After last weekends 76 or so miles, I didn't know what to expect for this weekend but it was, after all, the first event on the "big" calendar. So Friday afternoon it was off for a 3 hour drive to Elizabeth City NC. Goal: Get away early and avoid the traffic. Mission accomplished! XM Radio tuned to the "80's" channel to pass the time and before we knew it we were at our destination. We got up early to get a great parking spot at the start of the ride, as is our usual custom and got ready to roll on out. My goal was to go out earlier than the "masses" to avoid the confusion at the mass start and beat a bit of the heat.Riders meeting at 7:15 and mass start at 7:30 was not for me. I readied myself and "snuck" out just after 7:00 for what was to be a LONG ride. As opposed to previous years, the wind was right in our faces as we rode away from Elizabeth City towards the turnaround point of Edenton. It one hour and 15 minutes for the "elite" riders to "catch" me and it was neat to have the roads all to myself. I was the 1st person past the first "Sag" stop and the 4th to enter the second sag stop. At this stop it was ABUNDANTLY apparent that the wind was going to be a HUGE problem! My average pace to this point in the previous 6 years that I have done this ride was around 19 to 20 mph. This year with a pretty steady good effort, keeping in mind that I was going to ride 100 miles instead of 63, I was averaging about 15.5 mph. But the goal of finishing and keeping my promise to myself drove me on. After the sag stop, and while "slogging" along solo riding fighting the wind, many thoughts came to mind: "what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger" , "your stronger for sticking it out" and all the usual mind games that go on in your mind as you are battling fatigue, headwinds and all the "demons" that typically plague one on a 100 mile ride. One thing that I did find out is that my back started to "give out" about 3 and 1/2 hours into the ride-Note to self -keep Advil along for relief! Once I got to the sag stop at Edenton, I "begged" 3 Tylenol from one of the Sag Volunteers. Seemed to have done the trick! I also inquired of my fellow riders -Did it seem like the wind was in our face for 9/10ths of the journey to this point? The common response was YES, in fact, it was! So, applying "Cycle Logic" to the problem and psyching my self up I thought that with the wind at our backs for the remainder of the journey I could not only make it back to the finish but probably raise my average speed as well!
What a difference a change in the direction in the wind plus a rest stop made! My average at the turn around point had fallen to 15.4 mph. The moment I started to head back to the finish my average speed started to creep up. It is hard not to when you look down at the GPS on the bike and your speed shows 19 to 2o mph! The sun and heat started cooking by 11:30 and the heat became the next obstacle. By the end of the ride the temperature was 84 degrees. After the ride looking at the weather, the wind averaged around 14 to 15 mph was , in fact, pretty much in our face the whole way out to the turn around point. I made it though!! End results: 100.8 miles, 6 hours 15 minutes "in the saddle" and average of 16.1 mph. GOOD EFFORT. Hot, yes that too. A shower and a bit of food at the end, and lots of liquid started the recovery process. Training for the Rockies continues at a good pace.
Next Event is Three Mountain Metric in May and with a trial run earlier in the month and a new cassette in the back and new derailleur with a wider range of low gears, I should be good to go!!
