Sunday 9/27 rides

Finally a two days of riding.
Went to the "Florida hills" in San Antonio (Florida). I am 2 weeks from my Moab trip.
40 miles each day. Not very fast. But can get 'er done!
Day #2 (Sunday), at mile 35 one of my riding buddies got her first flat. I was behind her, we were going slow and I hard the back tire w/ the intermittant "psst" as the air leaked. I pulled around her so I could stop further up. I The other riding buddy was calling out "stopping". THOUGHT she knew she had a flat. Then I heard this CRASH! And some moaing/wailing sound!
So what happened was: it was this gals first flat and she had only been ona road bike about a month (previously a hybrid). Well, she really didn't realize what was happening and as 2nd riding buddy was just to her rigth (and getting ready tostop)...gal w/ flat when down ...right in front of 2nd riding buddy--who then fell on top. Both were fine. Gal w/ flat is a bit more bruised. And shaken up. So I had to ride (like the wind--had) to get the car. So 5 miles (of hills) and the rain storm approaching. I went as fast as I could (ok, not as fast as I wanted). I barely knew the route--luckily a stratigh shot. Threw bike in back of car and jumped in car JUST as it started to rain. So now I am driving (in teh rain) unfamilar roads--hilly and curvey (more nervous than biking). They did get the flat fixed and started to pedall some...and it was downpouring. So I picked them up (they looked like drowned rats). By the time we got the bikes secured....it stopped raining.

So 80 mile weekend w/hills...my best biking weekend in a long time--except for the little mishap!
Oh and I didn't get lost finding the car or retracing my path in the car!

What do you folks average on hilly routes...had some rollers, some very step and some longer climbs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by katluvr

What do you folks average on hilly routes...had some rollers, some very step and some longer climbs.

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Ha ha...

This weekend I was very proud to finish at all. This ride is a big regional feather in one's cap. It's rated at TDD 10. (From what I've seen of the Mt. Dora/Clermont area, I'd guess it'd be rated around 3-4, but you'd have to ask your local cycling clubs.) Barometric altimeters weren't working because of the rain, but I've been told CFC is 9,000 feet the first day and 8,000 the second.

I wasn't DFL, but then again I had no mechanicals and no flats - the sag support alone went through over 70 tubes, so I must've been one of the only people who never had to stop except for food, pee, and once to tell the sag about another bike with a broken chain. So maybe I was actually the slowest rider out there. :p

I did Saturday's 114 miles at a moving average of 13.3 and Sunday's 101 at a moving average of 12.5 mph. But I finished - and unlike a lot of people, didn't drop out because of the weather. Which I totally didn't understand, since they'd been forecasting a 90-100% chance of rain on Saturday, since at least Thursday - if they didn't want to ride in it, why start at all (and get their bikes all gritty)? :confused:


On our usual club rides, we do anywhere from 40 to 80 on Tuesdays and 35-ish on Thursday evenings at a TDD of probably 7-8, and there we'll average 15-16.

What is TDD?
And yes, I am slow! But it was a fun and pretty ride (very rural!)

I did the 65 mile course of the Headwater Century. I began my ride at 7:00 AM with a morning temperature of 39 degrees! The sky was crystal clear (probably why it was so cold). Shortly after starting, the sun began to peek over the horizon. Morning mist laid low in the surrounding farmland fields. My toes and feet were numb the first 1 1/2 hours of the ride. I had condensation on my bike, helmet and legs! Around 9:00 AM the sun was beginning to work it's warming magic and my toes began to thaw! The ride was wonderful! A gorgeous beautiful autumn day (once the sun warmed things up). It was a very HILLY ride and one of my favorite areas in which to ride. I had a great day on my bike! And now here I am, sitting at my desk at work wishing I were on my bike!

I did the 55 mile Tour for Woodside ride. Holy cow was that one tough!! I did it last year and while it was a bit tough, it was doable, but this year the weather was HOT - in the upper 90's by 10AM and it seemed to get hottest half way up the mountain. Of course, they changed the rest stop at the top of the mountain - moved it about 1.5 miles down the road that goes along the summit - in the opposite direction. Fortunately, there was a lot of downhill there! I finished, but was toast when I got done.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by katluvr

What is TDD?

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Terrain Degree of Difficulty, on a 1-10 scale.

Although to be completely honest, I think whoever does the rating for COP could use a little fine-tuning.

Last weekend's single-century ride was rated a 10 as well, and I thought this Saturday was much harder. Some of it could've been the weather though (both the chilled muscles and having to take it slow on wet descents) - and maybe they take the back-to-back days into account also, as the big stage races take into account fatigue when they categorize climbs.

And IMVHO, I think if it's a 1-10 scale, then 10 should be reserved for "the most difficult ride you can imagine," and I can definitely imagine more difficult.



ETA: In my defense :p, this was my first time doing CFC, so it was super important to me to finish. I didn't try to stay with anyone, but instead made sure there'd be no question I'd saved enough - and definitely I had enough to pick up the pace a bit in the last five or six miles, once it was pretty clear that I would finish. As I said to someone at the last food stop, all summer it's been "I've got to ride harder, I'm training for CFC!," but this weekend all I had to do was finish. :)

For comparison, in the Florida flats, three of us working together would typically average right around 20 when you exclude the stop-sign laden warm-up and cool-down sections, and I know I'm way stronger now than I was when I left there in the spring.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by katluvr

What do you folks average on hilly routes...had some rollers, some very step and some longer climbs.

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I have a few hilly routes here with lots of rollers, some gradual grades (which don't bother me at all but kill some of our riders) and some steep, hard climbs (if it is very steep I am toast, I don't have a great climbing gear on my cassette), it depends, for me, on the distance and who I am riding with. 35 or less, I know I will have enough in me to hammer it out at 18-20 mph average if I have someone to pull some, especially in to the wind. If it is longer or I am having to work the whole way, I keep it at 15-16 mph. My back tends to get very bad at 40-45 miles if I have been hammering.