8/6/11 Ride Recap - Training Ride on the Sub 5 Century Course

On Saturday, Bob, Clay, Cons, Felix, Herb, Ian, Martin, and I headed to Hanpshire to test ourselves to see if we could ride the 100 mile course of the event at pace. We were joined by Jim Duran, a cyclist from Palatine who rode in the event last year. The previous week, we had done 2 circuits of the 33.5 mile route. However, due to stops for flats on the first circuit, a missed turn on the second circuit, and a decision not to go for a third circuit on a hot and humid day, our results from the 8/1 ride did not provide a very good indication of where we are in regard to being fit enough to make the sub 5 hour pace on the September 11 ride.

Prior to the start of the ride, Felix handed out jerseys that were custom designed for the event. They are very distinctive and bright, making it easy to pick out our group from a long distance. However, this delayed us a bit, and we ended a hitting the road at 8:20 rather that at 8:00 am. Given that the temperature was perfect at 8:00 am and in the mid '80s at midday, the late starting time probably cost us a bit.

On the first circuit, we missed a turn and went so far off course that we decided the best thing to do was simply to keep going and then double back once we hit 16+ miles. The group easily maintained pace on the first loop. Once back at our starting point we pulled out the maps and GPS's and figured out where we had gone wrong. Our navigating certainly was not helped by the paucity of street signs in this rural area.

The second circuit was a bit tougher as the sun became brighter, and our navigation was not perfect, but at least this time we only went about a mile out of our way. We were able to maintain the pace for the entire circuit.

Our group did really well on the first half of the third circuit. We were able to keep up our 22 mph pace. However, after about 85 miles, the hot weather started to take a toll on us. Clay, Cons, and Martin all finished with a flourish, but the rest of us struggled a bit. Ian and I had the most problems due to leg cramps. Despite 4 bottles of Gatorade and 4 more of water, the knots in my legs tightened up to the point that I was unable to finish the ride. Ian struggled through the pain and was able to complete the ride. However, the rest of the group made it to the finish in a really good time considering the draining aspect of the heat and humidity..

So how did we do? We took much longer breaks than we will be able to take at the actual event, but had planned on doing so. In regard to weather, we caught a break in not having any wind to fight against. However, the heat and humidity made the conditions on the 3rd circuit really challenging. Given that we still have another month  to train for the event, our group should do pretty well if the wind, sun and rain are favorable.

The results for the ride from Felix's GPS can be viewed here.