Today's goal: 4-4.5 hour ride. Mission accomplished. Obstacles on the ride included two low-speed, low water crossing crashes, three stops to pee, one stop to avoid hypothermia, two refuels, and one flat tire. All-in, we had 4:09 on the bike, and 1:28 of stoppage. Long day, painful for Hood and Ullrich, but definitely a worthwhile effort amongst the group.
Riders that braved the 30 degree start included Ullrich, Hoodie, Sean D (whose nickname is now Strong D), AT and Me. Objective was not to hammer, but to go at endurance pace. I think this was accomplished, but the other guys may disagree. Fitzhugh to 12 was possibly the coldest stretch of my life on the bike. It wasn't York Peppermint Patty cold, but it was close. We all cheered when we hit the first climb. A chance to get the core temp up! Pretty uneventful until we got to the low water crossing on Fitzhugh. Ullrich and AT made it across, leaving Hoodie, StrongD and me still to roll the 6 inches of cold ass water. Algae must love the cold, because it was slippery as Barry Switzer in Marcus Dupree's living room. Hoodie went down in a slow-mo slip n' slide. And it was COLD. Fueled by rage and fear of Hypothermia, The Hood laid the hammer for the next 30 minutes. This was not the endurance pace component of the roll.
We stopped at the Exxon, and Hoodie warmed up inside in more ways than one. AT wanted to exfoliate his breakfast, signalling that he was in sub par form. He showed guts bigger than Rex Ryan today. Well Done AT!!
All was fun and games until the next water crossing on County Road 301. This crossing was slicker than John Calipari's rug. Down goes Ullrich! Mucked up, but angry, we cranked a good pace to Hamilton Pool. Great climb up the switchback, good tempo to Serengeti for a coffee break with MC.Thanks for the Joe Bro!
Ride back from there (12 and Hamilton Pool) was pretty much into a stiff headwind, and all uphill. Fun? not really. But rewarding. All-in, it was a great roll, even with the bumps and raspberries. Great roll fellas!
And Panozz, well done bro!! We need the details!!
4 comments:
Boys, good effort. Malo was right there with you until I noticed my pool running with the words "Freeze Protection" flashing across the Jandy unit. Not the sharpest knife but figured I could simply wait until the afternoon and spin in 60+ degree weather. Go figure. Rode a strong 26 miles in the warm sunshine. Don't fret about anyone seeing the Dough riding with the sun shining, was in neon yellow with no Doughboy markings to be seen! Peace, Malo
Malo. Dude.
The best stretch was that section where Coach picked up a friend, we had a tail wind and we cranked at like 22 mph for about 5 miles. That was the best climb I've ever done coming out on Hamilton Pool! What great ride.
Ullrich
Ullrich, great job out there Saturday!
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