Today's Ride

Haven't been here in a while, thought I'd post the ride I did a few days ago.

I've had the long distance bug in my head all year, and since doing the 170 mile Cross Florida Ride (organized ride with about 400 riders) I've wanted to do a full double century.

Oddly enough it's hard to find people willing to do that. Can't imagine why.

So last Friday (Aug 25) I set out from Vestal, NY at 5:00 am in the dark and fog. Basic route was Owego, Candor, Watkins Glen, Penn Yan, Branchport, Hammondsport, Bath, Corning, Elmira, Waverly, Owego, Vestal.

203.4 miles, about 6200 feet of elevation (as flat as I could find around here for the distance). Rode it solo except for 15 miles where a friend met me early on and pulled a bit. Ride time was 11:48 for an avg speed of 17.2. Total time out was 13:12 - took a lot of breaks but kept most of them short, with 3 of them about 15 minutes and the rest just a few minutes.

Coming down the west side of Keuka was brutal with winds of at least 15mph coming from the south. At that point, with not even 100 miles completed, I was thinking if I finished at all it would be well after dark. Off the lake the wind wasn't as bad, and once I got past Bath it was quite manageable (had aerobars on which helped).

Nutrition was very challenging. I carried almost everything I ate in my jersey and shorts pockets- stinger waffles, peanut m&ms, cashews, fig bars, gumdrops. Stopped twice to try and get a slice or two of pizza and at both places the person in front of me bought the last slice!! Used Nuun in the water from the start, plus bought some gatorade and a couple cokes along the way. The only food I purchased was a bag of dill pickle potato chips. But after 100 miles I had to force myself to eat, and because of that I almost bonked after Waverly but popped some Nuun in the water bottle, pedaled easy for a couple miles and recovered. Ridewithgps app says I burned over 11k calories - probably high, but I only was able to take in about 3k while riding...in hindsight I should have eaten more real food early.

There were a couple times in the last 40 miles where I seriously wondered about the possibility of putting my head on the aerobars for and closing my eyes for a half mile or so.

Here's a link to my ride on RidewithGPS: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27016195 . You can see the signal dropped  out for about 10 or 11 miles (and a few hundred of climbing I think) as I approached Penn Yan which is why it estimates my speed at 18.3...which is incorrect. Based on my bike computer and RWGPS I'm pretty sure I was in between 11:40 and 11:50 (had a hiccup with the computer too) so I'm officially keeping it at 11:48...ha.

I will never do a solo double again. I'm glad I did, but it was very difficult and I'm still recovering. I would do it with a minimum of three other riders with frequent short pulls.

billy that is very impressive!!!!

I have been a fan of Hammer Nutrition..I find there products are easy on the stomach and really work..

JasonWx wrote

billy that is very impressive!!!!

+1

billyymc wrote

203.4 miles, about 6200 feet of elevation (as flat as I could find around here for the distance).

Oddly enough it's hard to find people willing to do that. Can't imagine why.

Freakin Awesome!! Did you do a before and after check of your body weight?  I bet you dropped at least 5lbs.
Great Ride, Thanks for sharing the inspiration.

nepa wrote

billyymc wrote

203.4 miles, about 6200 feet of elevation (as flat as I could find around here for the distance).

Oddly enough it's hard to find people willing to do that. Can't imagine why.

Freakin Awesome!! Did you do a before and after check of your body weight?  I bet you dropped at least 5lbs.
Great Ride, Thanks for sharing the inspiration.

I did check bodyweight but had a lot of liquids on my way home. Right at the end of my ride I probably was 5 lbs lighter than when I started - mostly water weight of course. The crazy thing though is that for long rides (say 70+ miles if your'e going hard), your body will hold onto water for several days after a ride as it replenishes glucose. So my weight after this ride fluctuated up about 9 pounds from my post ride weight peaking a few days after, then went back to just slightly below my pre-ride weight over the next few days. It's a weird phenomenon but it happens to me after any really hard extended effort - say of 4 hours or more.

Despite swearing I'd never do a double century solo again, I've already been thinking about seeing if I could get this same ride down to something like 11:15 moving time. Next year. I'd need to be able to do a flattish solo century in the 5 hour range I think to even come close to 11:15 for a double. I have a regular century I've been doing this year with about 2700 feet of climbing mostly in two spots, and I've done that solo at about 5:25 moving time. Going to hit it next weekend and see if I can get closer to 5 hours...my weak point is nutrition and hydration...last time I did this century I pushed to 65 miles with just two water bottles on a hot day and ran out of water 10 miles short of that...so was way dehydrated when I got to 65. Probably need to find a way to attach a 3rd bottle to the bike.

I'll check out those hammer products.

That’s crazy MC, my taint is only good for about 25 miles and then I’m done.

Wow I missed this too. Cool!

17 mph is groovin.

JasonWx wrote

billy that is very impressive!!!!

I have been a fan of Hammer Nutrition..I find there products are easy on the stomach and really work..

I used Hammer gel when I use to ride a lot of centuries. I would try to take in at least 200 cal every 15 miles and had Nuun in the water bottles. I haven’t done that distance in several years now but should get back into it.

Billy that is awesome. Couple of my buddies are roadies, you guys are a special breed.

For me it's more of what RA says

raisingarizona wrote

That’s crazy MC, my taint is only good for about 25 miles and then I’m done.

So true!!!

Climbing Mission to Mission Peak.... beautiful day with most of the smoke staying North of us.  Mission Peak on the Northern edge of the Wenatchee range.  

3780 vf of continuous climbing over about 10 miles (80% gravel, 20% single track).  You get most of the work out of the way early.  The last push to the summit is not rideable as it requires some scrambling.



Great view of the Enchantments from the pt 6625 ledge


This wider view of the ride-map shows both the ride track, along with the mountain range from the photo above.


Looking Northeast to the Waterville plateau and up the Columbia.  Smoke in the distance is from the Cougar Creek fire... it's been smoldering for about 5 weeks now.  In the upper right you can see a burn scar from our most recent brush with disaster.   A fire broke out in East Wenatchee on Saturday, and scorches 3,000 acres in a matter of a few hours.  The rain can't come soon enough
 

Enjoying some Alpine solitude. Looking south towards Microwave Ridge at the ski area.
     

NEPA - excellent ride!
We visited Washington this summer and stopped in Wenatchee. It looks like a potential retirement area, but I doubt I could convince the wife. We really loved Washington.

x10003q wrote

NEPA - excellent ride!
We visited Washington this summer and stopped in Wenatchee. It looks like a potential retirement area, but I doubt I could convince the wife. We really loved Washington.

Thanks X.  Let me know if you need any info... we're trying to get my in-laws to make the move out here from PA.  It's a wonderful spot for retirement.  Low cost of living, short winters in the valley, and tons of recreational opportunities in all seasons.

nepa wrote

x10003q wrote

NEPA - excellent ride!
We visited Washington this summer and stopped in Wenatchee. It looks like a potential retirement area, but I doubt I could convince the wife. We really loved Washington.

Thanks X.  Let me know if you need any info... we're trying to get my in-laws to make the move out here from PA.  It's a wonderful spot for retirement.  Low cost of living, short winters in the valley, and tons of recreational opportunities in all seasons.

Thanks. The high desert climate with Mission just up the road and Stevens Pass close by is a real draw.
We did the Cascade Loop. There is so much hiking/biking/boating in the area. Are you in Wenatchee?

x10003q wrote

Thanks. The high desert climate with Mission just up the road and Stevens Pass close by is a real draw.
We did the Cascade Loop. There is so much hiking/biking/boating in the area. Are you in Wenatchee?

Yup.  Been in the area for about 8 years.  Not actually in town.... We are about 15 minutes outside of town... as close to the ski are as you can get.  5 minutes to Mission Ridge, about 90 minutes to Stevens or Snoqualmie.  Shortish drives to places like 49, Schweitzer, and Silver.  It's also a great spot for getting to interior BC... less than a days drive to Red, Whitewater, and Apex.

Wilmington Bike fest.  Great weekend.   This was lunch all the bikes were laid out in unison.  Looked pretty cool.

nepa wrote

x10003q wrote

Thanks. The high desert climate with Mission just up the road and Stevens Pass close by is a real draw.
We did the Cascade Loop. There is so much hiking/biking/boating in the area. Are you in Wenatchee?

Yup.  Been in the area for about 8 years.  Not actually in town.... We are about 15 minutes outside of town... as close to the ski are as you can get.  5 minutes to Mission Ridge, about 90 minutes to Stevens or Snoqualmie.  Shortish drives to places like 49, Schweitzer, and Silver.  It's also a great spot for getting to interior BC... less than a days drive to Red, Whitewater, and Apex.

Nice.
The altitude of your home must help with the summer heat. It seems like a fun place to live. I am a little jealous.

Nice pic...I was on that group ride and took a similar picture so I guess we crossed paths.  What a great weekend at bikefest, they did an awesome job with the event.

That's a lot of vert for 10 miles Nepa! Must have been some pretty steep sections in there! Looks like you got some pretty low gearing on that bike