Ride report: Omaha Corporate Cycling Challenge

[badgercat]

Today was the Corporate Cycling Challenge which offered scenic 10, 25, and 42 mile routes around Omaha. The weather was great (it's FINALLY cooling off here--the heat index today is only in the 80s, imagine, that!).

I asked a man whom I parked next to if I could use his floor pump to top of my tires rather than using my frame pump, and I'd no sooner put the nozzle on the valvestem and he started pumping them up for me. How nice! So I figured this was a sign that the day would be ok. Well, that and seeing a guy on a 'bent at the start line with a Nebraska Cornhuskers mailbox he outfitted to be a solar-powered stereo system (picture below).

The ride started just a few minutes after the scheduled 8am start time. Each route had a mass start, and I was pretty much right in the middle of the clump, so there was quite a bit of congestion for the first few miles. Once things opened up I maintained a ~17mph pace for a while, but then the hills started. Most of my riding this summer has been on very flat trails, so I was worried about my climbing. But I did alright. According to mapmyride, the grade was never over 3%, but at least one of the climbs stretched over a couple miles. I hadn't eaten hardly anything and definitely didn't hydrate enough before the ride started--and much of the climbing happened before the first rest stop--and I definitely felt it. But I never stopped, so that's an achievement for me.

Of course, the climbs were accompanied by descents. Unfortunately, just past the bottom of one, there was a rider being loaded up into an ambulance flat on his back with his head in the big orange stabilizer thing. There was a sharp turn right at the bottom of the hill, but he was far enough beyond it that I don't think he wiped out directly from that. However, I coasted down that particular descent at about 32mph and I weigh 125lbs soaking wet, and he looked to be a slightly bigger guy. He probably had some serious momentum at that point, so who knows what happened. Anyway, I hope everything turns out ok for him.

On a lighter note--snacks! There were 2 rest stops along the way with bananas, bagels, water, and some foul Powerade that reminded me of the chewable Tylenol my parents used to make me take for fever as a kid. Waste not want not, though, so I still drank it since I'd already filled up a bottle. The rest stops were the only times I stopped rolling, which is also pretty good for me, especially when climbing is involved. The second one was less than 10mi from the finish, so I only stopped long enough to add some water to my powerade bottle to dilute the flavor.

Waiting for us at the finish were event water bottles. We also got t-shirts with our registration. A local supermarket chain was doing a low-price cookout, so I treated myself to a post-ride hot dog and chips.

So the ride was 42mi, I finished in 2:53 rolling-time, just over 3 hours total. Overall, a good event--the police were controlling most intersections for us (I tried to give each of them a friendly "thank you"), the route was well-marked, etc. I'd do it again next year, you know, if I was going to be living here. Plenty of riding to be done back home in AZ, though!