avg pace 13.7
avg moving pace 14.5
elevation profile and course
I would love to come back in the fall to ride this course. It was beautiful. I saw wild turkeys, a friend of mine saw a buffalo, though she was also stung by a bee. Lots of wildlife and gorgeous scenery. Drawbacks to this ride: HOT. There is no cover, no where to hide, no convenience stores, no trees even near the road. There are hills in the first 20 miles that slow you down, the rest of the course is flat with rolling hills. It really is a great ride, I can see why so many people do it. Next year I'm starting a couple hours earlier, like around 6. There were not a lot of water stops, what they did have was placed well. If you venture out on this ride approach it as if it were unsupported, bring everything to get you through and be prepared. There were a lot of people apparently who nearly passed out from the heat many of whom were delirious and didn't realize how they got back to the fire station.
Our group at the start.... oddly enough there are no pics of any of us at the end.... I wonder why..... :p
After a week of thinking about it, I decided to come back and give a brutally honest review: If you are considering this race, to be entirely honest, this probably was the hardest event I've ever done. This is the first time I seriously thought about quitting. Around 35 miles I did not want to pedal anymore. I didn't want to be in the heat anymore. I wanted to stop. I pulled over and dragged my bike off the road to a small tree which was the only shade I'd seen for miles. I pulled out my phone to call my friends and see where they were, hoping and praying they had sagged in and were waiting for me to get back, only to find I had no service. I dug out my mp3 player. It was only the music that kept me going on this ride. When I got to the final water stop, I felt good and thought I only had a few more miles. The last three miles were the worst because you keep thinking "Just over this hill", but each time you get there the fire station is no where in sight.
Last year I finished a 62 miler in 4:07 (not including the rest stop in the middle) so this route took me an extra 20 minutes riding time, but the one I did last was almost entirely flat. I have definitely made progress. This was 1749 feet elevation gain. The largest gain I've ever done on a ride, the closest I've done that compares was 1622 and that was 2 or 3 weeks ago. I shouldn't be surprised that this was a hard ride for me. 95% of my rides are relatively flat. I must work on hills this year, they just defeat me in every way. My feet hurt at 25 miles.. I've never had that happen before. I found myself not wanting to be on the bike anymore. I honestly don't know how I finished this ride. A challenge and an eye opener, must. work. hills.
