Sunday - 19 September 2004
| Hrs. Sleeping: |
7 |
| Pulse/Waking: |
|
| Rising: |
|
| Difference: |
|
| Weight: |
178 |
| Body Fat: |
|
| Distance: |
102 miles |
| Total Time: |
about 4:25 for the organized portion of the ride
[Jan told me that his best is 4:01] |
| Time of Day: |
9:00 am |
| Weather: |
low 50s - 60 |
| Workout Type: |
SIR Mountain 100 km Populaire |
| Breakfast: |
cereal, Cytomax |
| Lunch: |
|
| Dinner: |
4 pieces pizza, ice cream w/peanuts and chocolate sauce, 3 pieces biscotto |
| Ride Food: |
4 Clif Bars, 2 bottles Cytomax, bottle Sustained Energy, flask Hammer Gel, water
Endurox after |
| Course: |
Gads... Issaquah Park & Ride, up Cougar Mtn (54th/zoo road), down Lakemont, Newport, BACK up Cougar (164th), Coal Creek, Jones Rd, up Cedar Grove Rd, Issaquah-Hobart, up Tiger Mtn, Issaquah-Hobart, up Black Nugget Rd, Issaquah-Fall City, old Issaquah-Fall City, Carnation, up Tolt Hill Rd, Redmond-Fall City, up Duthie Hill Rd, Issaquah-Fall City, up Mt Park Blvd/Mt Olympus Drive, keel over and cramp |
| Results: |
1st, whatever... |
| Comments: |
Wow, this is a hilly ride! One mile from the start it's up the steep side of f'n Cougar. And Jan put in a little burst which distanced him from the rest of the field RIGHT away. I had on a 39x23 and was hoping it would be fine for the last hill as I have never been up that one but here on Cougar it was fine. Not like I was 'spinning' or anything but I've done this climb so many times in this gear that I just expect to mash. Jan was breathing HARD but he did not slow down. I was climbing a bit faster so since I did not want to get lost or have a boring, solo day I waited at the flat spots for him and at the top.
And Jan likes to descend fast! I like that. A lot.
On Newport I was realizing that Jan must be having a bad day. He said he was just getting over some cold and his legs did not feel super so I just resigned myself to a mellow day in the saddle and started enjoying the scenery. And it was BEAUTIFUL today. Mt Rainier was out, there were three distinct layers of clouds and you could see each one and the sun was poking through in plenty of places and the roads were almost totally dry so it was very enjoyable.
I pulled on May Valley and that was nice. We were doing about 23 mph pretty steady and at that pace we stayed together. From here it was up and down and up and down and the up Tiger and down the West/North side and then through Issaquah.
In Issaquah I had a little run-in with a Ford Explorer. I was stopped at a light and the car pulls up behind me. I had ridden ahead of Jan but the light was loooong and so before it changed he caught me. Good thing too. As the light turned green, I pulled away and this Explorer totally side-swipes me. He COULDN'T have missed me, I was right in front of him. His side mirror took out my left arm and thank goodness I was holding my bars really lightly or I'd have gone down. As it was, I was leaning against the car way too long for my liking and judging from all the tape that got burned off of the left side of my bars, he must have a nice scratch on his right front door. I was very mellow but Jan had his pencil out faster than you can say "vehicular assault" and got the license plate, make/model and a description of the passengers. At the next light I pulled up next to the car and inched ahead a tad to get the license plate too. The guys in the car did not even look my way...
And then it was up Black Nugget. Crap, this is a steep-ass road. And it just keeps getting steeper the closer to the top you get. But it was not too long and my favorite part was coming up so it was cool. Say hello to the old Issaquah-Fall City Rd. I did and it replied, "Good to see you again Martin" and we flew down it.
Then it was into Carnation. It was warm here, down go the arm warmers and I'm loving it. I filed up my water bottles, Jan had a Coke (and drank it in like 10 seconds) and then we (you guessed it) climbed another hill. Tolt Hill to be exact. I have not been up here in ages and it was not as bad as I remembered it at all. And that was good as I was getting a little tired. Another steep descent to Redmond-Fall City and this was baby bottom smooth pavement so I pulled again and we were doing about 24-25 mph. Nice!
Duthie Hill on the other hand was MUCH longer and steeper than I remembered it. Oh well; grind it, wait for Jan and rejoice in the fact that there was only one hill to go.
Jan said Cougar was the hardest but I disagree. Olympus was steeper for sure. And it's not short. At the bottom I took one look and knew I would not be able to sit at all. Standing in your lowest gear (because you have to) is kinda demoralizing sometimes. Luckily I was still having a good time. Then Jan started cramping so we just rode it out. Of course near the top he put in a little surge again. :)
This was a blast! I'll be back for this one if I'm free for sure. I think that with one other person of similar fitness, 3:30 is doable; we could easily have done 4:00 if Jan had not been feeling like crap. The ride itself was about 68 miles and so with my commute to and from I got in an amazing total for this time of year. And yes, I can feel it. Jan is super to ride with, I'll need to do another SIR ride when he's feeling 100%. He likes to talk, he used to race, he's got more bicycles than I do and he's from Germany so we had tons to chat about. |
| Equipment: |
Ti Cycles Hyak, 12x23, seatpost fender |
If you're curious how we got in so many hills in under 70 miles, check out this map of the route.
|
