Last year, I rode the Diabolical Double – a.k.a. the Garrett County Gran Fondo – and called it “truly diabolical.”

And it still is – but this time, I was prepared.

Oh sure, in 2010 I believed I was ready, and I probably was, by and large. However, this year things simply were, well, better.

The ride organizers tweaked some of the checkpoints, adding an extra one between Westernport and Deer Park to prevent the mass dehydration spectacle that plagued the field last year.

I equipped my bike with lower gearing, taking my own advice from last year to heart.

I stayed at the base of Wisp the night before the ride, which was a big plus, as any extra sleep netted before the 7:00am start is “money” (i.e. energy) in the bank.

I ate a dinner that was balanced “comfort” food: Mexican, with plenty of protein and carbs and a little bit of fat, chased by a locally-brewed oatmeal stout and plenty of water.

And the next morning, it looked dank, misty and cloudy – possibly the best part of ride day.

In 2010, it was sunny and hot for the ride, especially after dropping down to Westernport and during the climbs back out of the river valley. It was at this point last year where I ran into a battle against dehydration.

But this year was different – very different.

Chris and I drove out to McHenry on Friday afternoon, shortly after he picked up his new bike (yes, he rode a 125 mile event on a brand new bicycle – he’s a brave man), and marveled at the undulating geography that would present itself to us first-hand the next day. After checking into the hotel and meeting up with Mark, we headed to dinner at the Santa Fe Grill to eat the aforementioned Mexican dinner, then headed to the local grocery to pick up breakfast rations (our hotel room had a fridge, so fresh juice and yogurt were nice breakfast perks). We settled down around 10:30pm.

The alarm went off at 5:00am – a painful hour, but I managed to get moving rather quickly. We wanted to be on the road to the summit of Wisp (only a 2 mile drive) by 6, as there could be a traffic jam as people arrive for the event. This year, the field was expanded to 600 riders in the various distances, with approximately 250-300 of them riding the 125 and 100-mile rides. We arrived at the summit by 6:15, prepared the bikes and decided how to approach the cool, misty morning. While Chris opted to go with short sleeves and shorts (he thrives in the cold), I opted to layer a long-sleeve tech shirt under my Connecticut College jersey, knowing that I could doff it at either of the first two checkpoints. Mark also opted for a warm layer that was a bit more substantial, made of wool.

After the usual pre-event running around (the queue for the men’s bathroom was long, though only for the toilet stalls – thank goodness I didn’t need them!), we moseyed over to the start area around 6:55, where we met up with Tim, Mike, Jeff, and John, waiting for the end of the pre-ride announcements (“this is not a race… be careful on the descents… you still need sunscreen, even on a cloudy day…”). Of this group of Potomac Pedalers riders, I was the only one who had previously ridden the course, so I knew that the initial descent might be a bit scrappy.

So when the starting call went out at 7:11am, I made sure to work my way toward the front. Tim did the same, while the others hung back a little ways. So the descent wasn’t bad for me at all, while others, according to Chris, experienced flat tires from…. well, who knows what. Within the first few miles, I had distanced myself from my crowd and settled into a nice pace through the first two checkpoints.

I spent very little time at the checkpoints: 5 minutes at the first one, maybe 10 at the second one. I saw Jeff again at the second stop, as he was arriving and I was departing. I dropped off my base layer at checkpoint two, and while it was a chilly start for the third leg of the ride, it was a good move as I wasn’t in any risk of overheating. I was eating and drinking well, too – things just seemed right.

The third leg of the ride is the hardest in terms of hills. While previous hills were steep, they weren’t particularly long, so it was possible to power up the slopes and recover quickly. The hills on leg three, however, were long, steep and relentless. Bowman Road and “Killer” Miller are epic climbs that, while separated by eight miles, seem to lie atop each other. Both feature sustained steep sections that, while scenic, wear on legs that have over 45 miles of other hills already under foot. I tapped into my power and made it up them without much difficulty, and wasn’t passed by many people as I climbed – in fact, I passed people on both the climbs and the descents, which served not only to build my confidence, but also put me in the position where I was riding with very few people close by.

The third checkpoint was another shorter stop, where I considered leaving my car keys for Chris – he originally stated his intent to ride only the century on his new bike, which would have put him back at Wisp at least an hour ahead of me. In hindsight, I’m glad I kept them with me. The next section included a lovely dirt road segment, where I bombed past a team of triathletes on time trial bikes. Let me state for the record: I have no idea why anybody would ride a TT bike on this course! The terrain is ill-suited for the extreme geometry of a TT bike, and even if it is equipped with better climbing gears, it’s still best suited for, well, a TT or flatter triathlon stage.

Ahem.

After descending into Westernport (where I did not climb “The Wall” this time, and where the temperature was in the low-70s), I pulled into the Luke P.O. checkpoint to the cheers of excited volunteers (as a side note: all of the volunteers at this event are so positive and supportive, and they make a huge difference to the riders). I spent a few minutes chatting with the women at this stop, all the while drinking (water, HEED and Coke) and eating (mixed nuts and PB&J sandwiches), knowing that the upcoming segment was my undoing in 2010.

I got back on the road (again, to much cheering from the volunteers), and started up the Route 46 climb into West Virginia. This is a longer, more “western style” climb that isn’t very steep, but is very tough after 86 miles of riding. One of the few people I saw during the ride – Tom, from Baltimore – joined me on the climb and we chatted the whole way up, all the while keeping up a brisk pace. This continued to the top, where I distanced myself on the descent (broke 50 mph on the bike for the third of five times on the ride), and he spun back up for the climb. We pulled into the new rest stop at mile 100 (Kitzmiller, MD), and I made it a very quick stop to top off the (still mostly full) bottles and drink a quick cup of Coke. Tom also made it a quick stop, and we both scaled North Hill at a nice pace: not too hard, but not slow, either.

As I passed the Deer Park water spigot at mile 103, I remembered spending a lot of time there last year, trying to cool down and re-hydrate. But not this year.

Pulling into checkpoint six in the town of Deer Park, Tom got a spot of cramp (he’d never ridden more than 87-or-so miles in one day before the DD), and after a quick stop, I left him behind and forged on toward Wisp.

13 of the final 15 miles are mostly mild rollers, with one steep climb up to US 219. The road passes farms and hugs the shore of Deep Creek Lake, passing vacation houses large and small, new and old, most available for rental (something to consider next ski season or, indeed, at next year’s DD). This is ideal time to enjoy the scenery and spin any lactic acid out of the legs (if possible), because….

….the final two miles up to the top of Wisp are a killer climb. Actually, only the first 3/4 mile is tough: a 13-15% grind to the ridgeline that is the summit of Wisp. Fortunately, Tri Team Z had established a wonderful cheering station for riders. I passed many riders who were cramping terribly on this pitch, and I cheered them on as I spun past, legs feeling remarkably fresh. As I rounded the final turn toward the finish, I upped my speed, and I finished the ride in a standing sprint, with many cheering me on.

I heard the finish timer say “4:28….” as I passed.

Wait a minute: nine hours and seventeen minutes?!?!?

Hot damn! I had eclipsed the previous year’s time by over two hours!

Needless to say, I was elated! I let out a cheer, pumped my fist, then proceeded to the scorer’s table to get my finisher’s shirt. I was 23rd over the line for the day amongst the long-haul riders (125 and 100-mile riders), which made me even more amazed.

It was a perfect ride: perfect preparation and execution.

I cheered on many others who finished after me. Mike, John, Chris and Mark all made it across a while after I did. Tim crossed at some point, as I never saw him again after the morning. Jon and Elizabeth arrived back, as well. And we all celebrated a great day of riding with beer and pizza at a local brewery that evening.

Another diabolical day, somehow made anything but. I’ll take it!

(Note: the ride is also a fundraiser for the Joanna M. Nicolay Melanoma Foundation, and I’m still raising money for this worthy cause. Click here to donate – thank you!)

This is a post from randomduck.com. Copyright © 2012 R.D. Riet. Covered under Creative Commons.

cycling log: 25 june 2011 (diabolical double)

As my token tip ‘o’ the hat to bike racing in 2010, I returned to the Giro di Coppi, a race I last competed in back in 2008. That year, the race was rained out on its initial date (a hurricane-induced rain), so it was rescheduled for September, when the weather in the DC area is a bit cooler than in July.

So how was it this July?

It….

was….

HOT!!!!

Seriously, it was a very tough day for racing in Barnesville.

The Cat 5 men started their race at 1pm, when the air temperature was already in the mid-90s (°F), with temperatures on exposed tarmac topping 101-105°. My group raced three laps of a 12.5 mile loop, which can be seen here and here.

There was a neutral roll out to the start from the Barnesville School, at the intersection of Barnesville and Peach Tree Roads, so we started out on an uphill – always a tough start, even after some warm-up riding on Peach Tree Road’s gentle hills. The route is rolling, covering a lot of familiar ground for Potomac Pedalers (PPTC) folk, albeit at a faster pace than usually seen on club rides and with the ability to really fly through the corners at warp speed – and all of it with a police escort!

I rode primarily with Shaun Sohljou (a fellow PPTC member) and his Whole Wheel Velo Club teammates, though I also did a bit of work with the DCMTB guys (I raced with their team, as a guest, in ’08). I made sure to keep Shaun and his guys in contact with the lead group the whole time, as that’s the key to this race: stay in the front pack and attack on the uphill leading toward the start/finish line. That way, you’ll be in the mix at the end, and anything can happen.

I'm racing here, on the right-hand side. It was HOT!

At the latter end of lap 2, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to keep up the pace for all three laps, given the heat, so I ramped up my speed and helped Shaun match an acceleration that was instigated by DCMTB and NCVC heading toward the start/finish line. After I was sure that Shaun was near the front, I dropped off, slowly drifting back and settling into a pace that wasn’t necessarily slow, but wasn’t full race pace, either. I joined a few other riders in this quest (“the quest for top 30 placement”), and we rode out the rest of the race, with my legs finding a bit of zip after Kirstin handed off a bottle to me during lap 3 that I used to both drink and douse myself, allowing me to pass some of the crowd in the final kilometer. I finished 18th, a few minutes behind the crowd.

And Shaun? He placed 4th behind two Squadra Coppi guys and (I believe) an ABRT guy. Not a bad way to finish in his last outing as a Cat 5.

The picture was taken near the end of lap 2, I think. And yes, I wore the PPTC colors in the race – gotta love that!

And boy, was I worn out that night! I slept like a brick.

This is a post from randomduck.com. Copyright © 2012 R.D. Riet. Covered under Creative Commons.

cycling log: 17 july 2010 (giro di coppi)

This ride proves that there is always something more difficult to do on a bicycle.

Since it’s unlikely that I’ll be riding the Great River Ride this year, I decided to add another longer challenge ride to my 2010 schedule. That came in the form of the Garrett County Gran Fondo, specifically the “Diabolical Double” route: a 126-mile route that climbs and descends river-cut ridges through the Maryland panhandle and parts of northern West Virginia. It’s a route that few have ever completed, and this year the organizers of the Savageman Triathlon decided to stage an organized ride on this route to test the mettle of local endurance cyclists.

I didn’t enter into this ride lightly. Friends familiar with the area said that the terrain was extreme, and that every climb would have a sinister element to it: steepness, exposure, road surfaces conspiring against progress. Naturally, this meant some breakneck descents, tempered only by the prospect of gravel washed over the pavement due to recent torrential rains. There was also the factor of distance between checkpoints/aid stations, which meant the possibility of running out of water or food at later points in the ride.

But this ride still proved inviting. The prospect of beautiful terrain (including the “Westernport Wall,” a 31% climb that’s featured in the Savageman race) and riding with good friends, Mariette and Rick, in an area that I hadn’t explored outside of winter months was too much to pass up. And I’ve been climbing really well on local sinister roads like Massanutten, Coxey Brown, Francis Hollow and Park Central, so I felt ready to give this ride a go.

And it was truly diabolical.

To quote (and second) Mariette:

“[The DD] is is the hardest thing I have EVER done on a bike, and I have done some hilly doubles and some hilly centuries. This thing is like doing Naked Mountain, then Massanutten, then Vesuvius and then doing them all over and over and over until you get 126 miles. But the scenery was kicker.”

She was right. And Rick added the following in a message to Kyle Yost, the course designer:

“I’ve done the Mountains of Misery Double Metric Century five times, and your ride is consistently harder… Same amount of climbing, but the Diabolical Double takes an additional two hours of a serious suffer fest. I really enjoyed the flat section at the end am only too thankful you didn’t chart a final climb any more vicious than you did… I assume you simply couldn’t find one.”

Again, spot on.

A quick summary of the course: starting from the top of Wisp Ski Area, the ride begins with a fast descent (I hit 57.1 mph on this first stretch – some nearly hit 60), then gives you a taste of the climbs to come about 10 miles in: a 1/2 mile stretch at 15-16%. From there, the hills became more and more extreme, adding fuel to the fire. It got to the point where 10% seemed like a mild climb and not something that, on a normal club ride, would be groused at. We hit 20-21% at least 6 times on this ride. There was also a 1.5 mile long dirt stretch, the last 3/10 of a mile being a 13-14% incline – more a job for a mountain or cross bike than a road steed, but we made it up, all the same.

And then there was the Westernport Wall. It was an optional climb, not officially part of the course, but as Kyle said in the pre-ride briefing: you’re there anyway, so you might as well climb it. It’s a one-block-long stretch of poorly-paved road that is 31% for all but the last 10 feet of its length. Other than the residents who live on the road, nobody is allowed to drive it in either direction. In the Savageman Triathlon, any competitor who scales it without falling or dismounting gets their name on a brick at the climb’s summit.

And so I did – and I killed it! And truth be told, it was one of the easiest climbs on the ride, given the parameters are known (e.g. distance from bottom to top).

In Westernport was the fourth of five checkpoints on the route. The organizers required riders to check in at every checkpoint, such was the brutal nature of the ride. At certain checkpoints, it was possible to choose a shorter route, though checkpoint three is the “make or break” if you wanted to shortcut down to the 102-mile route. The checkpoints were well-staffed and equipped with plentiful food, water, HEED and ice (that last one was important as the elevation dropped and the temperatures rose – in Westernport it was 92 degrees, the hottest point of the ride).

The other challenge was that, after Westernport (mile 84), the next checkpoint wasn’t until mile 110, and there were three long, difficult, mostly-exposed climbs through West Virginia before said stop. Furthermore, this course is remote, and there are precious few convenience stores or vending machines along the way.

So when I started running out of energy around mile 92, I became a bit concerned. I slowed down my pace, which helped, but my bottles (even the slurry one) were dangerously low as the heat and sun exposure took their toll on me. Luckily, the town of Deer Park installed a spring water spigot at mile 103, and I made it there shortly after my bottles had run dry. I spent about 15 minutes at that spigot, dousing myself with the icy-cold water, refilling my bottles and eating some granola bar and energy gel. I felt renewed and carried on, Mariette and Rick ahead of me now due to my flagging energy.

The remainder of the stretch to mile 110, and indeed to the finish at mile 126.88, went well: I rode strongly (and solo) for the remainder, and climbed the final hill up to the summit of Wisp (the lower half of which is a 14% grade) with strong legs, sprinting through the finish.

Rolling time: 9h 21m
Elapsed time: 11h 23m

Yup – almost two hours of stoppage time. Some of that was to take pictures, some was waiting for Mariette and Rick at the checkpoints, some was necessary recovery time. But it was necessary, as this wasn’t a ride to take lightly.

Of note:

• Despite running out of water and getting into a slight energy slump, I didn’t cramp at all on the ride.
• My low gear of 36/25 was a tad too tall, though I never had to resort to tacking or walking. 34/27 would be the ideal bailout gear for this ride – possibly even 34/29 or 34/30. Rick’s low gear was 39/28 and it was tough for him.
• Having a positive attitude helped a ton.
• The event staff were top-notch all the way around.
• For the brave souls who want to try this ride on their own: be prepared with good brakes and a lot of food and other supplies, because some of the stretches between available supplies are very, very long. Checkpoints 2 and 5 only had supplies because of the event.
• Also: if you don’t start and finish at the summit of Wisp, it’s not the real ride (there is a variation of the cue that starts and ends at the base of Wisp Mountain Resort, starting off the ride with a climb.

You can see a set of the pictures I snapped on the ride by clicking here.

This is a post from randomduck.com. Copyright © 2012 R.D. Riet. Covered under Creative Commons.

cycling log: 26 june 2010 (diabolical double)

It’s been a while since I’ve written up a ride, so I figure writing this epic ride up is a fine place to catch up on things.

This season of cycling started slowly, due in no small part to the fact that DC had a lot of snow, both in December and February, with a colder-than-usual January. So the weather was great for skiing, and I managed to enjoy some of the plentiful snow up at Blue Knob, Pennsylvania, between some of the February storms.

This meant less time on the bike – at least less time that I’d use to build up to a ride like Mountains of Misery. I’ve trained a lot of hilly miles, working intervals, honing my cadence and spin, and shedding some winter weight to prepare for the climbs outside of Blacksburg, VA.

It was a lot of pain, but did it pay off? Would I beat my time from 2009?

First off, the day dawned humid and foggy. The temperature was rather mild (a t-shirt and shorts were fine just before dawn), and when Jonathan and I arrived at the Newport Rec Center, the foggy mist had just lifted from the town.

Our group of friends started in the fourth wave of riders: the ride organizers start waves of 40-50 riders every two minutes. They do this to keep the roads from getting too crowded, as this is not a closed course and they wish to keep riders safe and locals happy.

As we ride away, I’m feeling awake and ready. But my drivetrain isn’t. In fact, shifting is off: sluggish, imprecise, and markedly different from how things were the day prior. I assess things as we roll to find that my rear derailleur cable’s housing is on the verge of snapping at the frame boss: it’s bent almost perpendicular to the boss, the cable straining past the angle.

Not good.

I soon learn to compensate for the shifting – adjusting the cable tension, learning to over-shift here and under-shift there – but harbor a sneaking suspicion that my rear derailleur cable could snap at any point along the course. I soldiered on, regardless, and our group made great time over the first 61 miles to the top of Johns Creek Mountain, the first major climb on the ride (and our first rest stop). I’d fallen behind the group on the climb, though not by more than 30-40 seconds from the next-slowest person.

As I pull into the stop, I get a tiny cramp adjacent to my left hamstring, but quickly stretch it out, refill my bottles, eat some food and take some electrolyte supplements. The rest of the group does the same, and we descend quickly back to the New River Valley.

Once in the valley, Joyce and Geoff ramp up the pace. This proves too much for my legs, and after two attempts to shepherd me back into the group, I wave them off. So I ride mostly solo for the remainder of the ride. Sure, I see friends along the way: Tim and Mariette, who are both having personal bests on the ride. But I knew that I had to ride my own ride, so to speak. Tim rode ahead, while Mariette wasn’t far behind me.

I had a lot of time to think along this stretch, which was good: in allowing myself to think about things other than keeping up with the paceline, I was able to allow myself to relax and save energy for the big climb of the day: the steep incline to Mountain Lake.

Two quick stops – one at mile 84 to top off on fluids, pop at Tums (for the calcium) and eat some fruit, the other at mile 94 to top off the bidons with ice – translated into increasing energy, and by the time I hit the bottom of the last, 4-mile-long climb, I felt great! I spun the pedals with a decent cadence and quite a bit of efficiency, passing many riders who had lower gearing than me (my granny gear was a 36/26, while many others were using a 34/27 or 34/28) and keeping up my pace even as the grade steepened.

By the rest stop 1.5 miles from the finish, my cadence fell a bit (the road pitches up to 16% at this point) but I was still in good shape. Just prior to this stop, the fastest double-metric rider, Scotty Weiss, passed me with a lot of speed and shouted words of encouragement (he was the only person who passed me on the entire climb). I asked the staff at the rest stop to dump two cups of ice water down my back, which brought instant cooling and a burst of energy (as did the playful pat on my butt from the very cute Virginia Tech student who applied the water).

I powered to the finish, finishing 25 minutes slower than last year, yet shaving 9 minutes off my time for the final climb – not bad, all things being equal. My derailleur cable held up (as I later learned, on two intact strands out of 16), I didn’t cramp (most of my paceline mates did on the final climb), and I still had something left in the tank. After a wonderful 30-minute massage and a recovery drink, I watched and cheered as friends crossed the line.

And after Chris finished his long, weary ride (he’d driven down from Princeton, NJ, the night before and was very tired), I hopped the van back down to Newport to claim my bike, hop in the car with Jonathan, and return to DC.

Next year, Misery – I’m aiming for a personal record.

(Click to see my 2009 and 2008 write-ups for this ride.)

This is a post from randomduck.com. Copyright © 2012 R.D. Riet. Covered under Creative Commons.

cycling log: 30 may 2010 (mountains of misery)

Given Monday’s holiday and the lovely, bluebird weather, it seemed like a great opportunity to take another ride on the newly-cleaned bike. The previous day’s rain had washed away much of the remaining snow and road salt, it seemed, and while the roads were damp, the sun was bright.

I rode from home, meeting the PPTC gang at Glen Echo just as they were shoving off on the official club ride. The route was one I know all-too-well, given it’s one of the old reliables when I want to go on an impromptu ride. The pace with the group was a bit fast, as folks who are in better mid-winter shape drove the speed up a tick higher than some of us (okay, namely me) wanted, but that’s fine. I rode with the group until the fork in the road in Seneca, where the others continued to get in their own 50-mile run (as well as a rest stop at mile 25), while I looped back toward DC, sans rest stop. So, aside from a quick stop in Glen Echo (as well as the requisite stop signs and traffic lights, most of which were brief trackstands), it was a non-stop 49.3 mile ride – not bad. And the average pace was decent for mid-January.

The best part? I was home around lunchtime, which meant I got to spend the lovely, sunny DC afternoon with sprite as we wandered around our fair city.

This is a post from randomduck.com. Copyright © 2012 R.D. Riet. Covered under Creative Commons.

cycling log: 18 january 2010

The PPTC “Mild-Mannered Meander” ride was one of those rides that was lengthened out of practical necessity. Originally scheduled to be 48 miles, Sunday’s threat of pouring rain made many in the group decide to ride the original, longer version of the cue sheet.

And it was a great ride. There wasn’t a lot of “attack mode” in the group, save for Al, who rode off the front from the beginning and never really looked back. The rest of us rode mostly as a unit, save for the leader, Mark, who made a wrong turn along the way and met us at the rest stop in Upperville (where the BBQ slow-cooking in front of the town store was very inviting).

I was really only in shape for 59-or-so miles, as the group pulled away from me at that point and I didn’t quite have the extra energy to rejoin them. It’s the off-season, so that’s expected. But I only finished about two minutes behind the lot, so it’s not bad at all. I’m happy with how this ride went, for sure – but the cleanup of the bike, with all of the snowmelt and road salt residue, was hellish.

This is a post from randomduck.com. Copyright © 2012 R.D. Riet. Covered under Creative Commons.

cycling log: 16 january 2010

I’ve been taking time off the bike a lot in the past 6 weeks. A lot of it was due to overtraining and burnout during the 2009 season, with the rest due to holiday preparation and other things going on in life. I managed to go riding on New Year’s Day, riding 32 miles in the annual “Circle of Cycles” at Hains Point, but I was nursing a sore leg from a high-speed, high-G recovery while skiing after Christmas.

So this ride today was my first ride in 2010 where I felt more-or-less ready for it (save for the fact that I’m far, far from peak riding shape). I was nursing a bit of shoulder pain, my previously injured left shoulder having been tweaked early on Saturday and the resulting pain remaining ever-present since. But I had to ride: to get out of the house, and I was one of the co-leaders, so off to Bowie I drove.

The weather was quite brisk, as the DC area has been in a cold snap since the end of December. A dusting of snow arrived heading into Friday, and that meant the possibility of some ice on back roads. Fortunately, the ice was minimal, save for an intersection where a spring-fed creek routinely floods the road. In this case, the result was an inch-thick coating of ice. So the seven of us walked carefully across the ice and continued (we’d see this patch twice, the second crossing being easier as some of the ice had melted during our ride).

The ride was done at a moderate pace, nothing crazy in terms of sprints (though I did take the final county line sprint, wanting to stretch my legs a little). Conversation was plentiful, and we made the most of a short-distance, off-season ride. It was a great first “real” ride of the year.

(Note that, as I restart the workout logs, I’m noting the sport in the post title. This is being done partly to make the Twitter links cleaner, partly to make them a bit more specific for folks who read the blog via RSS – all three of you.)

This is a post from randomduck.com. Copyright © 2012 R.D. Riet. Covered under Creative Commons.

cycling log: 10 january 2010

This is the big ride of 2009 (at least according to my current schedule), and it comes far earlier than last year’s big ride out in California. This ride differed in two key respects:

1. It was a longer, point-to-point ride with less climbing; and
2. There was a lot of beer involved at the end.

This ride is sponsored by Harpoon Brewery and is a fundraiser for charities near and dear to them (they are highly involved in helping out in New England). The entry fee is steep, but with it you get a cool jersey, great support (including the Mavic neutral tech support cars and motorbikes), and an end-of-ride BBQ featuring a lot of Harpoon beer.

It’s a fine, fine ride.

The morning started off in Cambridge, where sprite and I were staying with our friends, Sam and Alexis. We had to get up early, as I had intended to start the ride at 7:45am and need to be at the brewery at Boston Harbor by 6:45, at the latest (according to the info packet I had). However, even on a sleepy Saturday morning, traffic doesn’t move slowly through downtown Boston due to poorly-timed traffic lights. On the way, we made a quick pit stop at a Dunkin Donuts in downtown (sprite made the fastest stop for coffee, OJ and a bagel I’ve ever seen) and made it to the brewery by…. 6:50.

Most riders had already embarked on the course, as the slowest riders were sent on their way at 5:45am. I was planning on riding with the 20mph group, but decided that maybe the 19mph group was a better fit, given my high level of fluster heading into the ride. It certainly caught sprite off-guard, as I left at 7:35, about 10 minutes earlier than originally planned. But she was sweet to drop me off at the ride start.

I ended up in a group of 20-or-so riders, most of whom either were members of the Team FuelBelt triathlon club or the Monsters In The Basement cycling club. I ended up slotting in with the Monsters, who were a group with a similar personality to my PPTC “wrecking crew” – it was a good and serendipitous teaming, as they invited me in to their group for the duration of the ride.

The route isn’t overly complex, as it basically stays on five major roads: Massachusetts routes 225 and 119 and New Hampshire routes 63, 12 and 12A. Yes, there are many forks in the road and other, smaller roads used, but over 85 percent of the ride features the aforementioned five routes. The entire cue sheet fits in one column on a single side of standard letter paper – that’s how easy the course is, in terms of linear routing.

And the climbing on the ride is fairly mellow. There are many rollers of various size, and a gradual rise into New Hampshire the account for the ride until mile 90. At this point, in Hinsdale, NH, the ride turns north onto NH63 and a climb called “The Leviathan” by the ride organizers. It’s no slouch of a hill, averaging around 4 percent for its duration, with a few stretches of 7-8 percent before its “summit” at mile 94. After this, the rest of the ride is rolling, including a covered bridge crossing of the Connecticut River a mere four miles from the finish.

I must have prepared well for this ride (indeed, I told sprite the previous weekend that I was ready after riding a really strong-yet-controlled pace for two consecutive 65-mile rides): I ate well and hydrated myself just enough. The bike, my Jamis Eclipse, was in great shape, with new tires and a more aggressive riding position that mirrors the Pedal Force (my usual road bike). And I had a good amount of rest.

And it showed on ride day. I was always in good spirits with a lot of energy in the tank. My first rest stop, at mile 52, was a bit longer than I’d like, but it went well, with a lot of free Clif Shot Blocks available (I stuffed my jersey with the things – they’re tasty). At mile 56, we called the Mavic cycle to aid a cyclist whose loaner wheels (from Mavic) weren’t holding air. And the third stop at mile 89 was unplanned, but one of the Monsters met up with his family at this stop. Stopping near the bottom of a climb is usually tough, but we made this stop quick and got on our way.

The Leviathan was tough, but I set into a spin pace and did just fine with it. Our group would reconnect after big features like this, which was for the best and kept folks’ spirits high. The next official stop at mile 97 featured musette bags with goodies and water, but the way it was setup didn’t allow for a smooth, pro-style hand-up, so we stopped to use the loo and refill bottles.

At this point, we were rejoined by the FuelBelt triathetes, which was an interesting experience. First, we ended up with a monster-size paceline of 16 riders. And of that group, only the Monsters and a few of the tri-folk were taking pulls (mostly by choice on our part, as we scoped out the FuelBelt riders and found that most weren’t the best paceline riders). It could have been irksome, but two of the FuelBelt riders took great, strong, steady, long pulls for the group. And they happened to be the only two women in the group – and one of them had never been at the lead of a paceline before. It certainly didn’t show, and we averaged almost 24mph for the 26 mile stretch to the final fuel stop of the ride before Vermont.

At this point, a few of the Monsters were shelled from the crazy effort we’d just made, and we all welcomed the cold sodas and fruit and the salty pretzels at the rest stop. Never before had a Pepsi or Mountain Dew tasted so good! We refueled and stretched, and let the FuelBelt crew ride ahead, as our group wished to stay together. And I admit, I got jumpy as we neared Windsor, and jumped ahead of the group until the covered bridge crossing of the Connecticut River, where I stopped to take a picture of the sign over the bridge. Regrouping in downtown Windsor, we rode together for the remainder of the ride to the brewery.

After 148 miles, the journey was complete! And my legs were ready to ride another 30 miles, at least – as I said earlier, I was prepared!

But the lure of a hot shower, a massage, fresh barbeque and cold beer was too much to pass up. It was a fitting end to the ride, and sprite met me a short while after I finished to give me a ride back to her folks’ place in Connecticut.

It was an awesome day and a superb ride – one that I’d happily do again, though I’d want to bring a few more of my PPTC friends to share in the experience.

(Click on any of the pictures to see my full set from the ride. Click here to see a full album from Will Williams of the Monsters – you’ll see more pics of me riding there.)

I really need to mention the debt of gratitude I owe the Monsters for their overall support of me. Their club support driver, Ian, provided me with water and soda along the way, treating me as a member of the team the whole day. It was really great, and made the whole day much more special. And to Peter, Will, Philip, Dan, Dave and Todd, a tip of the hat to y’all for being so nice to a stranger from the south. C’mon down to this area for a ride sometime: Mountains of Mistery, Mountain Mama, Civil War Century, you name it!

This is a post from randomduck.com. Copyright © 2012 R.D. Riet. Covered under Creative Commons.

trip report: harpoon brewery-to-brewery ride (20 june 2009)

PPTC “Backwards Blue Ridger” ride. After yesterday’s hard ride, I was a bit torched coming into this one. I’d repaired some of the flaws, though: I had a new FSA chainring installed on the bike, and I’d taken my allergy meds (somewhat doubling up, just so I wouldn’t run low during the ride). But I hadn’t properly refueled the night before, and I knew that going in (hydration wasn’t the issue – glycogen stores were).

The ride was fast to the base of Naked Mountain, and I got a good start up the mountain. But Jonathan launched a furious pace up that I couldn’t match without going into the red for a long period of time – a recipe for disaster when the heat is so furious. I realized that I needed to cut down the intensity of the ride to get any benefit from the effort, and I did – most clearly shown in my slow, crawling ascent up Mt. Weather. The rest of the A-class riders dropped me here, which was fine, as I wanted to keep my HR from spiking. I made up a lot of ground on the descent (broke 50 mph for the first time on Mt. Weather Road during the drop onto VA Route 7), and arrived at the Bluemont Store only a few minutes behind the leaders.

After a long rest break (most of us had ridden the Apple Blossom ride on Saturday, and were showing the effects of the heat and effort), we forged on to the rollers leading back to Marshall. I rode strong with the lead group until mile 45, and then had to fight to catch back up with them. Once I did, they kicked it up another notch about 3 miles from the parking lot, and I let them go. T’was better to save the effort for another day.

This weekend of rides was my first all-out shelling of the season: I’d spent my energy and had nothing left to give. I ate a good post-ride meal, drove back to DC, and took a 2 hour nap – rest that was most necessary. I know that I need to rebuild my energy stores for next weekend, when SkyMass and Nokesville beckon (at least these rides are in a more logical order: big hills on Saturday, flatter spinning on Sunday).

This is a post from randomduck.com. Copyright © 2012 R.D. Riet. Covered under Creative Commons.

workout log: 26 april 2009

PPTC “Apple Blossom Bouquet” ride. This was a bit of a hammerfest, and I easily won the first county line sprint, even with some other race horses in the pack. The combination of the heat and the pollen (I’d forgotten to take my allergy meds in the morning) took their toll on many in the group. For me, though, the icing on the cake took place during the second county line sprint: I had the easy break and then POW! My new chain fell off the big ring, mid-sprint. I tried to re-rail it, and it kept coming off. It turns out that I’d bent the chainring! Ouch! I was very lucky not to crash, and I still took second in the sprint while spinning madly in my small ring-small cog combination.

I had to ride in the small ring for a few miles after that, which allowed the rest of the pack to move on at a faster pace. However, thanks to Jason’s inquiry, I managed to straighten the ring using vise grips, thanks to the tools of two amateur truck mechanics (thanks, guys!). Jason and I eventually caught up to the pack, which had been slowed by a field of roofing tacks that punctured one rider’s tire.

After the regroup, we rode out the last 20 miles of the route, though we missed the cues at White Post, which meant that the classic, over-the-hilltop finish sprint was missed and the distance shortened by a few miles. Given the unseasonal heat, not many were fazed by this (save for Jonathan, who had totally planned out his victory move). All-in-all, a good ride, though I was quite spent at the end.

This is a post from randomduck.com. Copyright © 2012 R.D. Riet. Covered under Creative Commons.

workout log: 25 april 2009