Elephant Rock Ride - CycleTour


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Castle Rock, Colorado
United States
Sunny
 		Total Time = 00m
Overall Rank = n/a/9000
Age Group = n/a
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

nothing special. Picked up reg. packet
Event warmup:

It was cold at 6:00am. I put on arm warmers and lerg warmers, and zipped the sleeves onto my vest/rain jkt. Wish I had full gloves.
Bike
  • 4h 25m 18s
  • 59.91 miles
  • 13.55 mile/hr
Comments:

It's a ride, not a race. No timing, no age groups.
What would you do differently?:

train more on long hills. train more climbing. Watch the pace. It's a ride, not a race.
Post race
Warm down:

Put bike in the car, went back for post race lunch (bbq chicken). Protein is what I craved. Went outside to eat. Needed a hat. Sun was hot! Wandered around the expo for a while.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

more hill training I think.

Event comments:

Any ride with 9000+ riders will be a bit of a hassle at aid stations just getting in/out safely. This is always a crowded event, some people just cruising, some people trying to hammer it. But overall a great ride! See my training blog for photos.




Last updated: 2009-04-01 12:00 AM
Biking
04:25:18 | 59.91 miles | 13.55 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/9000
Performance: Good
see training log
Wind: Some
Course: The climb up out of Castle Rock is a real doozy. Starts deceptively easy and then really hits you. Plus, the start of the steep part had a bunch of cattle crud on the road. It was slippery and wet, but not muddy, if you know what I mean. Ugh! You did not want to fall here. I was abel to ride in fairly clear tire tracks. Then rollers across country to 1st aid stop. A nice view of Pikes Peak, which kept getting closer. We finally turned West to head towards the tiny town of Palmer Lake. This section is very big rollers, like HHH in Wisc. Steep downhill and long slog up the next hill. In fact part of the road is named Roller Coaster Rd. Somewhere along here is the high point of the ride @ 7,000 ft. 2 yrs ago when I did this ride, I was not in shape and had to stop 2-3X. This time I only stopped to take pix. Palmer Lk was Aid Stn #2. Fortunately this time there was no train blocking the road. There is a short but painful climb out of Palerm Lak but then you head north and nearly all downhill for about 15 mi. A bonus was a southerly tail wind. Be very glad. :) Then the 3rd and final aid stn. Just after this the road begins a long slog over Tomah Rd hill. 2.4 miles avg 5% grade, but the last 100 ft is the steepest and toughest part. I did this w/o stopping. 2 yrs ago I had to stop 2X. The fun part of uphills is going down the other side. aero tuck, and I quickly pedaled out the top end of my gears, so just rode it. I think somewhere along here was my max speed of 47 mph. Try not to be scared of it. Big route change this year. At the bottom, frontage rd along I-25, we turned R (south) for 3.5 miles of slight uphill into that nice southerly wind. heh. Then across I-25 and north along E side frontage rd. Then a turn into town and another cool roller coaster ride north to the fairgrounds and the finish. Yeah!
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 78
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
Post race
Weight change: %0
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4