Almanzo 100
Doomer, Matt and I thought it was a good Idea to do this hole gravel 100 miler thing. The ride down in the super van was great. Tons of gassing, cursing and giggling were had. As for the race it self we got there with just enough time to get our shit on/together, get on our bike and roll out. Matt and I decided we were going to ride together and Doomer would pound, because of our style and being fashionably late we stated at the back of the pack. We pick through so many riders in the first 20 mile it was crazy. I think it had to do with my riding strategy, the faster you go down the hills the fast you will be done. Average speed on the down hills was around 35mph, top was 39.9mph cranking in 44/12 down a loose gravel hill weaving through folks. It was awesome. Now to the up hills, Holy Fuck! Tons of hills 6,000 feet of climbing and climbing is not my strong suit and I know this. I went into this not afraid to hop off on the hills and walk and am glad that I did.
Matt and I before the incident.
The Incident
With the unfathomable amount of climbing in the first 25 miles it was taking longer so I stated to rash-in my water/forgetting to drink. Rite around mile 43.6 i realized that I could no longer eat or drink anything. Being the stubborn fella I am I kept rolling until mile 52 where I made Matt stop an proceeded to freak out for 30-40min in my mind I was done, ready to sleep in the ditch and wait for Ben and Matt to finish and come pick me up. It took me minutes to eat a single bite of clif bar. I would chew and gag and chew an gag. The same went for the water, I'd spray water in my mouth and it would just sit in there and could not swallow. After a wile I could tell Matt did not want to leave me but didn't want to stand there any longer so I choked down a GU Roctane With some caffeine, I almost fucking puked that GU was a life saver. After about a mile I was back and cranking. I don't think I would have made it through with out Matt being there.Thanks. From then on everything went well aside from some mile discrepancy in the cue cards and some leg minor leg cramping.
Goals
I am not much of a goal setter but I went into this with a couple.
Doomer, Matt and I thought it was a good Idea to do this hole gravel 100 miler thing. The ride down in the super van was great. Tons of gassing, cursing and giggling were had. As for the race it self we got there with just enough time to get our shit on/together, get on our bike and roll out. Matt and I decided we were going to ride together and Doomer would pound, because of our style and being fashionably late we stated at the back of the pack. We pick through so many riders in the first 20 mile it was crazy. I think it had to do with my riding strategy, the faster you go down the hills the fast you will be done. Average speed on the down hills was around 35mph, top was 39.9mph cranking in 44/12 down a loose gravel hill weaving through folks. It was awesome. Now to the up hills, Holy Fuck! Tons of hills 6,000 feet of climbing and climbing is not my strong suit and I know this. I went into this not afraid to hop off on the hills and walk and am glad that I did.
Matt and I before the incident.The Incident
With the unfathomable amount of climbing in the first 25 miles it was taking longer so I stated to rash-in my water/forgetting to drink. Rite around mile 43.6 i realized that I could no longer eat or drink anything. Being the stubborn fella I am I kept rolling until mile 52 where I made Matt stop an proceeded to freak out for 30-40min in my mind I was done, ready to sleep in the ditch and wait for Ben and Matt to finish and come pick me up. It took me minutes to eat a single bite of clif bar. I would chew and gag and chew an gag. The same went for the water, I'd spray water in my mouth and it would just sit in there and could not swallow. After a wile I could tell Matt did not want to leave me but didn't want to stand there any longer so I choked down a GU Roctane With some caffeine, I almost fucking puked that GU was a life saver. After about a mile I was back and cranking. I don't think I would have made it through with out Matt being there.Thanks. From then on everything went well aside from some mile discrepancy in the cue cards and some leg minor leg cramping.
Goals
I am not much of a goal setter but I went into this with a couple.
#1. Finish
#2 Not finish last
#2 Not finish last
Check and check! I finished 163rd out of 268 in 8:12:35 including mental brake down(Thanks Matt). With 7:30mins on the bike with a average speed of 14mph, that includes the miles of pushing my bike up 10 to 12 steep fucking hills. Finished feeling pretty good but I was dehydrated a little but that is common for me anyways. AWESOME time!
For next time
Is there a next time? Little ring for sure, more water and ride faster.
For next time
Is there a next time? Little ring for sure, more water and ride faster.
1 comment:
I'm proud of you babe! It was tough but you did it. And I'm sure glad Matt was there. What a great guy. Hopefully I'll be there to cheer for you next time!
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