| Ride Stats |
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Distance:
101.56 miles
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Altitude Gain:
7,352 ft
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Avg Speed:
19.89 mph
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Route:
Shenendoah Century
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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 78 F |
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After finishing the race yesterday in Milton PA we loaded up the Xterra and continued south to Harrisonburg, VA to ride in the Shenandoah Century. Had over 300 riders preregistered for today's ride through the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The course is in a cloverleaf configuration with one central rest stop. There are no big mountain climbs but the course has a considerable amount of climbing. This is really a big club ride with a cheap registration fee at $15. There is no T-shirt or swag but there was abundant food and drink at the reststop. It looked like it would be a perfect day for a century with the high scheduled to be around 78 F and with little wind predicted. It was rather cool at the start and I was worried I would get dropped on the first climb if it didn't warm up a little but once we got underway I don't think I even noticed the weather again on the ride. First loop wasn't much fun as the first ten miles or so was in a populated area which meant we had to stop at several lights and traffic signs. Once we got out of town the pace really picked up as we started the rolling climbs. Stayed near the front but did little work once we got out of town as I was just hanging on. The fast pace had winnowed the lead down to around thirty riders as we headed into the big climb of the day at around the nineteen mile mark. Pack splintered on the climb which realy wasn't that bad except for the high speed the lead riders were keeping. Three riders went over the top first then a group of five or six and I followed in another group of six or seven. We chased very hard on the downhill and were doing some serious speed and caught a couple of the riders from the pack ahead of us but burned off our small pack in the process. Only one of my teammates and I remained as we rolled into the rest stop at mile 27 and we were both dog tired and with 74 miles left to go. Filled the water bottles and had some treats and headed out on the second loop. Riders were strung out along the course now and my teammate and I leapfrogged up through the small groups then tucked into one of the larger ones. We were hoping for a pleasant loop but that hope was dashed when Mighty Young Joe ditched his bike while going wide through a turn and hitting a pile of gravel. I turned back around and checked him out. He landed hard on his hip, shoulder and head and did some minor road rash damage and had a little blood seepage. The bike made it through with no damage so he got back up and soldiered on. We rode easy for a few miles and admired the mountains in the distance. We got caught by a group of eight or so and rode with them for awhile at a comfortable pace. With five miles left in the loop a couple of the riders started sprinting hills. I went up and contested a few of them and was pleased that I was climbing well. The third lap started out with a 10 mile long grade. I went out with a pack of twenty riders and barely hung on as we made the climb at 20 miles per hour. Got to the top of the climb and had a really bad quad cramp and had to ride for several minutes with my left leg dangling and the right leg doing all the work. Was surprised that I could stay with the pack doing that but it was a gradual downhill and I must not have been the only one hurting. Drank all my water and finally was able to bend my leg and get it clipped back in. Joe hadn't made it up the grueling climb with the pack and I wasn't to see him again until he finished the ride. A couple of riders rode away as we encountered some stiff rollers. I caught them then dropped them as the climbs continued. I went over the top of the last climb of the third lap alone and started to hammer the last five miles of downhill into town. My hammer is somewhat lacking these days and I was caught by two riders a mile or so down the hill. I was able to catch on and we rode together back to the reststop. Hung out at the rest stop and drank quite a bit of water and ate some food and missed the express train as it rolled out of the rest stop for the final loop. Waited a while for Joe, but he was a no show so I headed out on the fourth lap alone. Enjoyed the day and rode at a comfortable pace. Started catching up with some of the fifty milers and quite a number of hundred milers who were alongside the road suffering with cramps. Almost finished with a twenty mile an hour average for the day but lost it the last two miles of the ride as it was stop and go traffic as the course went back into Harrisonburg. I was a little disappointed with the 19.9 avg but was quite pleased with my climbing today. Iron Doug finished with the front group of three riders and Joe rolled in a few minutes after I did. Ride was really nice though the pack ran over and killed a squirrel on the first lap and another rider crashed and broke a collar bone although that as far as I am aware was not squirrel related.
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