This week has gotten off to a slow start again, and I found myself with too few miles today. The plan was to rectify the situation by riding 20 miles before the group ride started, thereby totaling half my week in two rides (as I should). If I could pull that off without taxing myself too far, my week would be back on track.
Of course it was pretty hot and humid - temps in the low 90's, real feel over a 100 degrees - and a pretty strong WSW wind made going south difficult. Sweat dripped from my helmet as I made my way to Huck's, and my McDonald's jersey was soaked by the halfway point. So much for conserving! Good thing I'd taken a couple of precautionary Enduralytes before the ride!
Back at the church, guys were showing up. Eventually we wound up with 9 riders at the start. Taking a new way out, we pedaled easily toward the county line. About halfway there I proposed a different type of line tonight. I suggested, since we had 9 riders, three 3-man teams. This is something we've discussed before, and recently James and I talked a lot about. The idea I had was that the talent be split evenly, that is, a fast/medium/slow combination. It would probably result in a strong rider pulling longer, but it would also allow the weaker rider to be pulled along much faster than was possible alone. Each team had to finish with all riders, so everyone's speed would come to a certain level (if all went according to plan).
To my surprise everyone agreed to give the team concept a try, with a slight alteration - our group tonight favored grouping by ability. I have to admit, my original suggestion would take a great deal of thought and planning to get just right, whereas grouping by ability would be straight forward. Much easier to handle on the fly, as we were doing.
So it was settled; we'd get to the pee tree and break the groups up. I'm pretty sure it would have worked, if we weren't surprised by the appearance of two extra riders waiting for us at the tree. There, sitting in the shade patiently, were DfO and Miller. Both had gotten a late start and went straight to the tree.
Now we had 11 riders. The 3-man teams became 2-man teams, and I rode alone. I could have gotten on with another group, but that would have spoiled any comparison with the other teams. I really didn't mind either - I was on the Cannondale testing a wheel I'd had repaired. There was a fair chance I'd have to pull out anyway, so it was really best if I rode alone. It worked out as it should.
So we took off in one-minute intervals, the first group being Scott and Galloway. One minute later Rand and Allen sped off, then Roy and Jimmy, DfO and Greg, Miller and Troy, then me. Now it was time to throw down.
There really wasn't any danger I'd catch Troy and Miller - they both are too strong, and honestly, with them working together I would wear down before they did. I did hope to close the gap, and that's where I focused my energy. I didn't want to think about my dry throat, or that I'd already ridden almost 40 miles, or that it was humid, or I was on a slow bike... these are negative thoughts that do nothing to advance your efforts. Far better to focus on the pressure in my chest, keeping it in the target range, the distance to the bikes ahead, the feel of the pedals, the wind on my back as I hit aero... things that can be controlled.
The wind was laying down a bit by now - it was after 7, after all - but it had turned more southerly, and slightly helpful. It was blowing in from our 8 o'clock position. Helpful, but not dominant in effect.
By the end of the first straightaway I had the gap down to 40 seconds. That was the easy one though. See, that meant each Miller and Troy had one pull apiece. A 5-minute pull is no problem for me at speed, so to this point, all things being equal, we'd put out roughly equivalent efforts. This is where I figured things would get rougher. They would continue to rotate to the front, which meant they would get a chance to refresh. On the other hand, I would be wearing down continuously as the ride progressed. That gap would surely grow again. I focused on holding speed, hoping to delay the inevitable.
The gap did appear to shrink and grow over the next few miles. These guys were moving, and they gobbled up the pair ahead of them (DfO and Greg). I caught them shortly after, about a half-mile before the big drop. Still the gap held.
On the big downhill into Lost River Valley, the expected happened. My front rim began to squawl loadly in protest. It's an old rim, and twice I've had new bearings put into it. It's no use. Once I went over 35 mph the rim went nuts. I was briefly afraid it might come apart, but thankfully as my speed bled back down to 32, the noise stopped. I was able to continue my pursuit through the valley.
I saw them enter the hill, and I was closing, but I had a plan here - cruise the hill. I was too tapped from the start, the humidity was too thick, and I knew there would be no 20+ mph climb this week. I actually topped under 15 mph, but it didn't matter. Within a minute over the top I was back up to 27 mph. And I was closing fast.
Up the last hill, I could see the gap shrinking. I was perhaps 100 yards away when they topped. That's when my good fortunes ended. You see, Miller looked back. I knew the second he saw me I'd never catch them. That's all it took. It's easy to understand - if I had been in his place, there's no way I'd let him catch me. Maybe he'd get close, but he would not catch me.
Once I topped, indeed the gap had exploded again. I rode down the hill hard, plowed through the rollers, and pushed through the final straight. Yes, I was closing, but there was no chance for a catch. I got their time for the finish, and 12 seconds later I followed.
Listening to the excited chatter as everyone gathered, I knew it had been successful. Everyone got a good workout. By going 2-man teams, no one got to rest completely, yet it wasn't as hard as an individual time trial. By grouping by ability, no one was dropped. Certainly there were dominant riders in each pair, but it was close enough to work.
The final numbers looked like this:
Greg/DfO - 26:40 for 22.50 mph
Galloway/Scott - 26:36 for 22.55 mph
Allen/Rand - 24:52 for 24.12 mph
Jimmy/Roy - 24:24 for 24.59 mph
Miller/Troy - 23:32 for 25.49 mph
IronBill - 22:47 for 26.33 mph
The unexpected bonus - since I did mine as an individual time trial, it qualifies for Strava KOM. I really wasn't chasing that as much as I was chasing Troy and Miller. I was aware late in the ride I had a shot at it, and it did help me keep pushing. It goes to show you how even when you think you don't feel well and you don't want to try in a workout, you should always push through and give it a shot. Sometimes good stuff will happen in spite of how you feel.
The workout was generally well-received. I don't know when we'll do something quite like it again, but I think with the mix of people we had today, it was pretty much the right thing to do. An 11-man pace line is dangerous under the best of circumstances, and the disparity of fitness would have made such an attempt insane. The suggestion for 3-4 man groups is a valid one, and I think more what we normally do. Still, it was nice to try this out, and I'm very happy with the outcome - even if I didn't get to team with anyone!
Of course it was pretty hot and humid - temps in the low 90's, real feel over a 100 degrees - and a pretty strong WSW wind made going south difficult. Sweat dripped from my helmet as I made my way to Huck's, and my McDonald's jersey was soaked by the halfway point. So much for conserving! Good thing I'd taken a couple of precautionary Enduralytes before the ride!
Back at the church, guys were showing up. Eventually we wound up with 9 riders at the start. Taking a new way out, we pedaled easily toward the county line. About halfway there I proposed a different type of line tonight. I suggested, since we had 9 riders, three 3-man teams. This is something we've discussed before, and recently James and I talked a lot about. The idea I had was that the talent be split evenly, that is, a fast/medium/slow combination. It would probably result in a strong rider pulling longer, but it would also allow the weaker rider to be pulled along much faster than was possible alone. Each team had to finish with all riders, so everyone's speed would come to a certain level (if all went according to plan).
To my surprise everyone agreed to give the team concept a try, with a slight alteration - our group tonight favored grouping by ability. I have to admit, my original suggestion would take a great deal of thought and planning to get just right, whereas grouping by ability would be straight forward. Much easier to handle on the fly, as we were doing.
So it was settled; we'd get to the pee tree and break the groups up. I'm pretty sure it would have worked, if we weren't surprised by the appearance of two extra riders waiting for us at the tree. There, sitting in the shade patiently, were DfO and Miller. Both had gotten a late start and went straight to the tree.
Now we had 11 riders. The 3-man teams became 2-man teams, and I rode alone. I could have gotten on with another group, but that would have spoiled any comparison with the other teams. I really didn't mind either - I was on the Cannondale testing a wheel I'd had repaired. There was a fair chance I'd have to pull out anyway, so it was really best if I rode alone. It worked out as it should.
So we took off in one-minute intervals, the first group being Scott and Galloway. One minute later Rand and Allen sped off, then Roy and Jimmy, DfO and Greg, Miller and Troy, then me. Now it was time to throw down.
There really wasn't any danger I'd catch Troy and Miller - they both are too strong, and honestly, with them working together I would wear down before they did. I did hope to close the gap, and that's where I focused my energy. I didn't want to think about my dry throat, or that I'd already ridden almost 40 miles, or that it was humid, or I was on a slow bike... these are negative thoughts that do nothing to advance your efforts. Far better to focus on the pressure in my chest, keeping it in the target range, the distance to the bikes ahead, the feel of the pedals, the wind on my back as I hit aero... things that can be controlled.
The wind was laying down a bit by now - it was after 7, after all - but it had turned more southerly, and slightly helpful. It was blowing in from our 8 o'clock position. Helpful, but not dominant in effect.
By the end of the first straightaway I had the gap down to 40 seconds. That was the easy one though. See, that meant each Miller and Troy had one pull apiece. A 5-minute pull is no problem for me at speed, so to this point, all things being equal, we'd put out roughly equivalent efforts. This is where I figured things would get rougher. They would continue to rotate to the front, which meant they would get a chance to refresh. On the other hand, I would be wearing down continuously as the ride progressed. That gap would surely grow again. I focused on holding speed, hoping to delay the inevitable.
The gap did appear to shrink and grow over the next few miles. These guys were moving, and they gobbled up the pair ahead of them (DfO and Greg). I caught them shortly after, about a half-mile before the big drop. Still the gap held.
On the big downhill into Lost River Valley, the expected happened. My front rim began to squawl loadly in protest. It's an old rim, and twice I've had new bearings put into it. It's no use. Once I went over 35 mph the rim went nuts. I was briefly afraid it might come apart, but thankfully as my speed bled back down to 32, the noise stopped. I was able to continue my pursuit through the valley.
I saw them enter the hill, and I was closing, but I had a plan here - cruise the hill. I was too tapped from the start, the humidity was too thick, and I knew there would be no 20+ mph climb this week. I actually topped under 15 mph, but it didn't matter. Within a minute over the top I was back up to 27 mph. And I was closing fast.
Up the last hill, I could see the gap shrinking. I was perhaps 100 yards away when they topped. That's when my good fortunes ended. You see, Miller looked back. I knew the second he saw me I'd never catch them. That's all it took. It's easy to understand - if I had been in his place, there's no way I'd let him catch me. Maybe he'd get close, but he would not catch me.
Once I topped, indeed the gap had exploded again. I rode down the hill hard, plowed through the rollers, and pushed through the final straight. Yes, I was closing, but there was no chance for a catch. I got their time for the finish, and 12 seconds later I followed.
Listening to the excited chatter as everyone gathered, I knew it had been successful. Everyone got a good workout. By going 2-man teams, no one got to rest completely, yet it wasn't as hard as an individual time trial. By grouping by ability, no one was dropped. Certainly there were dominant riders in each pair, but it was close enough to work.
The final numbers looked like this:
Greg/DfO - 26:40 for 22.50 mph
Galloway/Scott - 26:36 for 22.55 mph
Allen/Rand - 24:52 for 24.12 mph
Jimmy/Roy - 24:24 for 24.59 mph
Miller/Troy - 23:32 for 25.49 mph
IronBill - 22:47 for 26.33 mph
The unexpected bonus - since I did mine as an individual time trial, it qualifies for Strava KOM. I really wasn't chasing that as much as I was chasing Troy and Miller. I was aware late in the ride I had a shot at it, and it did help me keep pushing. It goes to show you how even when you think you don't feel well and you don't want to try in a workout, you should always push through and give it a shot. Sometimes good stuff will happen in spite of how you feel.
The workout was generally well-received. I don't know when we'll do something quite like it again, but I think with the mix of people we had today, it was pretty much the right thing to do. An 11-man pace line is dangerous under the best of circumstances, and the disparity of fitness would have made such an attempt insane. The suggestion for 3-4 man groups is a valid one, and I think more what we normally do. Still, it was nice to try this out, and I'm very happy with the outcome - even if I didn't get to team with anyone!
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