| Ride Stats |
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Distance:
68.80 miles
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Altitude Gain:
3,073 ft
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Avg Speed:
17.55 mph
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Route:
Ar-LA-TEX-Challange
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Avg Grade: 146 %
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Max Grade: 168 %
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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: Sunny 45F-55F N wind @ 10 mph |
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Drove down to Texarkana for the Ark-La-Tex Challenge a metric that travels through three states. Wasn't really looking forward to the ride as the starting temperature was going to be forty-five degrees and only warming up into the low fifties during the ride. Coupled with a predicted north wind it didn't look like it would be a comfortable ride. There appeared to be around a hundred people lined up for start with a majority looking to be in the fifty mile staging area. My revised plan was instead of riding with the front group until I was dropped was to ride comfortably until it warmed up a bit. We headed out of the parking lot and things split up quickly with a group of five or six hammering out of the gate. I pedaled comfortably at eighteen miles an hour for a half mile or so until I was overtaken and swallowed by a large pack that slowed down to around sixteen miles and hour soon after eating me. Dodged and braked for a couple of miles before deciding to get out of the congestion and accelerated around the pack to catch up with a pair of riders that had also got clear of the second pack. Traded pulls around twenty for a couple of miles before we were swallowed again by a resurging pack. Turns out it was one stronger rider pulling at twenty-two with everyone else in tow until he eventually opened a gap. Crossed over to him with four others and we started working together pulling in the low twenties until around the fifteen mile mark where we started to do some climbing. The group shattered and I went over the top by myself and soft pedaled waiting for the group to reassemble. Took longer than I thought and when we did get back together another group had caught us and we now numbered around sixteen. I hung off the back of the pack and climbed comfortably and crossed gaps as the pack thinned. The strong rider in red and another couple of riders had opened a gap again and I made the mistake of riding with the group for too long. Instead of recovering and chasing the lone riders ahead the pack dissolved. I tried to bridge back up to the front guys by shifting into the big chainring and doing some hammering. I did catch all but one of the riders but was pretty spent as I went over the top of the last section of the climb. I was overheating, my back hurt and my legs turned to sponge. I soft pedaled but the other riders drifted away from me on the flats and downgrades. I ended up stopping and stripping off some of my clothes then remounted and rode comfortably to the halfway point rest stop where the three states intersected. Two of the three riders that had recently dropped me were still there and after grabbing some food we started back out individually. Kept pace with another rider as we climbed back up into Texas in a nasty headwind that would plague us for the last thirty miles. I had to come out of the saddle on the small climbs to make up distance I lost on the flats and downgrades. Rode by the other riders on the ridge and that was the last I saw of them. Started picking up some riders from the shorter riders and kept bridging to them then resting a bit before going after the next carrot. Started to feel a little better once I got back in the trees and welcomed some relief from the headwind. Kept the pressure on the pedals and caught up with two riders from the front group that were struggling around four miles from the finish. The two teammates rallied and stayed on my wheel and eventually passed me and I was content to ride in their draft. They continued to struggle and I ended up pulling the last two miles into town. I looked back as I made the last turn and saw that I had lost the two teammates. Finished the sixty nine mile ride in under my projected four hours with a seventeen six average. I would have been thrilled with an eighteen but lost hope of that when my legs went spongy at the thirty mile mark. I was able to bounce back but went from a twenty plus average to an eighteen inside of five miles. Still it turned out to be a better ride than I anticipated when I first pedaled into the cold at the start though my legs really ached at the finish.
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