| Ride Stats |
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Distance:
103.30 miles
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Altitude Gain:
5,739 ft
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Avg Speed:
17.54 mph
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Route:
Tour of Chataugua
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Avg Grade: 141 %
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Max Grade: 164 %
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Max HR: 0 bpm
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Avg HR: 0 bpm
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Terrain: Road: Hills
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Bike: Look 585 Carbon Road
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Club: Schuyler County Cycling Club |
| Weather Conditions: Sunny 68 F NW wind @ 8 mph |
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Opted again for the century this year out of the four or five different ride lengths. Registration was easy again and picked up my T-shirt, map and free lunch ticket at the town hall in Westfield, NY. Weather seemed pretty nice as yesterday's wicked west wind had died down. Course was different from last year's fairly flat tour and looked to be quite a bit hillier. Only was familiar with the town line climb that I had done a few times back in the eighties and nineties. Didn't seem to be a very big crowd this year which is a shame as this is one of the best deals around as the promoters are truly non-profit. Their goal is to get people out on the bikes and enjoy their county. Saw a couple of dozen Hollyloft riders out of Jamestown but no fast guys were evident. First twenty five miles of the course were the same as last year with eighteen miles of flat then five hundred feet of moderate climbing to get out of the Lake Erie plain and up onto the plateau. Had a mass start at 9:00 AM with a police escort east on SR 20 to the outskirts of Westfield. My goal for the day was to ride with a group and stay in the small chain ring as feel less than in top form and have a climbing race tomorrow. Plan was shot right out of the gate as I soon found myself alone as I followed the squad car out of town. Really didn't think I was going hard as the road is flat and there was a slight tailwind. Spun easily and maintained around twenty miles an hour. Tried to keep my speed between eighteen and twenty-one as I worked my way to the climbing and thought maybe a group would get together and catch me on the flat section. Never saw anyone though in my frequent looks back. Hit the climbing section at mile eighteen and started upwards. Spun the climb and rolled over the top without any pursuit visible, so I figured I'd be alone for the rest of the ride. Hit the big climb of the day around thirty miles and spun it as best I could. Climb is a little over a mile long and has a couple of twelve to fifteen percent sections. Passed a solo woman near the top. Wasn't sure whether she left early or was riding independent of the tour. Climb wasn't to severe but took a big chunk out of my average speed. Grade started downward and I cruised down to Jamestown where the course turned and started heading northward. Riding was pretty nice up until that point but after that started to deteriorate. Ride went out onto highway type roads with poor shoulders and surfaces. Had hoped to make the fifty mile water stop but must have rode by it without seeing it. Must have also missed a turn in Bemus Point as found myself heading east when I was supposed to be heading northwest on Rt 430. Knew I was off course as I had driven on 430 yesterday and while the road I was on was great riding it wasn't going the right direction. Turned around and after a couple miles of detour got myself back on 430 heading toward Mayville. Had a few miles of uninspired riding on the crappy highway surface which rolled ever upwards into the wind. Cue sheet referred to a water stop either in Mayville or in Sherman but map wasn't very clear which end of the section it was on. Needed water as appeared to be running a quart or so low. Thought unless I found a water stop in Sherman or stopped at a store there I would have to abandon the century and opt for the seventy turn off in Sherman. Turned out to be a good deal of climbing on the way to Sherman and really bogged down while trying to conserve what little water I had left. Also had a bad experience with the Legacy motorcycle club whose members seemed to think it was high sport to see how close they could get to me as they passed. Pretty sure it was intentional as I was way right of the fog line on the shoulder. Was relieved to find the rest stop in Sherman. Stopped and talked to the attendants who hadn't had any business today and expected little as the sag wagon had reported to them that most of the riders had turned off unto the forty mile route and avoided the town line climb. Filled the bottles and had some fig bars then headed south on the Clymer loop. This thirty mile loop turned out to be the best riding of the day with a series of long rollers and one good climb. The section had two miles of recently milled roads that caused a huge amount of vibration and optical illusions as I sped over millions of little rectangular divots. Made it to the south part of the loop in Clymer and started heading north into the wind for the remainder of the century. Wind had picked up enough to be noticeable but wasn't overwhelming with all the woodland and climbing. Passed a small group of riders as I was heading back toward Sherman coming at me. They had obviously missed a turn earlier. Did the math and figured they were at least ten miles behind me on the course so didn't think I would probably see anyone for the rest of the day. Stopped again at the water stop in Sherman and had some more fig bars. Only five other riders had headed unto the century course and a handful of others had opted for the seventy mile cut off. Had some more climbing to do on the Sherman to Westfield Rt 21 touring road. Miles kept racking up and I started to look for the five hundred feet descent I had accumulated but it never seemed to come. Was almost back to Westfield and was pretty burned out as I started that final descent and all optimism was lost as as soon as I started to coast the long downhill a bee flew into my jersey. So spent the downhill avoiding bumps and trying to get the bee that was repeatedly stinging me. Rolled into town with a little over a hundred and three miles and pretty beat up. Didn't break any speed records today but had ridden it all in the small chain ring. Course was decent this year but could have done without the section between Bemus Point and Sherman. Still can't complain as the entry fee is dirt cheap and the T-shirt was nice. Parking lot was near empty and didn't check out the free lunch.
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