Sunday April 4, 2009

Saturday’s ride was cancelled due to forecasted high winds and rescheduled to Sunday.  Our team mentor, Clare hosted this Sunday’s 60 mile ride starting up near her home, and took us riding in the Swartswood Lake area of NJ.  The scenery was beautiful, and I’ve posted a few pix provided by Clare on the photos page.

I anticipated the area would be hilly when I looked at the map on the route sheet.  In addition to the anticipated hills, there was just a very strong headwind the entire ride.  The weather warmed up nicely during the early part of the morning and I’m looking forward to more riding in warmer weather.

Coach Marc indicated that this route showed a 1000 foot ascent at approximately mile 25 on the route.  He was very happy to note that this was the single largest ascent we’ve had to date on our training rides.  To be honest, I thought the few hills at mile 20.5 were individually more difficult. 

I had my Garmin Edge with me and switched it into Elevation mode to take a look at the oncoming hill(s), and while it looked rather daunting on the Garmin, the grade was actually not that bad and it leveled off during several spots allowing you to rest just enough to make the next push. 

That said, little did we know that the 1000 ft ascent was not the biggest or the baddest of the hills to come as we continued on our journey.  Mile 47.2 stopped at the top of a very steep ¼ mile incline that ended in a blinking light.  Even in my granny gear, I had to stand up on the bike the last few feet to the top.  Several store owners at the light commented to me and my teammates about how difficult the hill was and offered us some water.  It’s always nice to talk to folks along the route.  So far everyone we’ve met along the way has been friendly and interested in our cause.

Following the final rest stop, there were several hills, especially one at mile 51.5 that just trashed me.  It was a double header and halfway up the second incline I found I couldn’t maintain a heart rate of 174 and had to get off my bike and walk the remainder to the top.  It was the only time I had to walk a hill during the ride, and this is marked improvement for me over earlier rides where I often had to stop and walk up a hill.

The miles’ following that last major hill were fraught with a monster headwind, and the 8.5 miles back to Clare’s were slow and steady.  After the ride I noticed that my face was wind burned except for where my helmet strap had been.  I took a bit of grief at work on Monday for the new look.

Checking my stats after the ride, I was able to complete the 60 miles in 4.45 hours and maintained an average speed of 12.8mph.  My cadence and pace went way down, I think due to the headwinds, but overall, I did ok.  My goal starting out was to finish the ride in 5 hours or less, so I see myself improving tremendously over my average speeds of 6.5 mph on those early rides in January.

The pot luck at Clare’s house after the ride was fun; it’s always nice to sit and talk with my teammates outside the training rides.  I’m looking forward to our next adventure up in Clare’s neck of the woods.  Thanks again, Clare, for the great route and your hospitality.