Hotter n Hell 100-mile bike ride 8/26/2017; Hurricane Harvey weekend

I skipped 2016 due to funeral in Taiwan.  2017 bike season had been unfocused and plagued by equipment issue.  I was confident PR of 4:36 was out of reach.  The legs struggled to recover from 9-mile time trial.  I wasn’t sure if the wheel alignment and new chain fixed the rear derailleur issue.  I was not anticipating ideal weather.

I was disappointed Murrells couldn’t make it.  Casey was recovering from Leadville 100 trail run.  Voon decided to do another race.  Casey’s coworker Joe took up the spare bedroom at Ann’s.

_goal
Good visit with Ann.
Injury-free, bonk-free.
Finish before noon => average 20.3 mph

[Ann’s new dog Wesley]

_expo
Rudy Project continued to have attractive helmet and sunglasses at unattractive price.
Most products made me feel I belong to an older generation.  The attendees made me feel young.  A 70-year-old observed that average age seems to rise by 1 year every year.

I bought bunch gels for Brandon and Robert’s first marathon and some gifts for Raluca.  I acquired enough Roctane for A2A and next 2 marathons.

Rain came before spaghetti dinner.  I put on the rain coat and was unconcerned about wet ride.  I scripted a 5:30 mostly solo ride.  This would be a training ride for A2A.

_century ride
Pre-ride went as planned.  I watched the fly by and office start from top of the bridge at 7:05am.  Air was humid but cool.  Mild wind.  Hurricane Harvey was 400 miles away.

The lead pack was led by a unfit-looking road cyclist using aero bar.  I let couple hundreds go before jumping in.

_easy first 50 miles
Garmin 310XT said mostly 23 or 26 mph with low heart rate.  I appeared to be in better shape than anticipated.  No one seemed to work too hard.  We were on track for 4:30 finish.  I wished I was fit to capitalize on the condition.  I disposed a full bottle at rest stop, disgusted I carried the dead weight for half the race.

_Hells Gate
I cut the timing chip to barebone and wondered if the sensor would pick the signal (it didn’t).

[timing chip setup unapproved by the organizer]

The big group split.  I was with 20 other guys and started to play team time trial.  Half the group wanted nothing to do with rotation.  We were quickly down to 9 and was swallowed by a chasing group.

Most boy scouts were surprised to see us.  Some riders didn’t get the anticipated water.  I took a long sip on my 2nd 700ml bottle and gave the remaining to a grateful triathlete.  I carried 100% too much water and felt like an idiot.

It wasn’t hard to stay in the group, but yo-yoing was scary at times.  The pace was erratic.  GPS showed 18 to 24 mph.  The pack lifted its pace suddenly; not everyone was ready.  I jerked my handle bar to avoid rear-ending.  I ended up riding on mud and grass.

_riding into ditch
I never unclipped.  By the time my wheels contacted pavement again, I was 20 seconds behind.  I chased.  Pack’s acceleration felt like deliberate: it spitted out 4 other guys.  I burnt all my matches futilely.

I worked with the only willing rider in sight.  I provided short pulls for which he excessively thanked me.  He pulled into R8 rest stop at mile 77.  I struggled to stay in the group that caught me.  I anticipated the wall to hit.

The wall didn’t come; the struggle prolonged.  The sun came out.  I worried I didn’t have enough water.  Things looked up at the mile-91 turn.  Head wind ended; pavement improved; suffering didn’t ease; we just went faster.  Left calf hinted cramping; I regretted carrying extra water instead of promotional sample Hotshot from the expo.  The twitch didn’t bloom into full cramp.

Top time in 2017’s beautiful weather was 4:04:55.
In 2015, top time was 4:13:18 when I rode 4:36:44

_#’s
Water: 2x 24 oz + 2x 700ml (1000 ml unused).
Gel: 7
Jelly bean: 1
Endurolyte: 4 pills.

GPS: Garmin 310xt
Distance = 100.2 mi
Speed = 22.0 mph
Time = 4:33:52
HR = 147/171 bpm;
Power = 142/788 w
No stop

_aftermath
Butt was sore from riding at the seat tip.  I was unable to bend over to unbuckle the shoes.
I screwed up the chance to break 4:30 for the event but cherished the experience to struggle for the final 30 miles.  I remembered the 2004 promised: I wouldn’t waste the freedom if spine surgery succeeded.  2017 turned out to be a beautiful ride.

_reference point
2009 with yoga injury:
Time: 4:42:57
Speed: 21.2 mph
Heart rate: 155/180bpm
Stop #1: pee against fence at mile 27
Stop #2: regroup after bonking: mile 91
slow final 12 miles
Ride data: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/858125375

Richardson Corp Challenge Bike 15k 2017/08/20

This was 1 of the 22 events Richardson hosted.  The written rules were wordy yet unclear partly because the word “team” was used for 3 contexts:
- The 4 riders whose time actually went into result
- The up to 20 riders who ride with timing chips
- All riders representing the company
There’s no rule against motor.  What would the organizer do if I showed up with Ninja?

Riders were not educated on passing.  We ended up slicing between riders and going outside of cones to avoid contact.

_goal
Not embarrass myself and the team.  Crash-free.

_course
1 lane was blocked off but the corners weren’t well thought out given # of inexperienced riders.

_race
I took off on my 12-year-old QR and the only sperm looking helmet in the whole event.  Ashley latched on.  I couldn’t imagines the girls accelerating quickly.  Beaney probably wasn’t ready on his hybrid.  For the first time I realized the ancient helmet had a huge blind spot from aero position.

First right was the only clear turn I didn’t worry about collision.  We made the turn without braking.  I made remaining turns conservatively and probably paid many seconds for safety.

Ashley took over on Waterview Parkway.  He attacked the hill with enthusiasm.  Neither of us knew how to pace a 9-mile TT; we went too hard.

The 2 Indian girls at Central right turn weren’t aware we were catching them at 28 mph.  I braked.  Ashley had to wait on 75 surface road.  The right turn was well-marked at Palisades Creek Dr.  Ashley stopped looking fluid once we started the long climb.  He told me to go, I decided to slow and hope he’d recover.  This was supposed to be a team time trial.  We barely made half way.

My heart rate was recovered by Campbell; legs didn’t bounce back.  Mild head wind.  I had the faster bike.  I accelerate gradually and hoped Ashley would hang on.  He did.  I struggled to reach for 26 mph.  The final right turn came quicker than expected.  I gave Ashley the lead.

Giving the cop and other racers too much room, I turned onto sidewalk at 20.8 mph.  I had to jump off a curb, Peter Sagan-like.  Wish there's a video.  Very happy having no road rash.  Heart rate transmitter broke just before race ended.

_#
Garmin 310xt
Distance: 8.74 mi
Time: 22:42
Speed: 23.1 mph
HR: 165/180 bpm

Official
Distance: 8.95 mi
Time: 22.38
Speed: 23.7 mph
Pace: 1st in division D

Tony Martin: 33.5 mph for 40k at 2017 TT World Championship.