| Ride Stats |
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Distance:
31.28 miles
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Altitude Gain:
2,149 ft
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Avg Speed:
21.67 mph
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Route:
Tour de Loop
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Avg Grade: 153 %
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Max Grade: 175 %
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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: 70 F Sunny West wind # 5 mph |
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An early rising and a couple hours of driving got me to Oswego, NY for another running of the Tour de Loop. Opted again for the thirty mile loop with its sawtooth profile of ten or so small climbs. It was fairly cool during my warm up but warmed up before race time and did get to shed the long sleeves before the race. The twenty riders in the fifty mile race went off first and the one hundred and fifty plus in the thirty mile race left a few minutes later. Felt okay today but really not very aggressive so decided to set in the peloton as long as possible and if I survived all the climbs try my luck in the final usual mass sprint. Lined up near the front and maintained my position through the controlled mile and a couple of miles of heavy traffic in the mid twenties. The hills are spread fairly evenly so there are rolling climbs every three miles or so. I stayed in the pack on the first climb without too much trouble although I was lost a few positions , but with so many in the peloton I was still comfortably in the pack over the top. Did notice one young rider in an orange jersey hammer by the pack on the hill and rocket over the top. Stayed in tucked into the pack and waited on the next climb. I usually have trouble staying with the pace on the first two or three hills but then have good form on the mid climbs. Second climb was fairly fast and came out of the saddle to hold the pace and picked up a couple of places. Noticed the young rider from the first climb falling quickly backwards through the pack and he looked pretty spent. Never was to see him again in the race. Hopefully I would get a few more climbs in before it happened to me. Had a scary moment after the second climb as we sped through a water zone where several volunteers attempted to hand up water. The water is nice for the fifty milers on their second lap but just caused quite a bit of chaos for us when one of the volunteers stepped out into the road. There was lots of heavy breaking and swerving but no one went down. Once we sorted ourselves out it required a little work to get back near the front. Speed stayed high on the next couple of climbs and did some serious leg pain and maxed my heart rate to stay with the group. Survived okay but body really wasn't responding well to the stress. Just hung on as the climbs kept coming and the pack got smaller. Got to one of the steeper climbs that I usually have trouble with and struggled to stay on. Looked at my heart rate and noticed it was maxed out again and that my cadence was at 107 rpms up the slope. I was riding at my max and hanging on well and had made it through the steeper climbs but knew that I would have to get closer to the front on the last long grade or would be blocked out of the final sprint after the usual high speed run in back to the finish. Made an attempt to move up but didn't have the leg then had another problem when the pack swerved and braked around a police car that was parked in the lane. Once we got around the car there was still a good size pack up the road and a string of riders trying to get back on. Wasn't making up any time on my own but was able to hold onto a rider's wheel after he went around me. Almost got back in the pack when the gas tank ran dry any the legs started slowing down. Instead of traveling in the mid twenties I could only spin in the mid teens and the pack rode on without me. Wasn't alone though so hooked up with another rider and we shared pulls and hauled ourselves back to the finish. We caught one rider with a mile left and that was it. Didn't feel much like sprinting as had lost the race with only two miles of fairly easy riding to go and just wanted to get it over with. Pulled up alongside my partner and decided if he wanted to sprint we would go side by side rather than jump him out of his draft. Seemed like a good idea but then the rider we caught jumped out of my draft and we spun after him. He didn't get very far before we caught him and I went out of the saddle and kicked a few times and opened a small gap. It was enough to win my sprint but really didn't make me feel any better. Ended up thirty third overall which wasn't really bad but again had lost quite a bit of time in the last two miles of the race. Ate some muffins and headed for home.
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