crazycanuck
03-05-2006, 11:22 PM
We entered The Great Karri Ride, 100km from Pemberton to Northcliffe here in WA. (www.greatkarriride.com.au) and it was an interesting day.
Here's what i learnt...
Don't forget your bike shorts at home...I had everything else packed & somehow forgot my bike shorts...i swear i packed them. However, the lovely chick that was our support crew is the same size & had an awsome pair of bike shorts.
Ensure you do the nature calls moment before you set of onto steep pea gravelly hills...
To make a longer story short for the board here's some info:
1-The organizers told us there was going to be burn offs but not at the same time as we rode. They had a plan b ride but CALM (conservation & land management) must of made a mistake. On stage 2 i came around a corner to find most of the competitors waiting. It appears CALM was doing a burn off right on the main course, not in the area they'd told us, making us backtrack....
2-They didn't tell us most of it would be gravel road riding. I felt a bit ripped off really as I thought it would be through the trees & off road. The hills were great though & felt my event training helped. I just wish people who have no clue about riding offroad uphill would move out of the way-arghghghghghgh
Enough about that. We(my dear & the other young gents) had an amazing support crew. Linda & her mum were there at the end of every stage to let us get our water, food & energy bars.
I was doing fine until the end of stage 2 and most of stage 3. Not only was it 36c (wasn't aware of how hot it was as it wasn't humid) but i had problems with my helmet, specifically pains in my ears & jaw. I took the scarf (made by buff) i usually wear & loosened the helmet straps but it still didn't feel loose. I was getting really annoyed at having to stop every little bit & adjust my helmet. My head was really bothering me to the point of me just about stopping on the side of the road & throwing my helmet into the trees..(spitting the dummy almost) I was about 10km away from the end of stage 3 & came accross the rural fire service(they helped us heaps) and some volunteers. I'd had enough of my helmet & felt if i kept going i would have been a danger to myself as i'd loosened it so much that if i'd fallen i would have been a casualty. I got a hitch back with the sag wagon.
I boiled it down to overheating....I so wanted to continue but my head was just not going to let me. I had a problem wearing a cap afterwards too as it was still too hot. It wasnt just me either, quite a few people called it quits over the heat.
So i made it 60km's & almost to the end of the toughest stage of the event & had to stop. I was really upset but am proud of myself as i made it up hills that other people walked up.
Water & hydration weren't a problem, i kept my fluid intake up & felt hydrated.
It was my helmet that got me...So i'm off to make new & improved adjustments to it..
c
Here's what i learnt...
Don't forget your bike shorts at home...I had everything else packed & somehow forgot my bike shorts...i swear i packed them. However, the lovely chick that was our support crew is the same size & had an awsome pair of bike shorts.
Ensure you do the nature calls moment before you set of onto steep pea gravelly hills...
To make a longer story short for the board here's some info:
1-The organizers told us there was going to be burn offs but not at the same time as we rode. They had a plan b ride but CALM (conservation & land management) must of made a mistake. On stage 2 i came around a corner to find most of the competitors waiting. It appears CALM was doing a burn off right on the main course, not in the area they'd told us, making us backtrack....
2-They didn't tell us most of it would be gravel road riding. I felt a bit ripped off really as I thought it would be through the trees & off road. The hills were great though & felt my event training helped. I just wish people who have no clue about riding offroad uphill would move out of the way-arghghghghghgh
Enough about that. We(my dear & the other young gents) had an amazing support crew. Linda & her mum were there at the end of every stage to let us get our water, food & energy bars.
I was doing fine until the end of stage 2 and most of stage 3. Not only was it 36c (wasn't aware of how hot it was as it wasn't humid) but i had problems with my helmet, specifically pains in my ears & jaw. I took the scarf (made by buff) i usually wear & loosened the helmet straps but it still didn't feel loose. I was getting really annoyed at having to stop every little bit & adjust my helmet. My head was really bothering me to the point of me just about stopping on the side of the road & throwing my helmet into the trees..(spitting the dummy almost) I was about 10km away from the end of stage 3 & came accross the rural fire service(they helped us heaps) and some volunteers. I'd had enough of my helmet & felt if i kept going i would have been a danger to myself as i'd loosened it so much that if i'd fallen i would have been a casualty. I got a hitch back with the sag wagon.
I boiled it down to overheating....I so wanted to continue but my head was just not going to let me. I had a problem wearing a cap afterwards too as it was still too hot. It wasnt just me either, quite a few people called it quits over the heat.
So i made it 60km's & almost to the end of the toughest stage of the event & had to stop. I was really upset but am proud of myself as i made it up hills that other people walked up.
Water & hydration weren't a problem, i kept my fluid intake up & felt hydrated.
It was my helmet that got me...So i'm off to make new & improved adjustments to it..
c