7 Hills of Kirkland - CycleTour


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Kirkland, Washington
United States
7 Hills of Kirkland
52F / 11C
Precipitation
 		Total Time = 2h 41m 47s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

This was just a tour, no start times--1200 riders on three routes started when they wanted to. I got there early, as my kids woke me up at 4 and I couldn't get back to sleep. I stretched out and had a gel, hit the restrooms.
Event warmup:

None, as it was going to be a lotta riding! No need to warm up.
Bike
  • 2h 41m 47s
  • 38.2 miles
  • 14.17 mile/hr
Comments:

Most of the hills were VERY challenging, and at around 28 miles, it began pouring rain (which did stop after a while). My tiredness plus the rain plus the hills made me reconsider the original plan of doing 100k and 'just' do the 7 hills, which was 38 miles. I am glad that I did, as I was pooped by the end. But not physically so much as mentally. I was very glad I wore arm warmers!

There was one time, at the top of the very steepest hill (OH IT HURT!) when a cat walked next to me while I was riding, a bagpiper was in the road playing, and it began to pour rain. I felt like I was in some weird film. I also did a few pace lines on the flats and even led one across a valley. It was fun to go fast with a group.

This was a fun event, and hopefully next year I will have it in me to do the 60 miles. I feel good about my progression on hills already this season.
What would you do differently?:

Lock my kids in their room so they can't wake me up in the middle of the night. They always sense when I need to be rested and do all they can to wreck my night's sleep.
Post race
Warm down:

Ate strawberry shortcake and coffee, drove home via Starbucks.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of sleep, too much weight. I still think I did well. I managed to pass quite a lot of people on the hills, which was surprising to me.

Event comments:

Very fun!




Last updated: 2008-05-21 12:00 AM
Biking
02:41:47 | 38.2 miles | 14.17 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
HR data in log
Wind: None
Course: 7 hills, totalling around 3500 feet of climbing through Kirkland, Bothell and Woodinville. The first hill was not bad, the second hill I was dreading, but it was not bad either. On the way down to the bottom of the third hill, we went by my sister's driveway and she'd put out a big sign saying "GO LESLIE, YOU ROCK!" which was very fun to see. Five more hills.....each seemed harder than the one before it, but it was definitely do-able as long as I just kept on pedaling. It was fun to see some new areas that I had not been to, there were some incredible homes and views at the tops of most of the hills. Traffic wasn't too bad, either, although there were quite a lot of stoplights that didn't stay green very long. The downhills were very nice, which is what they payoff is for riding up so far!! Downhill is definitely my specialty.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 90
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
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