| Ride Stats |
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Distance:
106.35 miles
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Altitude Gain:
8,208 ft
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Avg Speed:
16.26 mph
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Route:
Tour de Shunk
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Avg Grade: 136 %
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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: Sun\Clouds 49-60 F SW wind @ 6 mph |
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Had a relatively short trip to the Tour de Shunk being just a little over an hour drive. Looked like it was going to be another cold year as temperatures were only in the upper forties and the majority of the drive through PA was in a heavy fog. High temperature was only scheduled to be near sixty today but at least there wasn’t much wind. Saw a few familiar faces at the start including a pair that were at yesterday’s race in Milton. Course was extended this year due to a bridge being out and the cue sheet indicated it would be a little over one hundred and six miles. The cold temperature and fog seemed to have discouraged many of the riders from leaving early as was done last year and there was a good sized massed start at nine AM. Rode with the pack for a mile or so and chatted with some former teammates for a bit then left them and went off in pursuit of a couple riders that had quickly gone off the front. I was hoping that my legs would perform like they had on yesterday’s strong finish rather than they had on the first five miles of the race. Kept a good pace for five or six miles but was picked up by a group of seven. Hopped on the back and rode with them for another five miles but soon found myself struggling to keep my leg speed up on the rolling climbs and opted to drop off the back and tour rather than push my pace. Got caught by another lone rider and sped up a little and rode with him on the approach to the day’s first big climb. He stopped at the foot of the climb for some reason so I went on alone. Soon found out that my legs were empty and had to put it in my bail out gear to keep moving. Felt really weak and was soon being passed by a dozen riders in groups of twos and threes. Didn’t ever feel like I would have to get off and walk but couldn’t generate any power either and had a most unpleasant time getting to the top of the two mile climb .It really looked like it was going to be a long day. Had five miles of fast downhill then another short steep climb to the first rest stop at the twenty five mile mark. There were not as many baked goods at the rest stop as there has been in years past, but I did grab a couple of cookies and jammed my pockets with bite sized candy bars. The first course change came in the second quarter and instead of hitting a series of rollers along a river it veered into a long twisty wooded climb. Enjoyed the climb as it wasn’t too steep and was able to keep a good pace on it. The climb was followed by a long shallow downhill and was able to catch a few of the riders that had passed me earlier and rode with them until the second rest stop. I was really dreading the next section that traditionally has a nasty steep dog legged wall of a climb and was worried that my legs might be unable to haul me up it. Started out alone and cranked off a dozen or so fairly flat miles along a river before going into the hills again. I lucked out as another twisting ascent replaced the dreaded climb. I was greatly relieved as I came out of the hills and back into the valley and unto SR 14. I decided to opt out of following the course when I saw that one of the roads had been recently chip stoned and opted to ride on the highway on the other side of the valley instead. I think I picked up a little climbing and traffic but really didn’t want to risk a flat tire. The SR 14 section of the ride wasn’t as bad as it usually as there was a good tailwind to push me along. It still had a bad shoulder and moderate traffic though. I pulled into the last rest stop just as three other riders were leaving and quickly filled my water bottles and grabbed some more candy and headed off in pursuit with hopes of catching them and letting them pace me for the last thirty miles. I got the gap down to less than a minute at one point but wasn’t able to close the deal and had to give up. I was pretty exhausted but still had another fifteen miles to go as I headed back into the last section of rollers. Ended up riding in survival mode and average speed took a beating although it wasn’t in very good shape at the start of my collapse. Finally got out of the rollers and only had a little over a mile of flatland to go to the finish when I was passed by a rider that hammered by me. I reacted quickly and latched on to his wheel and after a half mile he slowed down and told me he thought that had been the finish. I stayed with him long enough to out sprint him to the actual finish then rolled to my truck and collapsed on the ground. Had to rest for several minutes until I recovered enough to get the bike in the truck and get dressed. The ride had taken all I had to give and a little bit more. I can’t say I enjoyed the ride this year as I felt weak for a majority of the ride and had one of my slowest times ever. I did like the course better this year as even though it was a bit longer the second killer climb was replaced by two lessor fun climbs. The weather was cooler than I liked but it was tolerable and there was a good enough turn out that although I rode most of the ride solo there were almost always other riders nearby.
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