Considering I can count my group ride experiences on two hands, that was a pretty tall compliment.

After Toni and I spent a few minutes in the infield, it was time to head home and get things ready for Sunday.  I did a quick clean on the bike and inspected it.  Everything was in top shape and it was loaded back in the truck.  I spread out my gloves, and headband in order to get them to dry before Sunday, and got a new jersey ready before getting a shower and relaxing for a bit.

Knowing that I had burned a lot of calories through the day, and had depleted my glycogen stores, I needed to boost my carbs, and get some calories back in me.  Looking back on "A Ride to Remember," I knew the secret recipe to accomplish this.  It was time for the carb platter special at Cracker Barrel.  For those who don't know, that consists of chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, with a side of broccoli and and a house salad....with biscuits.  Yeah, it sounds horrible, but at these times, it tastes so good, and will fuel my body right back up again.

Garmin Data for Day 1


Sunday, Sept 20th

When I woke up, only slightly later than the morning before, I found myself full of questions about the day.  My leg still hurt, and felt very week to walk on.  It wasn't nearly as bad as my first year at Tanglewood, but it was worse than I would normally tolerate for a century ride.  Would I be able to ride 100 miles on the knee?  One way or the other, the answer was going to be a yes.  This was going to be century number 14 for me, and that was impressive for a yearly count.  In order to do this century, I knew I would have to take it easy on my knee, and that meant either slowing way down, or riding with a group.  Shortly after getting home the day before, I had gotten a message from Travis Mann inviting me to roll out with them at about 7am on Sunday for the century.  I was a little concerned that they were intending on keeping the same pace as they had on Saturday, so I was sure to respond that I was going to be at a much reduced pace to see what the reaction was.  That didn't seem to put him off, but I didn't get a clear idea of their pace expectations.  I decided to leave it up to chance.  If I got there in time, and it all worked out, I would ride with them.  If not, I would either ride solo, or ride with Stu who I had ridden with the last couple of Sunday's at Tanglewood.  Whatever the solution, I was going to take it easy on my knee, knowing if I didn't, I might not be able to finish the course.

I had other questions dealing with the route because I could see that much of it had been changed from the last year I rode.  Not only was the mileage now 100 miles instead of 64, the area we were riding in seemed to have shifted South a good bit.  I was familiar with many of the roads, but there were a lot of them I was not.  According to the Map My Ride route description, this route had more climbing than Saturday's.  That caught my attention a little bit, because there was already a great deal of climbing for a century route yesterday, and today was looking to be harder.  I was just going to have to slow down and ride my ride.

It didn't take long to get ready and get the last items loaded into the truck again.  Toni and I had it down to a science after yesterday.  We left just a few minutes later than we had the day before, and got to the park well before 7am.  It looked like I was early enough to keep my options open about how I was going to ride this route.  I was moving slower than yesterday, and didn't quite have the pep in my step.  I was worried about my knee, and I didn't like that.  It has been a very long time since I've had to nurse an injury while riding.

The morning went pretty much like it had the day before.  I mixed my Perpetuem concoction fresh so that it would have a longer functional shelf life in the bottle while riding.  With the cooler temperatures, I was expecting about three hours before it would sour and be unfit to drink.

My food options were similar overall, but I packed a little bit more since I was expecting a slower pace, with quite possibly more rest stops.  In addition to my three servings of Perpetuem, I brought along two Cliff Bars, and an emergency gel.  I also carried a tube of electrolytes as I did the day before so I could make new water at any time.  I was pretty sure I was over prepared for my nutritional needs.  I knew that my glycogen stores were in good shape thanks to the previous night's dinner of carbs on a platter.

I went ahead and got dressed for the ride, and got the bike prepped before removing it from the truck.  Once freed from the cleat, I knew that I would be moving to the start line and there would be no turning back.  I still wasn't sure how I would be riding the day, and I was pretty sure that I wouldn't have my answer until I talked with Travis and found out just what his plans were.  I'm just not a fan of reacting to others, but I didn't see much way around it unfortunately.

Apparently, while I was deep in thought Toni thought that it would be a funny to catch a picture of me.  I'm not quite sure about that look on my face, but I can tell that there is either a lot going on inside of that head, or absolutely nothing at all.

With the bike pulled out of the truck, we made the wet and grassy stroll to the starting line where I appeared to be the first one there.  It was just a little before 7, and I wondered if I had missed everyone, or they were just very punctual.  As I was thinking that, they started to flow in.  Before I could even say anything, they were asking me what pace we were going to be riding at.  Well, I was going to leave that up to them, but since they asked, I figured I would be honest with them.  I let them know that my knee wasn't doing all that great and I was expecting a slower pace of around 18 or so for today.  I don't think that they viewed that as slow, and didn't seem put off at all by the estimate.  That was a good sign, and I figured that if they were good with that pace, then I could ride with them.  Just to be sure though, I let them know right up front that I planned on attaching myself by bungee to a seatpost and being pulled around all day.  That didn't seem to be a agreeable condition, so I knew that I was going to have to do my share of the pulling...I just hoped it wasn't that much.

Since Sunday was a very low key day, there were no photographers at the start line just yet.  Fortunately though, Toni was right there and was more than willing to snap a few pictures.  After waiting for Keith to show up we were all ready.  There would be seven of us rolling out about 15 minutes before the official start time.  I didn't mind because I didn't want to be out in the heat of the day any longer than necessary, and I was already ready to go home.  We formed up for a quick group picture, and Mark kept moving directly behind me.  I would move out of the way so I didn't block him in the picture.  He then told me that he wanted the picture done exactly the way he intended to ride for the day...behind me.  Didn't he get the memo that I wasn't quite 100% today?  There were more jokes passed around that I was going to lead for the day. I laughed, but in my head there was a constant chorus of "No no boo boo."

With the pictures done, we made our own start announcement....well Travis did.  He said that it was still dark and he didn't have a headlight on his bike.  I looked around and took stock, only to realize that I was the only one with a headlight.  I recognize this situation from work, that means I just got volunteered to do something that nobody else wanted to do.  Damn me for being prepared!  Oh well, I looked at it as a positive thing.  I was assured of setting a pace that I could live with if I was in front, and I would be able to get my little ring warm up done much easier if I was out front.  Regardless of the reason, I was out front going through the park.

I kept the early spins nice and easy to get my legs used to doing work again while not tapping into my energy reserves.  Our speeds were conservative, but were on the rise.  There were no negative comments from the other six so I took that as we were all happy with the pace.  I decided that I would keep this up for the first 10 miles, or until I felt warmed up, and then we would start the paceline rotation.

In that 10 miles, my leg started to feel better, but I knew that it was just from the familiar movement and not a miracle healing.  I also noticed that my butt was not feeling all that comfortable in the saddle.  I had expected this.  My race saddle was not really designed for long miles, although I use it for just that.  After a century, I am used to tenderness in my sitting area, and I was feeling that today.  It was not unfamiliar ground, but I was not looking forward to a long day of sitting in the saddle.  This was the start of a day long argument that I would have with myself.

My butt hurts, I should pedal faster to get done quicker.

My leg hurts, I need to slow down and rest it.

My butt hurts, pedal faster!

My leg hurts, slow down and stand up.

That feels better, but this is too slow.

Now I'm sitting wrong, and now my leg AND butt hurt.

How many more miles?

CRAP!

Yeah, this was the conversation going on for pretty much 5 hours straight.  I'm pretty sure that it was all internal conversation, but I can't be sure.  Anyway, 10 miles passed under our 14 tires and I shifted smoothly into the big ring.  Now it was time to see what kind of stress my knee would withstand.  Surprisingly, it felt pretty good overall.  However, I wasn't going to be a hero today, and I gave a pat to my rear and moved out to the left, signalling a change in the front man.  I was going to retire to the rear.

"What!?!?! only 10 miles?  Get back up there!" was the voice I heard as I was pulling to the rear.  Nope, I was sharing the fun today, so I responded that 10 mile pulls would be the standard.  There were no more comments.  I smiled, we were working together and having fun doing it.  If I recall correctly, we were in the mid 18 mph range at this point, and I thought that was outstanding for a "recovery" century.  We kept the progress moving forward, and the average maintained in the strong 18 range as we went.  Some pulled and had nothing but climbs, while others seemed to only have descents.  It became a point of comedy at times, and that helped to pass the time.

At about mile 36 or so, it was my turn to get back in front.  I was still feeling pretty good, and since I was being told that the plan was to stop at the rest stop around mile 46, I decided to myself that I would just stay out front till then.  It was around 10 miles, and I had joked that would be the standard.  After about 26 miles of "resting" in the pack, my heart rate had been between zone 1 and zone 2 for most of the time.  Now that I was back in front, I was up in zone 3 and 4 maintaining a comparable pace.  That is what working in a paceline can do for a rider.  It was fine with me though...at least after I got used to the added workload.  Strange thing about coming back up to the front, it takes the body a minute or two to rise to the physical demands of just maintaining the same pace out front.  This is the zone where I am used to working though, and it is very familiar to me, and almost comforting.

The miles kicked by without any major hiccups.  There were a few dogs, but none that directly threatened the group.  There were some hills, but none that really broke us up.  It was just a nice Sunday cruise.  Speaking of Sunday, I did hear from one of the guys that it was, in fact, a Sunday ride.  I took that to mean the pace was a little steep.  I gladly backed it down a smidge, while at the same time patting myself on the back for being able to achieve that pace with a bum leg.  At mile 46, I had been out front for my 10 miles, but there was no rest stop.  Figuring that it wasn't too far away, I stayed out front so we didn't have to change any dynamics of the line with only a short distance left to go.

At 48 miles, we found the rest stop...well, to be honest, we blew past the rest stop.  It seemed that about half of the stops on the different routes had hidden driveways which you would pass before you would see the actual rest stop.  This was one of those, and I blew right past it.  Well, everybody makes mistakes occasionally, and this one wasn't too bad.  We got turned around, and went in to replenish our supplies.

While I was refreshing my Perpetuem bottle, I happened to look over at the bike shop tent.  To my surprise, we had happened on the rest stop supported by Paul's Cycling.  That was a nice stroke of luck as normally they have the first rest stop in Lewisville, just 10 miles after the start and one that I bypass each year.  I was so happy to see them as it has been a long time since I've needed to be at the shop.  We caught up quickly, and Dennis asked if I would mind posing for a picture with them since they hadn't had much "business" as of yet.  I let him know about my appearance fee, and he let me know about the charge for taking the picture with them.  We decided to call it even and we went ahead and posed.  These guys have been very instrumental in my time as a cyclist, and I'm always happy to help them out wherever I can.

With the picture out of the way, it was time to get back on the bikes and settle in on the last half of today's century.  As we were pulling out, I heard this statement...."What has Greg done for us in the last 5 minutes?"  Oh yeah, that reminded me, I was scheduled to take up position at the back of the pack after my last pull.  So with a definitive "nothing" I tucked in at the tail.  The break had done my legs well, and I was still feeling pretty good.  Our average was in the upper 18 mph range and I thought that was really great.  I had visions of seeing a 19 mph average for the day, but I knew that was going to be a long shot.

We rotated through the paceline and as we came to Lone Hickory Rd, Keith found his way to the front and I was in the number two slot.  He set a very brisk pace, and we really started making progress.  Through this year, I have become very familiar with this road as it is part of two of my century routes, and I was on it for the Tour of Farmington, just a couple of weeks before.  I knew that with the right wind conditions, this was a fast road, and a nice long stretch with very little climbing.  We were making great time, but I could tell that Keith was in the red for most of it.  The miles ticked by, and he didn't break stride for anything.  Honestly, I was very impressed with him, not only for the time he was sitting out front, but for the pace that he set.  Several times, I offered to take the pole, but he declined each time.  I just sat back and watched him work while staying right on his wheel.  We turned up Watkins Rd which was a long steady climb.  Keith was still mashing the pedals and wasn't easing up at all.  I remember hearing him say that it was in poor form to pull off the front on a climb, which let me know that he was ready to relinquish his lead.  I had lost track of the miles, but it had been at least 10 miles, if not more.  Once we got off of the climb and onto the next road, Keith pulled off and took a well deserved rest at the rear leaving me up front again.

We were in familiar territory for me, and were on part of the metric century course from Tours of past years.  There was only about another 5 miles or so before the next rest stop, and I had no problem staying out front until that time.  When we got there, I asked if anyone wanted to stop, since we were about at mile 80.  I got confirmation that we were going to stop, which worked out for me.  I was needing a little bit of a break at this point.  I finished my electrolyte water and got that bottle refilled with a fresh tablet in it.  My Perpetuem was still in decent shape so I left that bottle half full.  To boost my caloric intake a bit, I went ahead and ate a Cliff Bar which would reduce my dependence on the Perpetuem.  We got ready to head back out again, and there was a little bit of question about who was going to lead us out.  I decided that since I hadn't been out front for very long on this stretch, I would go ahead and get us rolling again.  I stayed out front for a few more miles and then retired to the rear.

This was the section where the hills really started in earnest.  There were some zippy descents, followed by some long grinds back up.  We started to break up a little bit on these, and eventually, we lost Keith who had said that he was just not recovering from his lengthy pull from earlier.  He was reaching the end of his rope, and needed to back down.  that left us with only six in the line.  We continued up and down, and up and down.  I found myself thanking my rides on Brinkley Rd around the house which taught me to stand and pedal efficiently in a climb.  I was standing more than I ever had in the past.  I just didn't have the energy to climb seated any more, but standing gave me a second wind.

At some point, it was asked why nobody was talking anymore.  The answer came right to me...."because we are freaking tired!"....but the thought stayed in my head.  Long after the fact, I realized that what I should have responded with was...."99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer..."  Yeah, that would have gone over well.  We were all getting a little punchy as we were nearing 200 miles for the weekend.

In typical Tour to Tanglewood fashion, the creative juices dried up at the end of the century rout planning.  Much like yesterday, the last portion of the route loops past the finish, and rejoins the route from earlier.  To make matters worse, two of the harder climbs had to be repeated.  Yeah, that was a popular choice among us cyclists.  We even passed by the same last rest stop, just like yesterday.  Out of all the road choices, it escapes us as to why they do that, but that was the route, and follow the route we would.

The paceline was rotating pretty quickly now between being short one person, and the cumulative fatigue setting in.  Everyone was still pulling their share, but the shares were getting shorter and shorter.  Based on my estimations, I wasn't going to have to be out front again after my last pull, however, my estimations were apparently far off.  With about 8-10 miles to go, I found myself back in front again.  Just think, I started the day off thinking that I would just sit in, and not do much pulling.  Here I was, with a bum knee, starting us out, doing a couple pulls along the way, and now I was set up to pull us into the finish.  Oh well, I decided that I was fine with that.  It would be nice for Toni to see me come in the same way I left nearly 6 hours ago...out front.

We had been steadily building our pace in the last 20 miles, and I actually thought that a 19 mph average was going to be possible.  We were at 18.9 when I moved out front and I wanted to try and push us to an even 19 if possible.  I kept the pace that had been set before me, and pushed as hard as the line would allow trying to get everyone in at the higher pace.  There had been no discussion about it, but I suspected that everyone was hoping for that.

With just a few miles left to go, Mark came around me and said that I was working too hard as he pulled in the front.  I appreciated the gesture, as he was the one who had insisted on positioning himself directly on my wheel for the morning picture stating that he planned on staying behind me all day.  Yeah, I really appreciated what he was trying for with the move.  However, I had already decided that based on the luck of the draw I wanted to lead us into the park, and since Toni would be there with the camera, I should be able to.  Yeah, it was a cheesy reason, but I felt that I had earned that in a way.

We were sprinting down the road, in the inside travel lane just in sight of the park entrance.  We were done...all finished.  The only problem was there were two road skaters in the road that would reach the entrance at the same time we would.  If we maintained our pace, we would be on top of each other turning in.  I slowed and announced our presence, my plan being to wait until the turn was executed before we made the pass for the final approach.  As I slowed, the paceline went past me and went for the turn.  I was expecting something really bad to happen as bodies and bikes collided, but fortunately the skaters recognized what was going on and turned in quickly, leaving the lane open for the cyclists.  They muttered some less than polite things (although completely warranted) as I overtook them on the straightaway.  I really felt bad about how that had gone down, and had been happy to slow down to let them turn in first.

Good or bad, it was over, and I was now playing catch up with the group.  As they were on the final approach they had slowed and were waiting on me.  They made sure that I was up front, and I suggested that we all cross at the same time which we did.  Well, all but two of us which had been lost along the way.

It had been another year of the Tour to Tanglewood, and each year holds different stories.  This one had a much different feeling than ones in the past.  Maybe it was because I hadn't been preparing for it all year as in the past.  Maybe it was because I was looking at it more as a riding event than a fundraising event.  Maybe it was the seriousness of doing back to back centuries.  I just don't know, but this one was different in just about all respects.  I was happy with how things turned out, and I had completed two very strong rides.  My solo 19.6 from yesterday was followed up with an even 19.0 mph for the recovery century.  Those were, by far, my best times ever, on any route at Tanglewood.  I was proud of myself, and at the same time, a little ashamed for how the last few yards of the day had gone.  Since I was in the lead, I felt responsible for what had happened to the skaters.  I'm just glad that nobody had gotten hurt.  Overall though, I think that the weekend went great, and I accomplished everything that I had set out to do.  My overall average speed for the weekend wasn't quite 19.5 mph like I had wanted, but, it was a strong 19.xx average which was pretty darn good!

Garmin Data For Day 2

Still in formation after passing through the finish.

Ahh, the sweet taste of the last of my water

Toni was so nice, she even had my shoes ready for me

I was using my bike as a walker to get to the truck

My mandatory after ride stretches helped my knee a little bit

Protein bars suck!  That is all.

2015 Tour of Farmington: Second Chances

It took three years, but I finally made it!  Why did it take so long to do this ride you ask?  The short answer is, I'm a weather weenie for all but the most important rides, and even then, I tend to whine a lot.  You see, today's ride actually started in late 2012, when I signed up for the ride after feeling stoked at the completion of the Tour to Tanglewood a few days before.  Having ridden a solid century, followed by a metric century, I felt that this ride (63 miles) wouldn't be too much to ask from my legs.  The registration fee wasn't outlandish, so I went ahead and signed up.  There was about a week to go before the actual event and I was getting excited about the ride.  What I hadn't considered was the weather.

That morning, I got up and had my gear ready to roll out, but looked outside and saw that it was rather wet.  I looked at the forecast and it showed rain pretty much all day long.  Hmmmmm, A couple of weeks before, I had ridden 65 miles in a steady rain at the Tour to Tanglewood, and quite frankly had my fill of that experience.  I briefly considered going to the Tour of Farmington because, lets face it, I had paid for it.  But thinking about all the cleanup that would be needed on the bike after riding in the rain, I opted against it.  Like I said, "Weather Weenie."  And yes, I did whine through the 65 miles at Tanglewood.  Well, I wasn't riding the Farmington ride as I was expecting to, but I didn't want to let myself off that easy, so I went with plan B.

Plan B was a "B"oring ride on the "B"rand new trainer, that made me "B"itch more than riding in the rain would have.  This was my first attempt at riding on a trainer, and I wasn't a fan of it.  I always felt bad that I backed out of riding the Farmington ride, especially when I saw pictures of the "real cyclists" who had gone out and ridden in the rain.  Yeah, I was a weather weenie.

When 2013 came around, I didn't really give Farmington much thought because my emphasis had been on doing century rides, or major climbing events.  A metric century just felt like a letdown with all the other rides that I had planned.  I really didn't give it much thought after that.  Since I wasn't riding for most of 2014, I hadn't really considered it until right at the last minute when I thought I would try it.  That thought was short lived since I crashed out and found myself without a road worthy bike at the beginning of September.

When 2015 rolled around, I had big plans once again, and I was focusing on the ultra endurance events yet again.  After I rode in the Ride to Remember in July, I was pretty much done for the year.  Well, I thought that I was.  I ended up realizing that there was a lot of riding weather left in the year and decided to do the Tour to Tanglewood again for my 4th year.  As I was ramping up training for two century rides, I happened to see a advertisement for the Tour of Farmington.  There were four different route options, with the longest being 63 miles once again.  It wasn't a full century, it wasn't in the mountains, but there was that twinge of guilt for the fact that I had missed it in '12 because I wussed out.  2015 was about second chances on the bike, so I figured that with it being a week before Tanglewood, it would make for a great training ride.  I went ahead and signed up for it, for the second time.

As we got closer to the day, I was looking at the weather.  The temperature was going to be perfect for riding, in the lower to mid 70's.  The wind was looking rather docile as well.  The only catch...rain.  Yep, thunderstorm chances throughout the day, but it didn't look too bad.  I cautiously told myself that I would be riding this year.  The night before, it was looking like we would be good until about 11am when the chances were around 51%.  Other than that, they were hovering in the low 40% range.  It was going to be iffy, but I was going to try it.  When I woke up this morning, I checked the weather first, before even getting out of bed.  Now we were looking at 45-58% chance for storms starting at 6am, well before the actual start of the ride.  It was looking like I was going to get wet today.

I rolled back over in the bed and thought about how comfortable it was, and how nice the fan felt.  I think I'll just sit this one out...

Again....

What?  AGAIN?!?!?!

What was I thinking?

Was I going to let the weather make me feel less like a cyclist once again. Negative!  I got out of the bed, and decided that it was going to be what it was going to be, but I was going to be on the bike.  I got everything ready and loaded in the truck before Toni got home from work.  I got to see her briefly before she went to bed, and I headed out to Mocksville.  It was cloudy, but nothing was falling from the sky at least.

I got there plenty early because I didn't know what parking would be like, or how long registration would take.  As luck would have it, I got the perfect parking space between a fence and a mound of dirt so I didn't have to worry about anyone parking next to me.  Registration took 2 minutes, 25 seconds...I counted.  I really didn't count, but I was in and out in no time.  That left me with about an hour to sit and chill out.  There was no reason to get the bike off of the truck that early, so I just watched as cars steadily came in and spandex clad cyclists moved around getting coffee, and breakfast.

Drip

Drip

What was that?

Drip drip

Oh no, I haven't even unloaded yet and its starting to rain.  Not much, but just a slight drizzle.  Edmond, the cyclist getting ready nearby, looked up and said something to effect of, "uh oh, I think I felt something."  Yep, it was raining.  I had an immediate flashback to the Carolina Century ride from 2013 which I should have ridden in a canoe for.  By the way, this is a funny read, and I was already reliving the experience in my head.  But I was here, the bike was going to get wet if the rain came at this point, so I went ahead and started getting things ready.

To show you how early I had gotten there, they were handing out numbers on a first come, first served basis.  By my early morning estimations, there had been (counts on fingers) just five riders in before me.  It was kind of cool having a single digit bib number.  At least it made it easy to remember.  It didn't take long to get dressed, and I was happy to find that I had remembered everything that I needed.  I always stress that part for some reason, and see myself pedaling without shoes.  I moved up to the start line, and utilized the little trick that I had learned at Ride to Remember...get up front, its easier to start.  There was going to be a staggered start with each mile group being separated to keep the start from getting too bunched up.  It wasn't until recently that I learned just how nice that procedure makes the first few miles.  Many thanks to the organizers for doing it this way.

I wasn't sure what kind of riders would be doing this route, and didn't know if I was going to have my doors blown off, or if everyone would treat it like a casual ride.  I had done a little research on Strava, looking at the course layout and getting an idea of the climbing involved.  In that research, I had seen speeds in the 18's and 19's, so I knew I would be in good company with similar riders to myself.  The question came as to whether or not I would ride this one solo, or if I would attach to a group and share the workload.  This seems to be the major question that I deal with on these event rides.  This one was pretty easy to determine though since it was just a metric century.  I felt confident enough in my abilities to handle this one solo which would ensure I would have a more enjoyable ride, and a safer one as well.

Is it just me, or is my head the biggest thing in this picture?

There were the typical morning announcements.  Safety was emphasized, which is always a good thing.  There was also the mention that there was some "broken pavement" on one of the roads.  I wasn't quite sure what this meant, but figured that it just meant that the pavement had buckled a little bit and was a significant bump.  I filed it in my head for reference when we got to that portion of the ride.  And just like that, it was time to clip in and ride.

I pulled out with the lead group that quickly got into position in front of me, and more passed me.  Remember, I like warming up in the little ring for the first 10 miles or so, and that kept me a bit slower than the rest.  At first, I wanted to give chase and secure my position in the front, but decided that I would be much better off just letting them drop me and let me ride my ride wherever I ended up in the line.  I was instantly calm, not caring where anyone was around me.  This was going to be a great ride, and the rain had stopped before even making the roads wet.

I'm in the yellow jersey centered between the two lead riders

Within the first five miles or so, I was passed by a group on a slight downhill (I had topped out gearing and was coasting).  As we came to the inevitable uphill portion, I saw that I was gaining on them.  The closer I got, the more I realized that I wasn't going to be able to pass them and stay in front for long, so I just hung back well behind the line (don't want to be labeled as a wheel sucker).  My heart rate was getting into sleeping territory, and to make matters worse, the lead rider was coming off line and going back to the rear.  My presence was confusing to him as he appeared to want to fall in behind me, but was concerned with the gap.  I told him to slide in, I was riding "my own ride" today.  With that, he moved in to the last spot of the line, and I made my decision that it was time to make my move.  I checked to the rear, and moved to the left of the lane.  I went ahead and spun up the pedals and moved around them, and continued with the "sprint" in order to not disrupt their flow by them trying to grab onto my wheel.

When I had created a large enough gap, I backed down a little bit and went back to my warm up.  There were a couple of riders which had been dropped that I came up to and passed which caused me to get a bit of adrenaline pumping in my veins.  At 10 miles, I moved into the big ring, and settled into my cruising cadence.  At about 15 miles in, I had moved past all but a handful of riders and was still increasing my average speed.  

At some point in this section, I found out what Garry was talking about when he said to watch out for the "broken pavement."  I saw the warning sign on the side of the road and began to slow down, which was not all that easy since it was on a slight descent.  I was expecting a rough patch in the road, but what I saw was not that.  There was a full section width of road missing, and about three feet wide.  There was no way to go around, no point where there would be less of a "bump", it was just missing pavement.  I grabbed the brakes, and slowed to about 15 mph, stood in the saddle and hoped for the best.  It was a rough crossing, but wasn't as bad as it looked like it was going to be.  Note to self...broken pavement is a bad thing, and should be avoided.

By 20 miles, I had found another group up ahead and found myself struggling to catch them.  In fact, I lost sight of them within minutes of spotting them in the distance.  We were on one of the few flat roads on the route, and it was into the wind.  That was where pacelines shine, and I was feeling the effects of pulling 100% of the workload for my solo ride.  I knew that there was no way I was going to catch them, but that wasn't my biggest concern at this point...

Nice road markings, my route was the white arrow

There was still no rain, but I was facing a slight dilemma.  I was starting to think that I was lost.  I had just crossed Hwy 601 on Lone Hickory Rd which was familiar territory for me since that was part of two different century routes I train on, but I was going in the opposite direction.  Anyway, I had not seen any of the road markings in a quite a while.  I had programmed my eyes to spot the white arrows for the metric century.  I also had a cue sheet in my jersey pocket with the turn by turn directions.  Having not seen the road markings in miles, and having lost sight of the group up ahead, I was getting concerned that I had missed a turn.  I could keep going and trust that I hadn't missed anything and this was just a long stretch, or I could stop, and look at the mile count on the cue sheet to see if I had messed something up.  If I were on the right course, stopping would affect any my placement in the route.  That wasn't significant since this wasn't a race, but I had really wanted to hammer this route, and that was a personal goal of mine (aiming for 3 hours flat).  It would be a blow to my self confidence to get passed at this point, knowing that there was a group pulling away from me as it was.  I decided to trust myself and keep going, knowing that at some point we would be on Hwy 21, which I knew from experience was at the end of this road.  Worst case, I add a few miles.

After what seemed like an eternity, I found Hwy 21 and a most welcomed sight of a white arrow telling me to turn left.  I was still on course, I was right to trust me!  I was now out of the wind, and going downhill.  My speeds were creeping back up again and I was feeling much better about the ride.  Here is where my obligatory funny story comes in...

After passing a couple of stragglers from the group up ahead (nice to see I'm still on course, and not that far behind now), I saw a slightly odd sight ahead.  There was a lady riding a hybrid bike wearing what looked like a regular white summer top and not a cycling jersey.  There was no bib number attached, and she didn't seem all that "serious" for lack of a better term.  I assumed that she was just out for a Saturday ride which was awesome.  I came up behind and wished her a good morning and have a nice ride as I passed by.  She smiled and we parted ways.

Not even a mile later there was a nice descent which I was going to utilize to make up some time.  As I finished clicking through the gears, I saw the other group ahead of me.  I had found them, and was in position to catch them!  I poured on the coals, and saw my pace creeping up, but I also saw a blue pickup truck backing out of a driveway.  The other group was able to get past it without missing a beat, but I was going to have to slow down to let him out.  I feathered the brakes anticipating him to back out, and get into the oncoming lane as any other driver would do.  Well, not this guy, he just slowly backed out and blocked both lanes with his truck before stopping right there.  He wasn't even looking at me, so I knew it had nothing to do with a motorist vs cyclist grudge, but I was going to have to come to a stop.  I grabbed the brakes, and managed to downshift a couple of gears as I came to a stop.  Before I stopped, I could hear a female voice yelling from the porch of the house he was leaving from.  Oh joy!  I had found myself in the middle of a 10-16 (domestic dispute for you non cop folks).  I knew better than to try and persuade the driver to move along, because experience tells me, he's probably just looking for someone to lash out at, and I wasn't going to volunteer for that role.  He did hear my brakes and realized that he was in the road.  To his credit, he flipped off the lady at the house and put his truck in drive to clear the road.  Well, that was nice!

As I was starting to push off and get rolling again, what happened?  The young lady I had passed a few minutes ago came rolling by, apparently not even breaking stride due to the truck.  I had to smile at that.  Here we had a a casual cyclist blowing past the guy on the race bike, in full kit.  I really enjoyed that experience, and I hope that she did as well, because it was just that kind of funny.  It wasn't long before I was back in full song though, and climbing the hill after the descent.  It was a long hill, which marked the halfway point to the ride.  It was on the hills I was excelling it seemed, and I found the group which had been eluding me for so long as we came to the end of the hill.  There was a rest stop on the next road which reduced that group by a couple, and just a handful continued on without stopping.

Elevation profile showing lots of rolling hills

They were back in my sights though, and I wasn't going to let them get away again.  They had slowed and were situating some "on the road snacks" it appeared.  They were riding two abreast, so I decided to hang back a little bit and let them get organized.  There was no sense in sprinting ahead by going into opposing traffic, plus it was kind of nice to soft pedal after the long climb.  They got back in single file and had seen that I was waiting in the rear. They did not get back up to speed immediately, so I took that as my invitation to make my move.  I got around them, and continued hammering the pedals until I figured that I had enough room between us so as not to disrupt their paceline.  By all estimations at the time, I was now in the lead for the metric century group, and that was a first. I have to say, that just turned into a bucket list item for me, and I had checked it off.

I continued out in front for pretty much the rest of the ride, but the strangest thing happened.  I swear the group of four behind me must have possessed either a cloaking device, or access to warp speed because I would keep a periodic check behind me since I could feel my pace dropping a little bit.  I could never see them, so I figured I was well ahead by this point.  The route came to a stop sign, and decided to use this opportunity to switch water bottles in the cages.  In just a matter of seconds, the four of them just appeared. Huh?  How did that do that?  Where did they come from?  Hey, they are making the turn before me!  I would then sprint out and get back in front again and wait until I couldn't see them again before backing off.

We played that game at least three more times at stop signs where they would come out of nowhere, just seconds behind me.  In the last 10 miles, I was feeling pretty beat down, and was actually getting hungry.  I had brought food, but hadn't felt the need to eat anything as of yet.  Based on my training rides, I rarely need food on metric centuries now, and I figured that this would be no different.  The difference was, I was putting out significantly more watts over this ride than I was used to in an attempt to stay out front.  If I stopped to eat, I would get passed, and didn't know how many were in range to do that.  With just a few miles left, I drank some water and kept it moving.

At 59 miles, I was on a flat portion of the road, and was feeling pretty well beat down.  It was at that time, that the four riders came out of thin air again and blew past me.  My feelings weren't hurt though, I know that a paceline is a very efficient machine, and I was probably the most inefficient rider on the whole course riding solo.  The fact that I had made a paceline catch me, was just as impressive as leading the route.  I held on to them from about 30 feet back as the last 3.5 miles ticked by.  We had made it to the finish line, and I was about 30 feet behind the other four riders.  I could live with that!

I did my stretching in the bed of the truck, and got my gear all loaded up before going to have a bite of lunch in an attempt to consume some protein.  I had a brief chat with a couple of other riders who had done the 40 mile route.  We compared notes on the road conditions.  We all agreed that the roads were very rough out there.  It actually reminded me of South Carolina for the second half.  The vibrations that continually went through my body came close to shaking the molars out of my mouth.  I'm sure that this factored into my fatigue levels by the end of the ride.  it is just harder to ride on rough roads than smooth ones.

After I ate, I made my way back to the truck and headed home.  I really missed Toni on this ride.  She wasn't there to send me off, she wasn't there to celebrate when I finished, and I was still hungry because she had not been there to force me to get more lunch.  The ride back was lonely without her, and it really killed the high I should have been experiencing for what I would consider an awesome ride.

Starting another row of bib numbers on the wall

After three years, I had finally done the Tour of Farmington.  Yeah, it was only a metric century, but I had underestimated it.  There was enough climbing on this route to make it interesting, and the road conditions added to the difficulty.  I've come back from centuries feeling better than I felt after this ride.  Of course, that is primarily because I pushed myself for the whole ride.  At a more conservative pace, I would have had plenty of energy left at the end.  However, for the event rides that I do, I like to push the envelope when I can.  There are three things that I look for in rides, climbing, total distance, and if there isn't significance to either of those, I look for a high average speed.  This ride was done at a speed of 20.1 mph which for the climbing (3,474 feet of vertical) was outstanding for me.  I missed my goal time of 3 hours flat, but only by six minutes and 22 seconds.  I'm ok with that though, and feel very good about my effort on this ride.  I was even complimented by one of the magical four as I was going to the truck when he told me that I had ridden very strong today.  It had been a great ride, and a dry ride.

View the Garmin data here

After I had gotten home, I was still very much under the assumption that the magical four that I had played cat and mouse with for so long was the lead group to the ride, and I had come in right behind them.  It wasn't until I started to look deeper into the information provided by Strava about the other riders on the course.  It would appear that there was a rider that finished about 20 minutes before we had with an average speed of 23 mph!  There were a couple others behind him, so I'm not sure where exactly I placed, but that really doesn't matter at all to me.  I had a very strong ride, and like I said, I outpaced many a group of riders, and forced a paceline to catch me.  I had made a great showing for myself, and am very proud of that effort.  As a side note, to do this course at 23 mph is almost superhuman, and my hat is off to him!