It was great to resume the annual event after missing Hotter
n Hell for Montreal 24h 2014.
_goal
Good visit with Ann
Injury-free, bonk-free.
Finish before noon => average 20.3 mph
_mechanical
The BMC drivetrain became noisy over the summer. After acquiring the tools to service the
shifter and the chain, I was still unable to eliminate the remaining creaking. Local bike shop was unable to help me 6 days
before HHH due to volume.
_expo
None of the 3 items on my list had sufficient discount:
Giro Attack helmet
Rudy Project Statfly glasses
Bicycle Inc driving glasses
Bought other things at steep discount:
Atmos II for $79
LG Base layer for $2.50
[this is the most complicated jersey I'd seen. I didn't need another jersey but couldn't pass
it up for $20]
_crit
The quality of spaghetti dinner has been consistent for decades. The new price made it feel like a donation.
Bumped into Casey and Voon at post-dinner crit. One tire blew in front of us forcing 2 others to stop.
Miraculously no one was hurt. I couldn’t see myself taking on this
risk-fun ratio.
6:30am: Parked on grass.
Installed bento bag
Assembled
wheels
Prepared nutrition
Installed Quarq power meter battery
Prayed bottom bracket would hold.
6:55am: rolling
shopping for group to hang with
rolled at
steady pace on official course
_century ride
7:05am: cannon.
Started Garmin 310xt; waiting for the front pack.
The lead pack came like a freight train. Lots of gaps were available to join. No one was in a big hurry. 4 hours to go.
_easy first half
310XT showed lots of 23+ mph with aerobic heart
rate. I appeared to be in better shape
than anticipated. No one seemed to be
working too hard.
A few dudes stopped in the middle of the road surrounding a
guy holding his shoulder. I reminded
myself not to take chances.
My main issue was opening the nutrition bag one-handed. Then my Gatorade bottle leaked because I
didn't leave enough air room before freezing.
[Garmin data]
_Hells Gate Express
It wasn’t hard to keep up with the pack, but yoyoing was scary
at time. The leaders started to break
into groups. I was happy with my
position: 23+ mph, mostly steady, I feel guilty for contribution so little.
The effort felt good; the road
surface did not. I tried to remember what it was like to skate chip n seal.
_erratic pace
3:35 into the ride, strong riders got antsy. Acceleration came in waves. I could feel riders red-lining. I decided to let the group go to minimizing
bonking risk. "Go easy early. This is the course you bonked 3 out of 3." I only need to average 17 mph for the remaining ride.
Somehow I thought of Nelson's single's bar dating philosophy, "go ugly early."
_prolonging my skate career
Much of the surface was rough. I fantasized skating this course using 125mm
wheels in 2016.
_pulling the pack
3:35 ~ 3:56 averaging < 20 mph. Road was crap. I picked up a few riders along the way. I hoped at least 1 of them would share the
work. I put my head down. I wished I had my time trial bike.
Help came before 4 hour mark in the form of a triathlete with
terrible pack skill. The guy kept getting off the saddle due to man-part issue. I was grateful not having to face the wind
alone. I ease a little with every hint of cramping.
_successful finish
I anticipated to bonk between miles 80 and 90; I didn’t. I jumped into the first group after mile
85. The pace was reasonable, but my
legs felt weak. I was sad the new route
no longer goes through the beer stop.
2 miles to go. Riders turned jumpy. I rode by myself to avoid having to trust strangers.
The ride ended anticlimactically. All body parts functional. Everyone smiling. I couldn’t stop thinking about skating the
course again.
_#’s
Gatorade: 2x 24 oz
Water: 2x 24 oz + 12 oz boy scout from roadside
Garmin 310xt
Time = 4:36:44
Speed = 21.6 mph |
HR = 147/171 bpm;
Power = 142/788 w
|
Weather = 73F; 5mph SSW; 69% humidity
|
No stop
|
Official timing chip data only worked at Hell’s Gate:
Check Pt; 2:37:48.12; 23.2 mph
Check Pt; 2:37:48.12; 23.2 mph
_compare to previous PR (2009 with yoga injury):
Time: 4:42:57
Speed: 21.2 mph
HR: 155/180bpm
Stop #1: pee against fence at mile 27
Stop #2: regroup after bonking: mile 91
|
_5 hours after
Took the BMC to Trishop’s to fix the
noise issue. Sure enough my bottom
bracket cracked.
Quarq upgrade was hard to swallow at $900. I postponed the decision 'til 2016.
_morning after
Woke up at 3:30am. I didn’t
sleep well. Legs weren’t too sore. I reinstated A2A training Sunday:
skate:
Windhaven skate ladder x12
|
HR = 114/158 bpm;
|
run:
10k @9:17
HR = 133/151 bpm
|
_18 days after
Met Doug at a Private Client dinner. He rode with the pace car for 80 miles and
finished around 4.5 hours. Doug owned a
Ducati but had no power meter on his S-Work.
At least I had my priority straight.
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