May 17 Weekend Rides

[Skippyak]

I did a sprint tri and as dutchess said, it was rainy around SL, and cold in American Fork. It was so cold waiting to get into the pool and my ride was really hampered by the rain (note to self, take gloves next time, I was slipping off the hoods because it was so wet) my bike time was not too bad for me (my 2nd ever tri and a real noob), but I couldn't do the descent anywhere near normal speed, the first waves out of the pool were luckier. I did an hour's ride tonight after today's rain and it was lovely.

[TrekDianna]

I only did a short 20 mile on Sunday. I had too much debris to pick up from having 4 trees cut down in the yard.

[Becky]

Does Thursday night count as "the weekend"? I'm gonna count it

Thursday: 17 mtb miles with some seriously strong, fast girls. This was after 10 days off the bike due to vacation.....ouch!
Friday: 13 singlespeed mtb miles. We were riding with a less-experienced rider (who's really fit otherwise), so it wasn't as fast as Thursday, but a darn good workout. I need to put a suspension fork on that bike so that I can ride it more places.
Saturday: 17 rolling commuter miles on the urban assualt bikes. I love that bike, but it's darn heavy. Great for training!

It rained here Sunday, so I went to yoga and made it a recovery day.

As much as I'm loving mountain biking right now, I'm really looking forward to some long road rides sometime soon. C'mon, 3-day weekend!!

[Trek-chick]

Did 12 on the road bike Sat. and finally got DH to go for a ride with me on the railtrails...we did 18 miles It is so nice to ride with someone, as I usually go by myself.

[luvmyguys]

First attempted century on Saturday. Oy.

Literature said that rider services ended at 3 (ride start at 7:30). I thought that meant I had to get to the last stop by 3, which I could have done, even with the 17 mph wind (with gusts to 25-30 mph). Minus the wind, I probably could have even gone all the way and gotten back by 3. But when they said, "Rider services stop at 3", what they really meant was, "Your car gets towed at 3" (ride start was at a (car) racetrack).

The first 1/3 went pretty well, except for the stuff that went flying out of my top tube bag on a steep, bumpy descent. The pace was good, but I was starting to get nervous about nutrition with the short breaks we were taking (I was eating whenever I could). We hit the next 1/3 of the route, and that's when the headwinds hit pretty hard. We completely lost our pace, and even after we hit the downwind section, I couldn't keep up a pace needed to make up for the miles that we'd be going into the wind - I was starting to wear out. At this point, one of the coaches was being hit with an epidemic of flat tires, and one team member wiped out on a sharp curve on a downhill and was sagged straight to the hospital (she was okay, fortunately). There was one point of no return, which I was to pass twice. I figured I could get to it the second time, and at least get 85-90 miles in. I hit that second stretch of headwinds, however, and I think I just bonked at about 66 miles (not knowing what bonking feels like, I think I bonked). I stopped once, and then I got back on the bike and went at a pathetically slow pace (still headwinds at this point). I got to one light and saw that the cops directing traffic were starting to pack it in. I got a ride with one of the SAG drivers, who took me to the next rest stop, where dh was - I think this was about 1:30 or so. I thought maybe I'd rest for a few minutes, and try to make it to that point of no return, which wouldn't have been too far. The rest stops were starting to dump ice and pack things in, and once I sat down, I realized that my head was spinning. I called it at that point. I at least made the metric century point, right? I wish I could have at least made a new mileage high, even if I didn't get the 100 done.

I was pretty disappointed - I keep asking myself if I had just hit a wall, and should I have gone on?

So I have a score to settle with that 100 mile mark. Next opportunity will be in July, so I'm aiming for that one. I'll take a break as we go on vacation, and then get back to it when I get back.

[Catrin]

Sounds like some great time was had by all!

Luvmyguys - congratulations on your accomplishment! A metric isn't a small mark, and there is a world of difference between a metric and imperial century. It sounds like you did exactly what you needed to do, and it might have been different without those headwinds. Headwinds take a lot of energy and bonking can become dangerous. That milestone is still out there waiting for you - and I've the same milestone still waiting for me

[ZenBiker]

Saturday was windy and generally unpleasant so that was an indoor trainer day. Sunday was sunny, though still a little windy and cool. Did 30 miles, flat to rolling with one short hill. Although I was grumbling a little as I started out and the wind was making my jacket snap as I pumped up tires, it felt great and I was glad I did it.