| Ride Stats |
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Distance:
67.00 miles
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Altitude Gain:
3,097 ft
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Avg Speed:
18.60 mph
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Route:
Turkey Roll
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Avg Grade: 0 %
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Max Grade: 0 %
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Max HR: 0 bpm
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Avg HR: 0 bpm
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Terrain: Road: Rolling
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Bike: Look 585 Carbon Road
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Club: Schuyler County Cycling Club |
| Weather Conditions: Cloudy 66 F SSW wind 18 25 mph |
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Had a hundred mile drive down to Denton, Tx to ride in the annual Turkey Roll metric century. Wasn't too bad though as the ride didn't start unto 09:00 so I didn't have to worry about waking up the chickens. Forecast for the ride was a bit sketchy though as although the temperature was ideal at around 60 F at start time and rising up into the mid-seventies by noon, the wind forecast was a steady 18 mph south wind at the start and increasing to 25 mph during the day with gusts in the mid 30s. Registration was painless and I paid $30 dollars for day of and still got a tote bag and a neat T-shirt. Pre-registration price was $20 to $25 depending on how early one paid. There were several rides for the day varying between 25 and 64 miles and there were over 900 people at the start. Lines for the bathrooms and port-a-johns were epic though and I opted for a good starting position rather than wait in line. Crowd had all types of riders with shaved legged racers, tech heavy tri guys, hairy legged tourists and a bunch of casual riders. Dallas clubs were well represented and recognized a few of the fast riders from the Mineral Wells ride last month. Was a bit concerned about how my legs would hold up to the speed as I had ridden five-hundred miles the previous week and really haven't done any speed work in over a month. Wasn't even sure if my bike would shift into the big ring as I hadn't used anything but the small ring for the last thousand miles. Got a good position near the front but not in the vanguard. Course was pretty much straight north along I-35 for thirty miles then turn around and come back on most of the same roads. There were a couple of loops thrown in but for the most part it would be out in a strong tailwind and back in a flesh rending headwind. My plan was to find a group I could hang with comfortably on the way out so I could share the wind on the way back. Wasn't really any announcements or kickoffs at the start. People in the back just started chanting go so we rolled out with a police escort. First three or four miles through the city streets was in the mid twenties which was managable for the large group. Things heated up quickly as we headed out of town though and speeds were in the low thirties. Group shattered though on a slight uphill grade. I was in the second group and noticed that my speed was 32 mph as we were making the climb and still the front group was pulling away. Rode with the second group for a couple of miles in the thirties and worked my way to the front on another uphill grade. Tried chasing the front group with a couple of the others but the group was resigned to being dropped and had enough of the high speed stuff. Worked with a small group of eight or so including a tandem and kept the speeds in the high twenties for a few more miles but drafting was difficult due to all the cracks, ridges and bumps in one of the secondary roads. Several of the group stopped at what I thing was a rest stop that was just setting up but since it didn't have any port-a-johns I pushed on with another rider. Did stop at the next rest stop that did have a facility which I greatly desired at that point. Caught on with a group of two that was going by when I left the stop and we enjoyed the strong tailwind. The two fell off the pace when we turned into a crosswind and soon found myself isolated from any other riders. Had done the first thirty miles at a twenty-four mph average but the fun part of the ride had come to an end. The next fifteen miles was basically time trialing into the headwind. Had three or four riders bunched together but drafting was not effective. Ended up being paced by a guy with time trial bars about forty yards up the road and had a tandem forty yards behind. Found myself riding at my limit which happened to be a spectacular 10.3 mph into the 25 mph headwind. Switched positions a few times with the time trial guy but the tandem disappeared at one of the rest stops. Got caught in the last ten miles by a three man team from Dallas. Started working a line with the guys but after a mile or so it was one other guy, a local strong CAT III, and I pulling and the other two sitting in. Group shattered on a hill and the Cat III spun easily away from me. Tried to stay with him but legs started to cramp and I wimped out and lost him. Started catching many riders from the shorter routes as we ran back into town. Several riders were walking thier bikes into the headwind and noticed a few loading thier bikes into car trunks and pick-up beds as they abandoned the ride. Drank my remaining water and soft pedalled for a mile then picked the speed back up. Finished the day with an 18.6 average which put my average speed on the second half at around thirteen mph. Had some hot dogs (turkey dogs??) from the barbeque at the finish and was glad to be out of the wind. Nice turn out for the ride but the course was not very interesting. Might have been more fun if I was in a little better shape and was able to stay with the speedsters.
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