General Discussion Race Reports! » Bike Ride Around Mille Lacs Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply

Bike Ride Around Mille Lacs - Cycle


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Isle, Minnesota
United States
50F / 10C
Sunny
Total Time = 4h 25m 25s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Left the house at 6:50 after a bowl of oatmeal and some water. Got to the event start, registered, and got my bike set up. Met another rider who was doing the 70 mile ride solo, so we agreed to team up until we decided not to.
Event warmup:

None, really. Rode the first 8 miles at an easy spin to get loosened up and warm.
Bike
  • 4h 25m 25s
  • 70 miles
  • 15.82 mile/hr
Comments:

This was the longest ride I have done, with the exception of the MS150 two years ago. It was a (mostly) comfortable ride, though the course was not meant for speed. They do a nice job of keeping you off the main roads, but to do so means a lot of turns onto side roads and then back to the main road a few miles later...turns were full of gravel and there was very little shoulder on the main road so it was hard to keep a steady pace. I rode with a partner for the first 20 miles and then we split up. I knew I couldn't maintain 20mph for 70 miles and I didn't want to hold him back. There were very few 70 mile riders so it got pretty lonely out there at times and I learned about some of the mental aspects of going longer. I had a few problems and it would have been a lot easier to quit at some points, but I wasn't willing to concede. First, a ridiculous fall at 12 miles that I could not have predicted nor avoided. I saved the bike, got a little road rash, and was back up in no time. My bike continues to have shifting issues - it jumps gears at random and that gets really old after a while. LBS tomorrow. I also had pedal issues. At about 55 miles I realized I had a whole lot more float on my right shoe than I should. I lost a screw in my cleat and was just floating around on one screw. Made it rather hard to clip out at that point, so I didn't. At 62 miles, a car pulled up in front of me and I had to unclip my left shoes at the corner. For 3 MILES I COULD NOT GET BACK IN! So there I was, one shoe floating around, one unclipped. As I approached the biggest hill of the day, I finally gave up on trying and focused on how the heck I was going to climb...and I got it in. For the last 12 miles, my legs cramped intermittently. My right leg cramped in places I didn't know it could cramp. But I kept going. I'm not sure if nutrition & hydration played a role in this or not. It wasn't hot (started at 44 degrees), but once I drained my bottle of Accelerade, the only options at the rest stops were water & lemonade. Some Gatorade would have been nice. At the end, I was very glad to see the parking lot...I DID IT!
What would you do differently?:

For starters, deal with my mechanical issues and figure them out in advance. I also recognize that my last three weeks of training have been dismal, at best. Not sure riding 70 was exactly the right decision (I could have done 35), but I would do it all over again. If I had known about the lack of gatorade, I would have stashed some at the end of our road (which was before I got the rest area when I discovered this). Overall, I think it comes down to time spent in the saddle...
Post race
Warm down:

Checked back in at registration, got my shirt and headed home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

See above under what I would do differently. Goal was 15-17 mph, having never done something like this. I guess I met my goal, but I would have been a lot happier with something closer to 18mph:).

Event comments:

I will likely do this again, but will recruit some friends:).




Last updated: 2007-09-16 12:00 AM
Biking
04:25:25 | 70 miles | 15.82 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course: Paved trails and roads around Mille Lacs, starting in Isle, and traveling clockwise around the lake, so the lake was always on our right.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Below average Cornering: Below average
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? Ok
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] 3

{postbutton}
2007-09-16 2:46 PM

User image

Extreme Veteran
506
500
Twin Cities, MN
Subject: Bike Ride Around Mille Lacs


2007-09-16 6:01 PM
in reply to: #966709

User image

Elite
3687
20001000500100252525
Subject: RE: Bike Ride Around Mille Lacs
Way to overcome tons of diversity.  I am learning fueling and hydration are the keys to success on anything long.  Even if you don't think it is hot out they need to be taken into consideration.  If you figure out how to do it please let me know.  Once again, great job.
2007-09-17 1:05 PM
in reply to: #966709

User image

Expert
1135
100010025
Delano, MN
Subject: RE: Bike Ride Around Mille Lacs
Way to make lemonade out of lemons!  The mechanical issues have to get old.  You do have a good point about saddle time but I cramp up if i don't watch my nutrition on long rides and I have had lots of saddle time this year.  70 miles is nothing to scoff at - way to get out there and kick its butt!  Good job!
General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » Bike Ride Around Mille Lacs Rss Feed