| Ride Stats |
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Distance:
52.16 miles
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Altitude Gain:
1,709 ft
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Avg Speed:
23.30 mph
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Route:
Spokeride
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Avg Grade: 149 %
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Max Grade: 176 %
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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 72 F SE wind @ 5 mph |
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Up well before the sun for a couple hours of driving to get to the race at Sackett's Harbor on the east shore of Lake Ontario. Another beautiful summer day with the temperature at the start a little over seventy and up into the eighties a couple hours later at the finish. The race is fifty miles long with only one short climb five miles into the race. There is another climbing section starting at fifteen miles that is ten miles of gradual climb. Last twenty miles of the race is downhill grades and rollers. Had over two hundred riders for the two races with over sixty in the fifty miler and one hundred and forty in the thirty mile version of the race. I had two teammates today in the fifty. My goal of the day was to keep up on the hill and finish with the pack. Both races started together and split a couple of miles into the race. Had a little trouble at the start getting by a couple of riders having trouble clicking in and another rider that was waving to her fans, but worked my way up into the front in the first mile. First test came at the split and unfortunately I found myself on the wrong side of the peloton and had to cross through the pack to turn. At least the part of the group I was in got through the mess without incident. Pace was somewhat relaxed as we traveled out to the hill that would split up the pack. The pace was set by a guy with a time trial bike and everyone seemed content to draft him. Got to the hill and started near the front of the pack and dropped back through as most of the riders out climbed me but was able to maintain contact and settled into the back to recover from the climb. Mighty Young Joe decided that it would be a good idea to try an attack in the headwind that was blowing out of the southeast today. IronDoug and I worked our way up to the front to discourage anyone from chasing Joe. Nobody seemed terribly interested in chasing except for the guy on the time trial bike who went to the front and set the pace. We rode single file for two or three miles and Joe eventually was brought back to the peloton. We stayed at the front of the pack and followed the time trial guy to the fifteen mile mark where we turned into the climbing section. IronDoug went out fairly hard on the hill and I was able to stay on his wheel without too much trouble as for some strange reason I was climbing well today. A couple of strong riders were shadowing Doug but made no effort to take the lead or pick up the pace of the climb. Doug stayed near the front and set the pace for a majority of the climb and toward the end I went up and took a pull and found that I had opened a good sized gap. Looked at my odometer and saw that we were only twenty two miles into the fifty mile race and still had three or four miles of grade before the course leveled out. Kept a steady pace on the climb and figured I would ride to keep a gap on the hill and see if they would let me stay away. Thought I might be able to make time on the group once we got into town where we would have to navigate through traffic and lights. If I could survive through the city I would be able to hit the flats with a tailwind and if I could get to the downhill section alone I would have a good chance to get out of sight and maybe steal the race as I would have a couple of teammates blocking for me. First part of the plan went well as I got into town and hammered out of the saddle to catch the traffic light green. Worked my way through a couple of stop signs and a small climb and looked back and saw that the pack was no longer in sight behind me. Got the speed up into the high twenties and thought things were going really well. But things went sour as I caught a tractor trailer. At first I thought it would be great as I could catch a little draft off him as he accelerated away. Unfortunately he was making a left hand turn and pulled all the way over onto the right shoulder to make the turn. I actually had to stop and wait for him to make the turn as the ground looked like loose sand and didn't dare to go off roading to get around him. Got back up to speed but within a couple more miles I was reeled back in by the pack. Actually had made it to the top of the downhill section and was able to tuck into the group without any problem. Ended up that I was away for ten miles. Mighty Young Joe attacked again on the downhill but was unable to get any separation from the group. Still had another fifteen miles to go but felt pretty good and hoped my legs would recover for the sprint back into town. Had the low point of the day as we worked our way through a construction zone that appeared to be about an eighth of a mile of loose sand and large chucks of sharp cubic rocks. Had a hard time getting through the mess and the pack stretched out as we made our way across, which wasn't good, as I was in the back. Had a small climb after the zone and several riders appeared to be making a break off the front. Spun hard to try to maintain contact and had a wicked cramp as I rolled over the top of the climb. Cramp wasn't severe enough that it forced my leg out of the cleat but it was very painful and seemed to be getting worse. Thought if they continued to push the pace I would find myself dropped. Pace slackened, fortunately, and I downed all the food in my pockets and drank all the water I had left. Cramps settled down, and I was able to maintain contact on the very end of the pack. Pace was moderate until we got about five miles from the finish when we went into a single file with speeds in the low thirties. Just held on to the wheel ahead of me until things slowed down and the pack bunched back up. Tried another break a couple of miles out and was able to open a small gap but had to give it up as legs just couldn't put out anymore speed. Things started getting heated again with a mile to go and we were riding three abreast in the road with speeds in the high twenties. Picked the wheel I wanted in the final sprint and glued myself to it. Joe and Doug went by me on the right as we went into town and things looked good as we had three riders in the front going into the sprint. Unfortunately, a car pulled into the final turn and partially blocked the road. Confusion reigned as the pack was going to fast to make the turn and avoid the car. Several riders had to bypass the turn and one of them struck the car. I slowed down and nearly came to a stop and saw one rider make the turn and head down the final sprint lane to win the race. I started back up and got through the gap in second position and had a clear shot at the finish but when I got out of the saddle to sprint the leg cramped again. Sat back down and slowly got back up to speed but lost several positions as I nursed myself over the line. Ended up finishing in sixth spot overall and in first for the over fifty group. IronDoug survived unscathed and finished eighth. Mighty Young Joe touched wheels with someone and ended up finishing near the back of the pack in nineteenth position. Don't think I could have won the sprint with the cramping leg but without the car incident I think we would have had three top ten finishes. Had a great ride today and the team controlled the pack for most of the race. Did quite a bit of work but it was actually an easier ride this year when I stayed with the pack on the first hill as opposed to last year when I got dropped and had to chase for forty-five miles.
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