| Ride Stats |
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Distance:
7.96 miles
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Altitude Gain:
259 ft
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Avg Speed:
14.96 mph
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Route:
Windsor
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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: Flat
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Bike: Look 585 Carbon Road
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Club: Schuyler County Cycling Club |
| Weather Conditions: Sunny 80 F S wind @ 7 mph |
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Distance:
40.00 miles
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Altitude Gain:
2,000 ft
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Avg Speed:
24.20 mph
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Route:
Windsor
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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: Sunny 80 F S wind @ 7 mph |
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Race today was in Windsor, NY. There were actually two races a forty mile A race and a shorter B race. I opted for the A race. The course was two 20 mile rolling laps with the finish being on a climb. Had several teams represented as well as a couple of known quality riders. Went with a teammate and decided before the race that we had absolutely no chance of winning an uphill sprint against Cat 2 climbers as neither of up are sprinters and I am a poor climber. We decided we would attack as much as possible and hope to get away in a small group rather than sit in and wait for the final mass sprint. It was a beautiful sunny day with enough wind to keep the heat under control. Started out with a tailwind and speeds in the mid twenties for the first ten miles. Put in a couple of short attacks and hoped that someone would join me but it didn't happen. Around the ten mile mark the course crosses a river and has a short climb before heading back into the wind and back to the start through a series of rolling climbs. Pace on the first "big" climb was fairly mild and I was able to spin it with little problem which was encouraging since I have been dropped on the climb in years past. My teammate put in several short attacks on some of the rolling climbs but all were covered. Put an attack in on the downhill section which is generally considered a bad move but lacking climbing skills I have few other options. My goal was not to get away but to string things out and hopefully catch some people sleeping and split the pack. Saw I had at least one RUDD team rider on my wheel and kept my head down and hammered as hard as I could for a couple of miles. When I finally looked up the two of us had opened up a real good gap as we started on the second and final lap. We started trading pulls and were hoping to make it back to the climb over after the river which had a prime before we got caught. Since the average speed for the first lap was over 25 mph we doubted we would be able to hold the speed with just the two of us. We really needed a third rider to think about staying away but we made do the best we could. We continued trading short pulls and stayed away for several miles but I couldn't hold my partners wheel on a small climb and was soon caught by the pursueing pack. My partner lasted another half mile then he was also swallowed by the pack. There was still a large pack of fifty riders at this point and I just sat in for the rest of the race as I had given my best and was found lacking. Pack stayed together for the most part for the rest of the race with only one more attack by a lone rider that was picked up. Made one more attack on the day about a mile before the final sprint which was quickly picked up and totally destroyed my legs. The good thing was that I was ahead of a crash that happened in the pack as some hotshots made some bonehead moves and took several riders including my teammate down. I just rode in slow and finished at the end of the pack. I was happy that one of the local RUDD team riders won the sprint and the race beating the superstars. It is always fun to ride in this race as it is high speed and you can sit in without too much effort. Only bad part was my teammate's crash. He lost some skin and a little blood on one of his arms but his titanium bike got through the ordeal unscathed.
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