Today is the summer solstice, the official beginning of summer, and the longest day of the year. It also happens to be the day scheduled to ride long, a century, the first in a month. After a week of heat and weight loss, would it be possible to complete the ride? Would the heat build again today as it has every other day for a week? Nothing to do for it but to try!
My plan was to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, and take Enduralytes every hour on the hour. I also made sure to take some food in every 90 minutes or so. Finally, I did not rush anything for the first part of the ride.
Allen, Roy, John T., and Scott were the ones I followed early on. Scott was the most surprising of all - his trademark pull the group out move was notably absent. I asked him about that, and he replied, "I didn't want to pull the pace up for the guys going 100." I appreciate that very much! I knew for certain John T. would make the whole thing, was comfortable Roy would, and was only 50/50 I would.
I probably didn't approach the day with the best lead up plan. Today would be the third day in a row riding, and to top it off, I'd made a major change to the bike just yesterday. I'm known to be an "all-or-nothing" sort of guy, but this was foolish even for me. If I suddenly developed a problem because of the chain ring experiment, I would be in a world of trouble.
Since Scott and Allen, the two purveyors of paths, were only going to about 25 miles with us, I decided to pitch my idea for the course. Roy really liked the Salem/Palmyra course, John T. hadn't seen it yet, so why not go that way? It had some good stretches for aero, some hills (more like long grades), and ample water stops. True, if it got really hot out we ran the risk of baking on the road, but I thought it was worth it. Besides, both Roy and John T. are extremely steady riders, and I had no fear for them on Highway 56.
John T. pulled the 337 leg at a steady 20-21 mph. We dropped off Allen and Scott, then southeast we went, through Livonia and onward to Salem on 56. I pulled this leg, steady at the 20-21 area John T. had done. I had to be careful of the climbs - the Rotor Q Ring is particularly effective there, and I didn't want to break away. It's not as if the guys couldn't keep up, but I wasn't having to work as hard they did, and they were trying to play it smart.
It seemed like no time before we were in Salem. We stopped for some fluids, then wound our way through the back streets to exit the city on the south side, heading south on 135. This portion begins with a couple of long semi-steep grades, nothing unmanageable, and we got through them with no problems. The road flattens a bit after that into a pleasant rolling terrain, and all too soon we hit the turn point.
There was a bit of a headwind coming back, which was actually a good thing, because a north breeze is always cool. Puffy fair weather cumulus clouds were also cropping up all over, which gave occasional breaks from direct sunlight. This would go a long way to keeping us cooler and on the road.
<BREAK>
I've spent the last few minutes lying on the floor staring at the ceiling. Seems I had some nice hamstring spasms that had me screaming at the top of my lungs, and the only thing that helped was to slide out of my chair, fall heavily to the floor, and lay outstretched on my back. It's over for now. I can resume my post.
</BREAK>
We hit Wendy's on the way back through Salem, and it was a nice break. A cool room, food, and best of all, cold drinks. Maybe I should have been concerned about eating and continuing into the heat, but it didn't seem to bother any of us. We wove back through town, hit 56, and before long were following Roy back to Livonia. He kept the average above 20 mph all the way. In my opinion, Roy has never looked better as a rider.
On 337, I carried the line duties until we turned off. It got out of hand at first, but I slowed it down after a bit. The truth is, I've done the road so many times I go into autopilot. Once rolling northwest, it's time to work. The Q Ring made this so easy to do. Sometimes you get lucky and find a tweak or device that seemed like it was designed just for you, and I think that may be the case here.
We decided to make one final stop in Mitchell for fluids, which left us with 12 miles to go. Though no one really wanted to do Rabbitsville, it was the only sure way of getting the full 100 miles without doing some silly loop around town (hate that). John T. began leaping out more and more - he could smell the barn. As for me, I was cruising in. It had been a great ride, and I didn't want to mess that up now. Besides, it was time to start thinking about tomorrow's workout. I urged John T. and Roy to go on if they wanted, but we stayed together.
Finally it was time for the cut. By now I could finally feel my quads. My legs had been anything but rested before we left, so my only surprise was that it had taken so long to feel them. Once again, I attribute that to the Q Ring. It saved me from having to pound the quads throughout the ride.
We did indeed finish, and I must say those guys both looked like they could turn around and do it again (though I know from their conversation they wouldn't want to!). I rode home and put it all away for the day.
Rotor Q Ring Summary #2:
This thing is really working out. I know my good buddy Allen is convinced it's placebo, and who am I to argue with his vast experience with them? What I do know is I climb better and cruise easier. The best way to describe the feeling is it's like drafting off someone all day long. I seemed to be able to hang with John T. in climbs better than I normally do - of course he obviously could have been taking things easier. Still, I feel faster.
Run tomorrow morning? Probably!
My plan was to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, and take Enduralytes every hour on the hour. I also made sure to take some food in every 90 minutes or so. Finally, I did not rush anything for the first part of the ride.
Allen, Roy, John T., and Scott were the ones I followed early on. Scott was the most surprising of all - his trademark pull the group out move was notably absent. I asked him about that, and he replied, "I didn't want to pull the pace up for the guys going 100." I appreciate that very much! I knew for certain John T. would make the whole thing, was comfortable Roy would, and was only 50/50 I would.
I probably didn't approach the day with the best lead up plan. Today would be the third day in a row riding, and to top it off, I'd made a major change to the bike just yesterday. I'm known to be an "all-or-nothing" sort of guy, but this was foolish even for me. If I suddenly developed a problem because of the chain ring experiment, I would be in a world of trouble.
Since Scott and Allen, the two purveyors of paths, were only going to about 25 miles with us, I decided to pitch my idea for the course. Roy really liked the Salem/Palmyra course, John T. hadn't seen it yet, so why not go that way? It had some good stretches for aero, some hills (more like long grades), and ample water stops. True, if it got really hot out we ran the risk of baking on the road, but I thought it was worth it. Besides, both Roy and John T. are extremely steady riders, and I had no fear for them on Highway 56.
John T. pulled the 337 leg at a steady 20-21 mph. We dropped off Allen and Scott, then southeast we went, through Livonia and onward to Salem on 56. I pulled this leg, steady at the 20-21 area John T. had done. I had to be careful of the climbs - the Rotor Q Ring is particularly effective there, and I didn't want to break away. It's not as if the guys couldn't keep up, but I wasn't having to work as hard they did, and they were trying to play it smart.
It seemed like no time before we were in Salem. We stopped for some fluids, then wound our way through the back streets to exit the city on the south side, heading south on 135. This portion begins with a couple of long semi-steep grades, nothing unmanageable, and we got through them with no problems. The road flattens a bit after that into a pleasant rolling terrain, and all too soon we hit the turn point.
There was a bit of a headwind coming back, which was actually a good thing, because a north breeze is always cool. Puffy fair weather cumulus clouds were also cropping up all over, which gave occasional breaks from direct sunlight. This would go a long way to keeping us cooler and on the road.
<BREAK>
I've spent the last few minutes lying on the floor staring at the ceiling. Seems I had some nice hamstring spasms that had me screaming at the top of my lungs, and the only thing that helped was to slide out of my chair, fall heavily to the floor, and lay outstretched on my back. It's over for now. I can resume my post.
</BREAK>
We hit Wendy's on the way back through Salem, and it was a nice break. A cool room, food, and best of all, cold drinks. Maybe I should have been concerned about eating and continuing into the heat, but it didn't seem to bother any of us. We wove back through town, hit 56, and before long were following Roy back to Livonia. He kept the average above 20 mph all the way. In my opinion, Roy has never looked better as a rider.
On 337, I carried the line duties until we turned off. It got out of hand at first, but I slowed it down after a bit. The truth is, I've done the road so many times I go into autopilot. Once rolling northwest, it's time to work. The Q Ring made this so easy to do. Sometimes you get lucky and find a tweak or device that seemed like it was designed just for you, and I think that may be the case here.
We decided to make one final stop in Mitchell for fluids, which left us with 12 miles to go. Though no one really wanted to do Rabbitsville, it was the only sure way of getting the full 100 miles without doing some silly loop around town (hate that). John T. began leaping out more and more - he could smell the barn. As for me, I was cruising in. It had been a great ride, and I didn't want to mess that up now. Besides, it was time to start thinking about tomorrow's workout. I urged John T. and Roy to go on if they wanted, but we stayed together.
Finally it was time for the cut. By now I could finally feel my quads. My legs had been anything but rested before we left, so my only surprise was that it had taken so long to feel them. Once again, I attribute that to the Q Ring. It saved me from having to pound the quads throughout the ride.
We did indeed finish, and I must say those guys both looked like they could turn around and do it again (though I know from their conversation they wouldn't want to!). I rode home and put it all away for the day.
Rotor Q Ring Summary #2:
This thing is really working out. I know my good buddy Allen is convinced it's placebo, and who am I to argue with his vast experience with them? What I do know is I climb better and cruise easier. The best way to describe the feeling is it's like drafting off someone all day long. I seemed to be able to hang with John T. in climbs better than I normally do - of course he obviously could have been taking things easier. Still, I feel faster.
Run tomorrow morning? Probably!
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