The word of the day is 'pigheaded'. That is the word. Headed out way too early this morning to ultimately line up with several thousand others for the start of the final
Elephant Rock ride. It was a beautiful morning which turned into a magnificent day. I'm glad this wasn't my first event: the local roads are largely narrow enough to make things interesting for automotive traffic and cyclists alike. That said, I used to live nearby and put in a lot of road miles when I did. It made for a nice blast from the past in places.
I was also reminded just how hilly it can be out that way, and boy was I out of proper form for playing in hills. My spring training season managed little more than sputtering death, then I developed a saddle sore followed by the flu. Indeed, today represented only my 3rd ride since recovering enough to consider any ride without coughing my lungs out. To say I was woefully ill prepared is to give credit where it is not due.
Hence, the word of the day. I enjoyed parts of the ride, and I'm really glad to have it done. The country out there is really pretty, and the best way to see it is naturally from the saddle. That said, I should probably have flagged a SAG wagon down. I knew it too, but kept thinking I'd give it another couple of miles. Then another and another, and before the discomfort became too extreme, I hit the finish line. I also focused on stuffing my face with every calorie I could find at the aid stations. Jerky, Pop Tarts, peanut butter crackers, and Clif bars were all hoovered up.
Finally, I have
Five Finger Death Punch to thank. If you are not familiar with the band, think of an exceptionally angry riot set to music. I queued it up this morning and about halfway through the ride, it was time. The fury and insanely fast double-bass driven beat gave me just the boost I needed. My helmet speakers made sure mine were the only ears to have the tunes inflicted on them. It's the kind of music you either love or hate. Most I know do not love it
.
I was never fast getting up the hills, but I made it to the top every time. That's not usually something I treat as notable, but today it was. I was awfully happy to have my ultra-low 46-tooth cog out back, but several times I still tried to shift past it, looking for that 48-tooth surcease from pain.
I hit 42mph on an early descent, which was nice. I usually travel with a dog who doesn't appreciate the effects of slipstream on his ears past about 35mph. It's been a minute since I broke 40. Several other descents could easily have done for similar speeds but I needed to save my energy for getting up the hills. Sad to waste such descents, but it was nice to catch my breath occasionally.
In the end, I did 63mi and some 3500ft of ascending. I've completed quite a few self-supported metric centuries in years past, but today marked my first metric of the year, and my first metric as part of an event. Hopefully it will also represent a low-water mark for future event preparation. I'm glad I was able to finish it, but I prefer to go into these things with something resembling a decent fitness level.
Finally, I came pretty close to failing to complete the event due to being witness to a crash. Fortunately, the driver in question was paying attention because the event cyclist was definitely not. Somewhere around the 50mi mark, I noticed a cyclist riding against the flow of event traffic, on the opposite side of the road. I observed several cyclists doing this at various points, usually appearing to look for party members. This guy was riding slow and watching the stream of event traffic. An SUV approached from behind. He glanced over his shoulder and appeared to see it.
The SUV accelerated and swung out to pass. Just as it did, the cyclist busted a full on U-turn, dead in front of the vehicle. No warning at all, just a hard left in front of the oncoming bumper. He lived to tell about it, but only because the driver was paying attention. I really thought the cyclist was going to end up as a hood ornament. Final clearance was inches, not feet. 100% on the cyclist, too. His maneuver was made at utter random relative to the overtaking traffic. The only reason I knew what he was doing was that I'd already seen it happen (minus the near miss) several times. Bravo to that driver, along with my thanks. I'd have welcomed a break right then, but not that way. Never that way.
Hopefully the pucker factor involved will teach the cyclist to pay better attention to his surroundings. It was the kind of lapse that could happen to anyone, but oh, the timing.
I'm sorry this year is the event's final, but I'm grateful I got to ride it before it fades away. More grateful yet that my day is ended.
Stay safe out there!
