I just downloaded my Powertap from this weekend's Six Gap, so I figured I'd post an account of the ride and some power numbers.

A little background: I did Six Gap two years ago, in the rain, about 20 pounds heavier than I am now, in 8:14. It was the first time I'd ever done anything remotely resembling a climbing ride, and I was happy to finish and not die en-route. I was on a 28 lb. steel bike with a triple...I took the rack off for Six Gap. :-D

Fast forward two years, my training's improved, my weight's the lowest it's been in 20 years, I went back up with a goal to do the ride just a bit faster. One of the guys I ride with is usually among the fastest 10 or so finishers when he goes, and he was targeting 5:20 this year (they added a bit more climbing and about 4 miles to the route). I figured I'd shoot for six hours, although I really had no idea what I could do. At 180 lbs I'm still definitely no climber.

I started off with the front group, figured I'd let them go when we got into the first "mini-gap" on the new outbound section. I was amazed to see people huffing and puffing before mile 5; all I could think was that they were in for a long, long day. I settled into a rhythm once we got to the first gap, and ended up riding with several friends from this area whose paces coincided with mine.

The weather was awesome this year, and I had an absolute blast on the downhills. I felt very good for the first three gaps but I knew things were going to start to hurt more from there on out. Hogpen really went fairly decently; I just settled in and ground my way up. I hit 52.9 mph on the back side descent...that's the stuff I love. From there on out, it pretty much hurt but it was manageable and I kept on moving. The lengthy descent from the last gap actually gave me some time to recover and I was able to stand and big ring most of the last inclines on the way in.

I was checking the time the last few miles, and knew I wasn't likely to quite make the 6 hour mark. I rolled through at 6:12 and change. The fastest guy came in at around 5:09, from what I heard, and the skinny climbers (from flat Jacksonville) that I ride with came in around 5:23-5:27.

Some numbers, for those so inclined. I have a Powertap, so no elevation data, but I believe the total elevation gain this year was right around 12k feet.

Entire workout (171 watts):
Duration: 6:06:32
Work: 3763 kJ
TSS: 354 (intensity factor 0.762)
Norm Power: 206
VI: 1.2
Distance: 104.839 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 531 171 watts
Cadence: 29 193 76 rpm
Speed: 2.2 52.9 17.2 mph
Pace 1:08 26:49 3:29 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 538 124 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 874 198 lb-in

Hogpen climb:
Duration: 48:33
Work: 624 kJ
TSS: 58.2 (intensity factor 0.848)
Norm Power: 229
VI: 1.07
Distance: 7.094 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 381 214 watts
Cadence: 29 111 65 rpm
Speed: 2.8 35.1 8.8 mph
Pace 1:43 21:27 6:51 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 538 241 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 771 294 lb-in

And, just for fun, peak 2 minute speed. :eek:

Peak 2min (46.7 mph):
Duration: 2:01
Work: 0 kJ
TSS: 0 (intensity factor 0)
Norm Power: n/a
VI: n/a
Distance: 1.566 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 0 0 watts
Cadence: n/a n/a n/a rpm
Speed: 36.4 52.9 46.7 mph
Pace 1:08 1:39 1:17 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 0 0 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 0 0 lb-in