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Bike for Hope - CycleOther


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Little River, Kansas
United States
Trail Run
85F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 55m
Overall Rank = 13/25
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Hit the snooze a couple times too many. I ended up late out of the door, and realized in Lyons (about half way to the ride) that I had forgotten to eat breakfast. I rummaged in the glove box and found an old Clif Bar. I ate it.

Got to the ride at about 5 minutes to 8:00. I still needed to sign in and pay, so I did that, and rushed back to the car to get my bike and gear. As I was pulling everything together, the race director told the cyclists to line up heading south and the walkers for the trail run to line up heading north. (The trail runners would start at 8:30).

I didn't get a good head count, but I think there were about 25 of us. That's how I figured my ranking -- I saw how many people finished after me and extrapolated the rest.
Event warmup:

Run with the bike to the start.
Bike
  • 1h 55m
  • 27.33 miles
  • 14.26 mile/hr
Comments:

Got to the Sag stop (at about mile 12) in an hour. Brutal. The south route is very hilly (one farm is called "Hill Top Farm") and we were going against the wind. Stopped for a few minutes at the Sag stop to eat half a banana and drink some water, then I hit the road again.

While I had passed a bunch of people up to this point (I started in the very back of the pack because of my late arrival), only one person had passed me. After the Sag stop, no one passed me, and I didn't pass anyone. I was gaining on the guy on the road bike ahead of me, but he ended up finishing about a block faster than I did. He was really sweet after the race. He told me I'd done an excellent job of riding.

The segment heading north is not as hilly as the segment heading south, but it has a steady uphill grade, with a few downhill grades. It was a lot of fun. I didn't lose much time going up, because I had a very stiff tailwind (gusting to 30 mph), and going down hill was fast, fast, fast. I was in my top gear, and was still just spinning. Completely fun.

The crosswinds, however, were horrible, and the gusts seemed to pick up as the morning went on, so the last four miles heading East were not fun -- on the highway, there was no shoulder; traffic was going 65; and it was very nerve wracking. I was happy to make the last turn north into Little River.
What would you do differently?:

I wouldn't stop at the Sag stop. The rest didn't do that much for me. I didn't have time to get my water bottle on the bike, so doing that would have helped. I could have just kept going.

I was solidly middle of the pack, but I don't have any idea how far ahead of me the lead pack of riders was. I wish I had asked the women at the Sag truck, but I didn't think of it at the time.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked through town a little. Listened to the awards for the trail run. Then drove home. After lunch, I slept for four hours. I hadn't slept well the night before the ride, and I was exhausted.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I need to keep working on wind and hills. I've decided to ride this route once every week or two. Will's church is on Hunter Blvd, and I could park the car there, and ride the rural roads, skipping the state highway. I could get a great hill work out on that South segment.

Event comments:

I will do this again next year. I did it last year on the hybrid, with cold winds out of the north, and I was 25 minutes slower.

With hot winds out of the south, on the Tri bike, I was much faster. I was better conditioned, but I would like to see if I could do this even faster -- 90 minutes is a goal.




Last updated: 2012-05-25 12:00 AM
Biking
01:55:00 | 27.33 miles | 14.26 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/25
Performance: Average
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: We head south out of Little River, cross the Little Arkansas, and then at the highway head East for two miles. Turn south for 6 miles, turn west for 6 miles, head north for 6 miles back out to the highway, then 4 miles to the road to Little River. It would be an extremely boring course, I guess, if not for the hills and the menacing wind.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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:
Race evaluation [1-5]

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2012-05-27 8:51 PM

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Master
2770
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Central Kansas
Subject: Bike for Hope


2012-05-29 4:20 PM
in reply to: #4231491

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Pennsylvania
Subject: RE: Bike for Hope
Very nicely done, especially considering your late arrival and breakfast of an old Clif bar!  I chuckled at your comment for your warm-up!
2012-05-29 4:54 PM
in reply to: #4231491

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Seattle
Subject: RE: Bike for Hope
Very nice ride! Sheesh, am I going to have to send you breakfast reminders from now on?
2012-05-29 5:04 PM
in reply to: #4231491

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Master
6595
50001000500252525
Rio Rancho, NM
Subject: RE: Bike for Hope
Nice job and nice RR.  I'm thinking you've had plenty of wind practice though...
2012-05-30 10:27 AM
in reply to: #4231491

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Master
6834
5000100050010010010025
Englewood, Florida
Subject: RE: Bike for Hope
Wow, good job, especially on the highway part. That is never fun.
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