| Ride Stats |
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Distance:
114.68 km
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Time: 04:07:24
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Avg Speed:
27.67 km/h
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Max Speed:
48.96 km/h
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Avg Cadence: 0 rpm
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Route:
Muddy Waters 100km
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Category: general: event -
solo
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Temp:
Min: 13
Max: 29
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Terrain: Road: Hills
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Bike: KHS Flight 300 Road
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Club: Flatlanders Bicycle Club |
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Check-ins were at 8am at the Forks and I was looking forward to the event. Not sure of actual number of riders, but there must have been at least a few hundred. Good representation from most of the organized teams in the city, plus many "solo" riders such as myself.
We kicked off at 9am; while it was nice that the WPS was blocking all the interersections on our ride out I found the pace to be too slow and erratic (accordion type effect). By the time we got out of the City my arms were getting a bit tired which tends to happen at slower speeds. In any case when the opportunity presented itself I broke out of the group I was in and picked up the pace. I tried my darndest to get into the lead pack but the closest I could get was about 200 meters or so; we were doing about a 40km/hr average at this point which is a bit fast for me, especially if you're out in the wind by yourself. Soon I dropped back to my "natural" 33km/hr which I can usually hold for long periods. Spent most of River Road between Main St. and Lower Fort Garry by myself, but ended up in a good group of riders that had been spat out of the lead pack and some from behind that were doing a good speed right up until Selkirk.
After a quick break (about 5 minutes) I was off again. My stomach had been bothering my for the last 10k or so (should not have had that coffee at the Forks!) but things were clearing up nicely. Again I found my speed to be constant at 33, except for a slow climb over the "Big Bridge" north of Selkirk, and the resulting speedy ride down the other side. Around this time I started getting annoyed at another rider who insisted on staying on my wheel; I tried to slow a bit to get him to pass (and take a turn at "pulling") but he refused. I guess having a big guy breaking the wind for you is a good thing. Luckilly enough a fairly large Peloton mostly made up of FOG riders caught up to us and provided a great pack to ride in. I wish I could have done the whole trip this way, however they eventually had to break off for the 100mi route just before getting back to Lockport.
At the second stop I found myself unable to eat anything (other than a squirt of energy gel) which was going to provide some problems as it turned out. I only stayed 5 minutes once again before setting out. Ahh Henderson Hwy southbound. This appears to be my nemesis. I had a hell of a time keeping the speedo over 30, and often found myself drifting back to 27 or so. To make matters worse I had a couple of wheel-suckers on this leg too that also refused to take a turn at busting some wind (which was pretty steady by this time from the south). My energy stores quickly became depleted and when a small group came by later I was unable even to "fall in" and ride with them. I've had this happen on this same stretch of road before, will need to practice more (making sure to eat properly too). In any case it felt like I limped into the 3rd stop at Raleigh and Springfield (but probably wasn't that bad). Time for a bit longer break this time!
I waited 10 min at this stop (my family was also supposed to meet me here but got their directions mixed up); I forced myself to choke down some granola bar and half a banana this time, not to mention keeping my fluids topped off. Not far to the Forks from here anyways. The rest of the trip was uneventfull, I found my speeds were better than earlier, although there was now traffic to deal with. It felt like I was in last place at this point, however I guess I was just in between larger groups because a fair number of 100k riders came into the Forks after me (I arrived at around 12:37pm or so).
All in all I had a great time and will definitely do this ride again (perhaps even try to train for the 100mi next time!). Have to concentrate on eating and keeping a good pace throughout the entire trip as well, which I think were factors in my performance this time (although I think my numbers were pretty good overall!)
I wish to once again thank all my sponsors for donating to this worth fundraising event!
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