Willamette Headwaters 600K Ride Report

[maillotpois]

Well done! I have some randonesia setting in as well....

[Susan Otcenas]

Well done! I have some randonesia setting in as well....

Hey MP, looking to do another 600K? Or PBP?

Susan

[Catrin]

Wow, that was an incredible ride! You are my role model and I hope that I can at least do a portion of that kind of of climbing someday!

It certainly sounds like you had a ride of epic proportions, Michael didn't fib to you

[Bike Chick]

Wow, Susan! You are constantly amazing me. Awesome job!

[Gowest]

Now THAT is quite an accomplishment. You must have buns of steel!!!! I have a ton of respect for the training and endurance this requires - yeah we racers seem to think racing is the "stuff" but this is something to brag about. So many details - navigation, weather, endurance, nutrition - wow. It takes the complete package and dedication. I'm riding a 100 miler and wanted to groan - not any more.

Congrats and thanks for sharing - you made my day

debi

[Susan Otcenas]

Now THAT is quite an accomplishment. You must have buns of steel!!!! I have a ton of respect for the training and endurance this requires - yeah we racers seem to think racing is the "stuff" but this is something to brag about. So many details - navigation, weather, endurance, nutrition - wow. It takes the complete package and dedication. I'm riding a 100 miler and wanted to groan - not any more.

Hey, 100 miles is a HUGE accomplishment. You earned those groans!! Especially because it's outside your comfort zone. I'm sure you have more racing talent in your pinky finger than I have in my entire body!

As for my buns...I would say that my buns have been steeled against discomfort. I really have very little saddle trouble. I'm rarely saddle sore. Part of that is because I ride ALOT. (I logged over 1,000 miles in August! ) And, it's partly because I wear really good shorts. And I have a bike that fits. I don't use lube on anything under 100 miles, but for an event like this, I use chamois butter very sparingly as a preventative against chafing. (One "single use" packet lasted me 230 miles.) And that works very well.

Saddle *pressure* (not chafing) generally isn't a problem either. I was feeling a little pressure after mile 325 or so, but not too bad. Brief standing breaks make a huge difference.

Interesting point re: racing vs. endurance. I'm a triathlete, so I definitely appreciate power and speed and can hold a good pace for quite a bit of time. But I haven't done a bike race in a bunch of years. I'm not really built for the top end speed, the accelerations and deccelerations that bike racing requires. I'm likely to blow up and get spit out the back.

But I've discovered I actually have a little talent for this whole endurance thing. Again, I'm not super speedy, but I can get on my bike and ride for a really long time. Without slowing down too much as the hours go by. and by. and by. It's not uncommon for me to let guys go at mile 25, hold my own pace, and then see them again at mile 100. I rode with a guy this weekend from ~ mile 90 to ~ mile 140 and we had a really good conversation about different riding styles. My observation was that even amongst experienced randos, some guys (it's usually guys) go out too hard, don't fuel early enough, and then have trouble later in the day. He admitted that he was in a bit of that boat himself that day, needing to back off the pace and fuel. We rode well together for quite awhile. But after he took a break to eat, I didn't see him again. (He eventually DNF'd, concerned that he wouldn't make it back to the start in time for catching his return ride back to seattle with someone who was faster.)

It is *alot* of details to keep track of, and it's easy to make an error when you're tired or hungry or sleepy. That can result in an accident, or hypothermia (have you read my May 600K report??? Baaaaad apparel decision making on my part...) or extra "bonus" miles when you make a wrong turn at 2am on some random road in the middle of nowhere and have to backtrack. One of the riders this weekend had a bad crash in the middle of freakin' nowhere when he rolled his tire off his rim on a high speed descent. Nothing to do but get up, brush himself off, and keep on riding the next 50+ miles back to civilization.

______


I had a 90 minute massage today and it was fabulous. My achilles tendons are feeling much better, but my pinky finger is still AWOL.

[Susan Otcenas]

Michael didn't fib to you

No, no he didn't!