The Breakaway Ride - Stage 8 was last weekend (Sunday, April 11, 2010).
There were 3 options for the ride. Short ~ 36 miles, Medium ~ 62 miles, and Long ~106 miles. I signed up for the Long ride which included 4 circuits around the Rock Store Loop.
According to the race director, 900 cyclists signed up to ride in the event. From the website count, it looks like around 200 of those signed up for the long ride.
The long course was designed to roughly mimic Stage 8 of the Tour of California - though it's not an exact duplicate since the pros wont start or finish where we did.
The major uphill section of the loop climbs from around 720ft to around 1950ft with the curviest section of the ride known to local motorcycle riders as "The Snake"
The major uphill section of the loop climbs from around 720ft to around 1950ft with the curviest section of the ride known to local motorcycle riders as "The Snake"
Major climb repeats 4 times at mile 20, 42, 64, and 86
Now for the results.
My official time is listed as 8:01:25. My worst century result as far as total riding time. A full two hours slower than my sub-six hour effort in Palm Springs My total riding time was 7:31:23. The other 30 minutes were spent at rest stops along the way, or stuck at stop-lights and stop signs.
As I was descending Decker Canyon after finishing my second climb, it started to rain and I seriously considered heading back to the start and just skipping the final two loops. I was cold, and I was not looking forward to finishing two more difficult loops in the rain. But then I snapped out of it and remembered that these events are all just deposits in the Ironman training bank. And if I DNF during my training rides, how can I expect to finish the real deal. Race day might be windy, hot, cold, or raining, so I figured I needed to stick it out and gain the experience and finished what I started. Luckily, the rain never hit full force and the roads never became really wet or unsafe. In fact, after that brief rain during the second loop, it didn't rain again.
During the race we wore a timing chip (which are common in triathlons and running events, but not too common in cycling events). At the bottom and top of the Rock Store climb, they captured times so they could give out a KOM (King Of the Mountain) award to the fastest male, and a QOM (Queen Of the Mountain) award to the fastest female climber.
My climb times were as follows:
#1: 18:58
#2: 20:12
#3: 23:06
#4: 22:31
for a total KOM time of 1:24:50
For comparison, the fastest male climber posted times of 12:48, 13:33, 14:06, and 15:04 for a total KOM time of 0:55:33.
The QOM winner posted times of 19:32, 19:21, 20:09, and 19:46.396 for a total time of 1:18:50
Of the 200 who entered the Long course event, 70 DNS (Did Not Start), and 57 DNF (Did Not Finish) the full distance.
Overall I was 60th out of 73 finishers, which doesn't sound too good. But I honestly feel really good about the day because of how difficult it was and the fact that I stuck it out and finished the ride.
My official time is listed as 8:01:25. My worst century result as far as total riding time. A full two hours slower than my sub-six hour effort in Palm Springs My total riding time was 7:31:23. The other 30 minutes were spent at rest stops along the way, or stuck at stop-lights and stop signs.
As I was descending Decker Canyon after finishing my second climb, it started to rain and I seriously considered heading back to the start and just skipping the final two loops. I was cold, and I was not looking forward to finishing two more difficult loops in the rain. But then I snapped out of it and remembered that these events are all just deposits in the Ironman training bank. And if I DNF during my training rides, how can I expect to finish the real deal. Race day might be windy, hot, cold, or raining, so I figured I needed to stick it out and gain the experience and finished what I started. Luckily, the rain never hit full force and the roads never became really wet or unsafe. In fact, after that brief rain during the second loop, it didn't rain again.
During the race we wore a timing chip (which are common in triathlons and running events, but not too common in cycling events). At the bottom and top of the Rock Store climb, they captured times so they could give out a KOM (King Of the Mountain) award to the fastest male, and a QOM (Queen Of the Mountain) award to the fastest female climber.
My climb times were as follows:
#1: 18:58
#2: 20:12
#3: 23:06
#4: 22:31
for a total KOM time of 1:24:50
Climbing The Snake on my 3rd loop
For comparison, the fastest male climber posted times of 12:48, 13:33, 14:06, and 15:04 for a total KOM time of 0:55:33.
The QOM winner posted times of 19:32, 19:21, 20:09, and 19:46.396 for a total time of 1:18:50
Of the 200 who entered the Long course event, 70 DNS (Did Not Start), and 57 DNF (Did Not Finish) the full distance.
Overall I was 60th out of 73 finishers, which doesn't sound too good. But I honestly feel really good about the day because of how difficult it was and the fact that I stuck it out and finished the ride.
2 comments:
Jeff, Doing 106 miles on that course is amazing and fighting through the chattering in your head is more important than the actual physical training you gained. You will be ready physically for Ironman, no doubt, it is the mental side that can bite you if you are not careful. You made a big leap on this ride. Great job!! and you are an animal..Keep it up!!!
Congratulations on a great ride. The next one will be so much easier after this!
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