Century Report
Yesterday, 3,500 cyclists of all ages, shapes and sizes gathered on the Nike campus in Beaverton for the first inaugural LIVESTRONG ride. We were divided up into different start groups based on the total distance to be covered and the anticipated time it would take. I was placed in Lane #7. Lane #1 was reserved for the VIPs (Lance, George, Bob, Eddy) and fundraisers who raised over $5,000 each.
It was a rather chilly morning, and standing around waiting for the start I was shivering, just trying to keep warm. I had on my leg warmers, arm warmers, and a vest. I wished I had full-fingered gloves.
Following the national anthem at around 7:30 a.m., cyclists were led out of Nike in their respective groups. Lane #7 started out around 8:15 a.m. Even though this was a ride and not a race, but for the century and 70-mile riders it was partially a race against the clock. Being a century rider, I had to pass through the 55-mile mark by 12:30 p.m. in order to be allowed onto the Hagg Lake loop.
It seemed only a very short time until we reached the first rest stop in Hillsboro on the 100 mile route. As I still had plenty of water and had only been about 40 minutes from the start, I opted to skip this one.
Around mile 15 is when the little rollers started to appear. This was around McCormack Rd. and Vanderschuere Rd. My body was nicely warmed up by then, and I was feeling good going up the rises. Then we hit Mountain Home Road in Scholls. I had actually never taken this particular direction on this road, but I knew how long it was, so I settled into a nice, steady tempo and it wasn't too long before I was passing everyone else all the way to the top of the hill.
The rest stop atop Mountain Home was a sight to behold. On the side of the hill was a large picture of a bicycle created by placing what appeared to be red cones. And along the approach to the stop were little still figures, including DeDe the Devil.
After refilling my water bottle with some Lemon-Lime Powerade, getting some snacks, I was off, down Kruger Rd, down Chapman Rd., and down Leander Rd. At the corner of Leander and Bell Roads, I stopped for a chat with Elise, and then I was off again down Bell Road.
From North Valley Road we made a turn on to Chehalem Road for the ascent up to Bald Peak. I had never taken this particular approach to Bald Peak, and discovered it to be a rather difficult one. It must have been fairly steep because much of the time on Chehalem Road, I was only managing to move at around 5 or 6 mph.
The gradient eased up once we hit Bald Peak Road proper, and it made for a nice rest of the climb up to the summit for the next rest stop, where I refilled my water bottle with yet more Lemon-Lime Powerade, and had some more snack bits.
And then came the descent off the mountain back down to the valley. On the upper slopes, where the road surface isn't too good, as I was following after another rider, I hit a large pothole which cause my hands to start to grab the brakes, and I almost endoed. But I managed to release the brakes, regain control, and pick speed back up. It was an exciting descent all the way down to Highway 219.
From this point all the way to a few miles before Hagg Lake, the roads were mostly flat. It was now just a matter of finding the right group of riders to draft behind to conserve some energy. From this point to the next rest stop, I was able to get behind a group going at a fairly good clip.
I stopped at the rest stop to refill and refuel, and then it was off again. The trick is to find a group that isn't too slow, nor one that's too fast, but one that is just right. Out of the rest stop I initially picked a group that was a bit too slow. And then I saw another rider passing this group, so I moved out and tucked in behind this new rider. It was a nice brisk pace, but one that I could maintain.
I passed through the 70/100 mile cutoff to Hagg Lake sometime close to noon. A little bit after that the guy I was drafting behind asked me if I'd like to take the lead. I told him that he was going pretty fast, implying that I probably wouldn't be able to hold the same tempo for much of a distance if I had to take the lead. But he insisted so I went ahead. And so we went until we crossed Highway 47. It was there that I began to pay the price for maintaining a pace higher than I would have liked. As soon as the road started to turn up, I lost contact and other riders started to pass me. So the moral of this little story is that if the guy you're drafting behind is wearing a CTS (Carmichael Training Systems -- Lance's coach's company) jersey, and you're feeling like you're within your limits, if you have to lead, you're going to probably blow up.
It's been a while since I've been to Hagg Lake. I had forgotten that the road that circles around the lake is simply up and down, up and down, repeatedly for a very long time. On the long, uphill approach to the lake, my right thigh began to cramp up. I had hoped that all the Powerade would be sufficient to prevent cramping, but obviously, it was not. I stopped, popped a couple of Lava Salt capsules, and then it was back on the bike. Fortunately, once the left turn is made to start the loop around the lake, the road flattens out a bit, giving some time for the capsules to dissolve and the electrolytes absorbed into the blood stream.
But it wasn't long before the nice, smooth surface of newly paved road gave way to the bumpy pitch-and-gravel type pavement. I could no longer push too hard for fear of cramping badly, so it was now a matter of preventing any further damage and keeping enough in reserve to finish the full route.
Around a third of the way around the lake was a rest stop, and this was one rest stop that I think I was most happy to see during the entire ride. I was able to refill, refuel, walk around a bit, before getting back on the bike to continue the up and down around the lake.
By this time (65 miles or so) this thing was turning into a battle of the will against self. I no longer cared that I was getting passed or that I was passing someone (which I still occasionally did). My goal was first to make it all the way around the lake and then back towards Forest Grove without having to abandon. I did make it around the lake and back out to Highway 47.
At this intersection, while stopped waiting for cross traffic to go by, a number of riders came together. On restarting, I found someone who apparently didn't mind sticking his nose in the wind and so I was able to draft behind him all the way to the next rest stop. Rather than stopping, I saw that there was another rider coming out of the rest stop, so I bridged up behind him and again found a draft. But to my dismay I find that he is going much more slowly than I am still capable of, so I end up sticking my head into the wind and going it alone into Forest Grove.
Going out of Forest Grove, I finally find a small pack that is more my pace. At this point, I could care less that I'd be considered a wheel-sucker. All I wanted was a draft so that I could get to the finish, which was now about 20 miles away. So I tuck in and find a fairly easy ride to the final rest stop in North Plains.
I refill, refuel, and pop a couple more Lava Salts, and then go back out for the final 15 miles or so. After a mile or two of being out alone, I get passed by a small group of four. I tuck in behind them for a nice ride on West Union Road. Somewhere past Cornelius Pass Rd. I once again go off on my own, but as the rollers begin once again on West Union between 185th and Bethany, the previous group of four come up past me, and I tuck in behind them for the last few miles back to Nike.
As I hit the finish line, I stop my cyclometer. It reads 105 miles (official route map states 103 miles) and 6 hours, 15 minutes. This translates to around 16.8 mph, which over 100 miles is much better than I expected. I was just hoping to make it to the finish, and if I could do it close to 6 hours, that would be a bonus.
Once in the finish area, I got some food and then sat down on the ground. As soon as I tried to get up, I cramped badly. I just sat there, massaging my thigh for a while before I was able to get up without cramping.
I made it, and I would do it again. I'm also now considering a double metric century (125 miles) and a double century (200 miles in one day) as my next challenges.
- Mark
It was a rather chilly morning, and standing around waiting for the start I was shivering, just trying to keep warm. I had on my leg warmers, arm warmers, and a vest. I wished I had full-fingered gloves.
Following the national anthem at around 7:30 a.m., cyclists were led out of Nike in their respective groups. Lane #7 started out around 8:15 a.m. Even though this was a ride and not a race, but for the century and 70-mile riders it was partially a race against the clock. Being a century rider, I had to pass through the 55-mile mark by 12:30 p.m. in order to be allowed onto the Hagg Lake loop.
It seemed only a very short time until we reached the first rest stop in Hillsboro on the 100 mile route. As I still had plenty of water and had only been about 40 minutes from the start, I opted to skip this one.
Around mile 15 is when the little rollers started to appear. This was around McCormack Rd. and Vanderschuere Rd. My body was nicely warmed up by then, and I was feeling good going up the rises. Then we hit Mountain Home Road in Scholls. I had actually never taken this particular direction on this road, but I knew how long it was, so I settled into a nice, steady tempo and it wasn't too long before I was passing everyone else all the way to the top of the hill.
The rest stop atop Mountain Home was a sight to behold. On the side of the hill was a large picture of a bicycle created by placing what appeared to be red cones. And along the approach to the stop were little still figures, including DeDe the Devil.
After refilling my water bottle with some Lemon-Lime Powerade, getting some snacks, I was off, down Kruger Rd, down Chapman Rd., and down Leander Rd. At the corner of Leander and Bell Roads, I stopped for a chat with Elise, and then I was off again down Bell Road.
From North Valley Road we made a turn on to Chehalem Road for the ascent up to Bald Peak. I had never taken this particular approach to Bald Peak, and discovered it to be a rather difficult one. It must have been fairly steep because much of the time on Chehalem Road, I was only managing to move at around 5 or 6 mph.
The gradient eased up once we hit Bald Peak Road proper, and it made for a nice rest of the climb up to the summit for the next rest stop, where I refilled my water bottle with yet more Lemon-Lime Powerade, and had some more snack bits.
And then came the descent off the mountain back down to the valley. On the upper slopes, where the road surface isn't too good, as I was following after another rider, I hit a large pothole which cause my hands to start to grab the brakes, and I almost endoed. But I managed to release the brakes, regain control, and pick speed back up. It was an exciting descent all the way down to Highway 219.
From this point all the way to a few miles before Hagg Lake, the roads were mostly flat. It was now just a matter of finding the right group of riders to draft behind to conserve some energy. From this point to the next rest stop, I was able to get behind a group going at a fairly good clip.
I stopped at the rest stop to refill and refuel, and then it was off again. The trick is to find a group that isn't too slow, nor one that's too fast, but one that is just right. Out of the rest stop I initially picked a group that was a bit too slow. And then I saw another rider passing this group, so I moved out and tucked in behind this new rider. It was a nice brisk pace, but one that I could maintain.
I passed through the 70/100 mile cutoff to Hagg Lake sometime close to noon. A little bit after that the guy I was drafting behind asked me if I'd like to take the lead. I told him that he was going pretty fast, implying that I probably wouldn't be able to hold the same tempo for much of a distance if I had to take the lead. But he insisted so I went ahead. And so we went until we crossed Highway 47. It was there that I began to pay the price for maintaining a pace higher than I would have liked. As soon as the road started to turn up, I lost contact and other riders started to pass me. So the moral of this little story is that if the guy you're drafting behind is wearing a CTS (Carmichael Training Systems -- Lance's coach's company) jersey, and you're feeling like you're within your limits, if you have to lead, you're going to probably blow up.
It's been a while since I've been to Hagg Lake. I had forgotten that the road that circles around the lake is simply up and down, up and down, repeatedly for a very long time. On the long, uphill approach to the lake, my right thigh began to cramp up. I had hoped that all the Powerade would be sufficient to prevent cramping, but obviously, it was not. I stopped, popped a couple of Lava Salt capsules, and then it was back on the bike. Fortunately, once the left turn is made to start the loop around the lake, the road flattens out a bit, giving some time for the capsules to dissolve and the electrolytes absorbed into the blood stream.
But it wasn't long before the nice, smooth surface of newly paved road gave way to the bumpy pitch-and-gravel type pavement. I could no longer push too hard for fear of cramping badly, so it was now a matter of preventing any further damage and keeping enough in reserve to finish the full route.
Around a third of the way around the lake was a rest stop, and this was one rest stop that I think I was most happy to see during the entire ride. I was able to refill, refuel, walk around a bit, before getting back on the bike to continue the up and down around the lake.
By this time (65 miles or so) this thing was turning into a battle of the will against self. I no longer cared that I was getting passed or that I was passing someone (which I still occasionally did). My goal was first to make it all the way around the lake and then back towards Forest Grove without having to abandon. I did make it around the lake and back out to Highway 47.
At this intersection, while stopped waiting for cross traffic to go by, a number of riders came together. On restarting, I found someone who apparently didn't mind sticking his nose in the wind and so I was able to draft behind him all the way to the next rest stop. Rather than stopping, I saw that there was another rider coming out of the rest stop, so I bridged up behind him and again found a draft. But to my dismay I find that he is going much more slowly than I am still capable of, so I end up sticking my head into the wind and going it alone into Forest Grove.
Going out of Forest Grove, I finally find a small pack that is more my pace. At this point, I could care less that I'd be considered a wheel-sucker. All I wanted was a draft so that I could get to the finish, which was now about 20 miles away. So I tuck in and find a fairly easy ride to the final rest stop in North Plains.
I refill, refuel, and pop a couple more Lava Salts, and then go back out for the final 15 miles or so. After a mile or two of being out alone, I get passed by a small group of four. I tuck in behind them for a nice ride on West Union Road. Somewhere past Cornelius Pass Rd. I once again go off on my own, but as the rollers begin once again on West Union between 185th and Bethany, the previous group of four come up past me, and I tuck in behind them for the last few miles back to Nike.
As I hit the finish line, I stop my cyclometer. It reads 105 miles (official route map states 103 miles) and 6 hours, 15 minutes. This translates to around 16.8 mph, which over 100 miles is much better than I expected. I was just hoping to make it to the finish, and if I could do it close to 6 hours, that would be a bonus.
Once in the finish area, I got some food and then sat down on the ground. As soon as I tried to get up, I cramped badly. I just sat there, massaging my thigh for a while before I was able to get up without cramping.
I made it, and I would do it again. I'm also now considering a double metric century (125 miles) and a double century (200 miles in one day) as my next challenges.
- Mark
posted by Mark at 1:37 PM
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