It was a good day for the team from the Evanston Bike Club at the Sub 5 Hour Century ride in Hampshire, IL. Bob, Bob, Clay, Cons, Gary, Herb, Ian, Martin, Richard, Felix, and I all rode in the event and John and Heidi followed us providing SAG support in Herb's truck. Nine members of the team rode the 100 mile course in under 5 hours, and a tenth member would have made it if not for a missed turn. All that training that Felix cajoled us into doing paid off with a very respectable result in this event that raises funds for Parkinson's disease research.
It was a long but satisfying day. We departed from the North Shore around 5:00 am in order to get there for the 6:00 am registration. We started around 8:00 am and set off at a blazing pace down the mostly downhill initial segment of the course (for details, click on the links to Garmin data at the bottom of the post). Our first circuit of the 33 mile course was ahead of pace, as we took advantage of the minimal wind early in the morning. However, as the wind picked up mid-morning and energy reserves wore down, we slowed down a bit below our planned pace during the second lap, and really fell off the pace for the third lap. However, our fast first lap and short breaks provided a comfortable margin to hit the goal time, despite the slower following laps. Additional statistics will be added to this post as they become available.
I would like to provide a shout out to Cons and Ian for helping to ensure that leg cramps were not my undoing again as they had been on the previous two practice sessions in Hampshire. Cons for serving as my OTC pharmacist, and Ian for his reminders to consume a bottle of liquid every half circuit.
Also, Heidi and John deserve a big thank you for following us around the course for 5 hours.
We did a bit better on our post ride celebration, as we had a nice lunch at the Old West Steakhouse in Union Il.
Garmin Ride data:
Felix's Garmin Data
Con's Garmin Data
Sub 5 Century Challenge Results
Results for All Participants
Concur with a BIG THANKS to Heidi and John for spending nearly 5 hours in a car. And Herb for using his truck! Cons is the OTC supplier of OTC anti cramping goodies.
ReplyDeleteClay