6/19/06 Today's Ride
Route: 31.27 miles, 2006 Tour de London route.
Weather: partly cloudy, 80 degrees, 9 mph wind.
Performance: average speed 17.5 mph, time 1:47:24. Average HR 146 bpm.
Motionbased.com link: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.mb?episodePk.pkValue=937541
Comment: My second (and first serious) attempt at the Tour de London course. Started out hard on the rolling terrain of the first 15 miles (averaged about 19.2 mph) until I inexplicably took a wrong turn on 472. By that point I was starting to feel a little rubber-legged and didn't have much left for the three big hills at the end. Chalk this one up as a learning experience in pacing.
Speaking of pace, the results of the Red River Gorge Battle on the Byway this past weekend served as some unanticipated motivation for me. Although the terrain for that race was much flatter than what I am used to (40.8 feet of ascent per 1 mile of distance for the 50-mile course vs. my average this year of 65.7 feet of ascent per mile), the winning speed was well over 20 mph average. This tells me that I need to work on my speed on the flats. Considering the Tour de London course is a relatively short 32 miles with 58.9 feet of ascent per mile and I have about 2 & 1/2 months to prepare, training up to sustaining the speed I had over the first half for the whole course shouldn't be too hard.
Redneck heckler sighting: As I was heading up the final hill after crossing the Parkway, a red pickup passed by me somewhat slowly. I noticed it continuing to amble leisurely up the hill. When it was about 100 yards ahead, the driver pokes his head out the window and yells at me, "I've got a rope in the back, want me to pull you up?" I ignored him as I pedaled on. He yelled something else inaudibly and drove on. Ok dude. Next time I'll give you the bike, I'll walk, and we'll see who gets to the top of the hill first.
Weather: partly cloudy, 80 degrees, 9 mph wind.
Performance: average speed 17.5 mph, time 1:47:24. Average HR 146 bpm.
Motionbased.com link: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.mb?episodePk.pkValue=937541
Comment: My second (and first serious) attempt at the Tour de London course. Started out hard on the rolling terrain of the first 15 miles (averaged about 19.2 mph) until I inexplicably took a wrong turn on 472. By that point I was starting to feel a little rubber-legged and didn't have much left for the three big hills at the end. Chalk this one up as a learning experience in pacing.
Speaking of pace, the results of the Red River Gorge Battle on the Byway this past weekend served as some unanticipated motivation for me. Although the terrain for that race was much flatter than what I am used to (40.8 feet of ascent per 1 mile of distance for the 50-mile course vs. my average this year of 65.7 feet of ascent per mile), the winning speed was well over 20 mph average. This tells me that I need to work on my speed on the flats. Considering the Tour de London course is a relatively short 32 miles with 58.9 feet of ascent per mile and I have about 2 & 1/2 months to prepare, training up to sustaining the speed I had over the first half for the whole course shouldn't be too hard.
Redneck heckler sighting: As I was heading up the final hill after crossing the Parkway, a red pickup passed by me somewhat slowly. I noticed it continuing to amble leisurely up the hill. When it was about 100 yards ahead, the driver pokes his head out the window and yells at me, "I've got a rope in the back, want me to pull you up?" I ignored him as I pedaled on. He yelled something else inaudibly and drove on. Ok dude. Next time I'll give you the bike, I'll walk, and we'll see who gets to the top of the hill first.
Labels: cycling, today's ride
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3:44 PM
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