Which century?

[luvmyguys]

My goal this year is a Team in Training century.

For the summer season, the two choices are AMBBR in Lake Tahoe and the Cross Timbers Classic Bike Rally in Ft. Worth, TX. While I would love love love to do Lake Tahoe, for family & financial reasons, Cross Timbers is a more practical choice. It's closer and the costs of getting dh and kids there would be much less.

So I had it in my head that I would pick the Cross Timbers ride. I saw last night, though, that I would be expected to complete the ride in 6.5 hours (or, at least, they close down the stops at that point). If I only took 30 minutes total in breaks, I'd still have to maintain a 17+ mph pace. I'm pretty new, and I still have to be careful with my neck, so I wanted to make sure I could properly stretch out and take my time at the stops. And if I had to do it today, there's no way I'd be able to maintain 17+ mph over that distance. I might be able to do it by then, who knows, given how much my speed has improved since starting. But I don't know if I want to commit not knowing whether or not I'll be able to do it safely.

I could do one of the shorter routes for Cross Timbers, theoretically. But I was kinda hoping that if I wasn't doing the full 100 miles, that it was because I physically couldn't do it at all, not because I couldn't do it on those terms.

The fall events are either crazy (seriously, I'd love Hawaii but I don't see it happening) or the timing is off, and that would leave me waiting for Tuscon in November.

Thoughts? Experience? Thanks for letting me vent? Maybe I'll be able to do AMBBR.

[Catrin]

Around here there are a good number of people who go to Tahoe every year. There are local coaches who train them to make certain they are ready for it. I would imagine that there would be a similar Team in Training group in your area, have you had a chance to check into that yet?

edited: I agree with Oak, I've not heard about such a short cut-off time on these rides. I've heard a LOT about Tahoe since I know so many who go, but I've not heard anything about Ft. Worth. I would assume they would be run similar since they are both Team in Training...

[OakLeaf]

I have no input about either ride, but it's very hard for me to believe that they would close down the stops after a 17 mph average. I've never heard of such a thing. Do you mean the last stop BEFORE the finish (which is probably somewhere between 70 and 80 miles in???) would close 6.5 hours after the ride start?

[luvmyguys]

You guys made me look, which is making me feel a little better . . .

http://cross-timbers.org/sponsors Info on timing is toward the bottom.

Century riders start at 7:30, and last year, all services closed at 2 p.m. So I guess that means that as long as I was at the last stop before that time (which would be a more reasonable pace of 13ish mph if I only take 30 minutes worth of breaks - but I think I'm going to need more in breaks!).

It does look like this year, they extended the closing time to 3 p.m, which would give me another hour for breaks at a 13ish mph pace - which I can do, assuming I'm just trying to make the last stop before they shut down (makes ya wonder if they realized that 2 p.m. was a smidge unreasonable for it being a RIDE rather than a RACE???). The factor that makes me nervous is that north Texas is known for being very windy, which will obviously slow me down if it's coming at me. I think the extra hour will make the difference, but I'll be asking a lot of questions when I go to the information meeting this Saturday. I can maintain 15-16 mph without too much issue, but I don't know how the wind will factor into that over 100 miles. I would think that I would just get faster as I train, but I don't want to count on that necessarily.

I know that unless TNT is organizing the event (they're just participating in this one), they're still held to the rules that the event organizers set. They're willing organize walkers who want to walk a marathon, for instance, but the local marathon organization recently started shutting things down before a reasonable person could walk 26.2 miles.

I do know that TNT is good about making sure everyone is prepared, though, so I'm guessing they wouldn't have signed up for this one if they didn't think the average person could do it?? (Again, questions for the info meeting Saturday!)

Thanks!

[luvmyguys]

Really? goodness.

Just for yukks, I checked the website for that ride, and I found here that the 100 mile ride starts at 7:30 am and, farther down the page, "Ride at your own pace, but please be aware that all courses and rider services will close at 3 p.m." That's 7.5 hours total. If you allow a full hour for stops plus delays in getting out on the road, that would give you 6.5 hours of riding time which works out to a bit over 15 mph. Which is still pretty challenging imho, depending on how hilly the route is. So you'd still want to start out promptly at 7:30 and keep your breaks very short. Which you'll be trained to do.

Last year, everything shut down at 2 p.m., which is what I was going off of (since I was looking at a way too late hour last night).

But yes, 3 p.m. is better than 2 p.m. The terrain has roll to it, but then, I live where it's flat as a pancake and we have to find big bridges to train for hills. It's the wind that I'm concerned about.

[Crankin]

That makes much more sense. I've done one century, with a total riding time of 6.5 hours. I didn't dawdle at the stops, and there was severe weather and wind involved at miles 80-100. I think my average was around 13.5? Sure, the elapsed total time was was a lot more. I think we started at 7-7:15 and we were back at around 4. The check in person was still there, but packing up. The route still had lots of people on it, so I am sure there are more than a few who finish after the support leaves. I guess I wouldn't worry if, as I was, I was riding with someone and also riding in an area with access to services, stores, etc.

[maillotpois]

I don't know anything about the TX ride, but I was a TNT coach for 10 years and coached AMBBR many times. I can tell you there were people out there doing Tahoe who were way slower than you and not only did the ride support those folks, but their TNT coaches would be out there with them as well. I can't imagine the TX ride would be any different in terms of the TNT support, but I know Tahoe is a national event, so every TNT team is there and that may lead to higher support. If you had concerns about the timing of either event, I suggest you go to an informational meeting (they usually have them) and get your questions answered. Alternatively, call the office and ask to speak to the cycle team manager.

Have fun!

[luvmyguys]

I went to the information meeting this morning, and the cycling coach was there. He said that they would be trying to work with the event organizers to stretch it, but even if that ended up being hard and fast, that TNT would self support the riders still out there if that was an issue.

I signed up when I got home.

[murielalex]

Congrats!