| Ride Stats |
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Distance:
1.62 miles
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Altitude Gain:
175 ft
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Avg Speed:
10.88 mph
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Route:
Liberty Blockhouse
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Avg Grade: 0 %
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Max Grade: 0 %
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Max HR: 139 bpm
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Avg HR: 107 bpm
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Terrain: Road: Hills
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Bike: custom built Cipollini RB800 Road
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Club: Schuyler County Cycling Club |
| Weather Conditions: Sunny 79 F NW wind @ 12 mph |
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Distance:
33.82 miles
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Altitude Gain:
3,818 ft
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Avg Speed:
15.24 mph
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Route:
Liberty Blockhouse
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Avg Grade: 0 %
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Max Grade: 0 %
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Max HR: 157 bpm
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Avg HR: 136 bpm
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Terrain: Road: Steep
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Bike: custom built Cipollini RB800 Road
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Club: Schuyler County Cycling Club |
| Weather Conditions: Sunny 78 F NW wind @ 12 mph |
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I had originally planned on and registered for a metric century deep in PA, but after this race was posted decided to do it with the rest of my crew instead of the metric. The race located in nearby Liberty, PA is only an hour away and I guess with the ending of Hollenbeck's race is the new local race. Course is actually pretty brutal with two laps of a sixteen-mile course with six nasty climbs each lap that my computer measured at thirty-eight hundred feet of climbing though it is listed at four hundred less. This is a course for pure climbers, one of which I am not. It also has one very technical fast descent affectionally known as the cow path. We had three climbers there today with Bob, Doug and Steve. Joe and I also showed up and I am known as a mediocre climber and Joe currently is not a climber. Goal of the day was to try to stay up with the front riders on the first of the twelve climbs. Didn't feel very well at the start but figured I would get better as the ride developed. There was a possibility of a thunderstorm in two hours after the start and although the roads were dry the humidity was very high. Wind was also blowing hard but wasn't too much of a factor due to the hilly terrain. There was a rather light turnout with eighteen riders for the two lap and seven or eight for the one lap. We all started together. I started near the back of the group as I got to the line late. The only flat section of the day was a quarter mile length between the start line and the first hill. Speed immediately went into the high twenties before hitting the climb. I was able to move up into the middle of the pack at the start of the climb but failed to hold it up the hill. Four riders hit the nine percent grade hard and shattered the pack. Bob and One Lap Adam went over together followed by Doug alone, I think. I tried to stay with Steve and a group of five or six, but legs couldn't handle the last little steep section, and I was thoroughly gapped. Once over the steep section there was another half mile of lesser grade and when I started it, I could see two wheels close behind me. Was happy that I wouldn't be riding alone but happiness was short lived as by the time I got over the top my drafters were missing and must have blown up on the grade. I was at least a minute behind Steve's loose group of six or so and wasn't able to gain on the following downhill. They did shed a twenty-year-old rider on the next climb, and I was able to catch him on the climb and we started to work together. It didn't last long as I was braking hard for a turn on a downhill that he missed and went sailing by me. He wasn't able to catch up to me and found out later he acquired a lovely set of road rash dumping the bike in a corner on the second lap. I made it through another climb or two before reaching the technical downhill cow path. Surprisingly the road surface was in the best shape I had ever seen it and didn't lose as much time on it as I thought I would. Partway down the path there is a short wall, and I saw a rider struggling up it. Thought I could catch him with some effort, but he got over the top and opened up a large gap on the remaining downhill. After the downhill is a two-mile climb with a big chuck of fourteen percent. I could see Steve and a group of three or four halfway up the steep section and the previously struggling rider was a little behind and again standing up, suffering and going nowhere fast. I stayed in the saddle and was able to quickly catch and pass him. Steve's pack shattered over the top of the climb, and I was able to pick up a thirteen-year-old climber on some rollers. He was dawdling along until he saw me coming then accelerated up a small climb widening the gap. He dropped a water bottle though and I passed him as he stopped to pick it up. I hammered a couple of rolling climbs without seeing anyone ahead and then saw Steve and another rider on the last climb before the downhill finish straight. I was able to catch and pass them and Steve hopped on for the downhill section. We started the second lap together, but Steve couldn't hang on as I tried to bridge to another rider a minute up the climb. I was able to bridge successfully to Sonya a decent female climber from somewhere near Reading, PA. She drafted me on the downhill and opened a gap on me on the next climb. I wasn't too worried though as the gap wasn't too great and I thought the climbs on the second half were better suited to me. I had some goo and a good drink and was able to catch up to her on the next downhill. I opened up a gap on her on the cow path and stood up on the short wall and extended the gap and hoped it would be enough to hold her off on the two-mile steep climb. Surprisingly I was able to maintain the gap up the climb although she was a much better climber than me. Unfortunately, I could not see anyone else on the climb ahead that meant no matter how hard I went I wouldn't have enough time to catch anyone else. Although she would gain a little on me on each of the successive climbs, I didn't figure there were enough time left for her to catch me. She told me after the race that she was afraid of blowing up on the big climb so didn't push it. It turns out that one of the four leaders missed a turn and quit rather than do the second lap and another crashed and broke a collar bone. Bob ended up in third at under two hours. Doug rode the whole course alone and finished in fifth. I ended up around three minutes behind him in sixth. Steve rolled in soon after in ninth and Joe who probably suffered the most wasn't last. I had a pretty poor start and couldn't ride with the climbers but had enough aerobic capacity to ride some of them down once they cracked. I wasn't even in the same league with the front four who were doing the laps at close to eighteen miles an hour. Had a good time though as suffered along with everyone else and though I was soaked at the finish from the humidity it didn't rain
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