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The last time I rode the two day Globe to Show Low to
Globe route was a month before my Arizona East to West record ride in
2006, so I was in great shape. Saturday, Apr 19th I had the opportunity
to ride the route again. Wednesday before the ride Jeff had me do
another aerobic test. I showed about a 20% improvement over my lowest
power to weight ration, so my fitness level is starting to get better!
Unfortunately for this ride I overestimated my fitness level and
underestimated the difficulty of the ride. It was a LONG day in the
saddle! ;-)
I got up early Saturday morning and got to Globe with plenty of time to
get ready. Gerry Goode's brother Ed was kind enough to drive SAG for us
and carry our overnight bags to Globe. There were 9 of us starting the
ride and I knew everyone from other brevets except Jerry Cook, an
ironman triathlete -- the guy looked like he didn't have any body fat!
John and Liz Mazzola were riding their tandem! I can't imagine going
through the Salt River Canyon on a tandem! That's commitment! We started the ride at 8am. Jeff and I had discussed strategy and I
tried to stick to it. I was supposed to keep my watts around 170 for the
first 1/2 hour or so and try not to go over 250 watts on the climbs.
The ride starts with a climb out of Globe. In my lowest gear I couldn't
keep myself under 220 watts on the climb. Even at 220 watts I was
falling behind everyone except for Susan and Derek Slife who had started
a few minutes late. It wasn't too long before Derek caught me. We
chatted for a few minutes, then he rode on ahead. When the grade
flattened out, I'd ease back down to 170 watts. But on the climbs
I had issues. I did keep the 170 on the flats, 220-280 on the climbs
for the first half hour or so. I took a look at my Powertap file
and it looks like I kept under 280 for the first 25 minutes and stayed
in a recovery heart rate zone.
When Jeff looked at my Solvang Powertap file, he noticed I had a series
of 350 watt spikes. To relieve some pressure on my rear, there are times when I stand, pedal a few strokes
and coast, pedal a few more strokes and coast. I happened to glance down during one of these times and
noticed the 350 Watt spike. So at least I know why that's happening.
After the first half hour I started to just ride, but still tried to
keep my watts under 250. 10 or 15 miles into the ride I passed John and Liz
on their tandem
and could see Mike Sturgill and Gerry Goode in the distance. I was
maintaining distance behind them going up hills, but gained distance on the descents
and finally went by them at a pretty good clip on one of the longer
descents. Mike caught me on the
next hill and asked what kind of watts I was at, so I glanced down and
told him 255. His power meter was showing 80 watts, so he needed to
reset it. We chatted for a bit going up the hill, but the next descent
was into the canyon and I hit a high speed of almost 56 mph. Mike said
later he went around a corner and I was just gone.
I kept a pretty fast pace all the way to the bottom. Staying in a tight
tuck actually takes quite a bit of energy. I've noticed my heart rate
goes up, but I'm coasting. That's energy expended that isn't reflected
in my powertap file after a ride! Ed was waiting at the bottom and the
fast guys were still with him, but I still had plenty to drink and
didn't need to stop, so I kept going. Shortly after starting up the
climb Derek passed me. I stopped briefly to take a couple pictures then
Jerry Cook passed. Not too much later Dave Lehnen passed as well. I tried
not to work to hard going up the canyon and felt like I was riding well.
Derek was still at the Chevron at the top of the climb, but everyone
else was gone. I bought a packet of ham and some cheese for lunch. Mike
pulled in while I was eating. The wind had picked up quite a bit and I
could tell we'd be facing a strong crosswind through the Apache
reservation. Mike had checked the forecast and said Sunday would be even
worse with 30-40 mph gusts out of the south -- a direct headwind for the
return! Gerry Goode pulled in while we were eating. Mike left a minute
or so before me. That cross-wind was as bad as I expected, but didn't
last long. It turned into a head wind! The road follows a valley and the
wind was whipping through it. It demolished me mentally! I should NOT have thought about the wind
forecast for Sunday, but I did and
I found myself going slower and slower. A few miles before White River
Gerry passed me and said he would be stopping in White River for a
sandwich.
Man, I was wiped out! But, as Annette can attest, I can be pretty
stubborn so I kept plugging along. The headwind lasted until White River
then it shifted and became a tail wind! I waved to Gerry who was stopped
at the Bashes in White River. I remembered the last climb to HonDah
casino was really long. When the grade increased my speed decreased and
I started struggling again. Gerry passed me a few miles out of White
River. What an amazing guy! There were times on that climb that I was
going under 5 mph. And somewhere along there I made the decision that
I wasn't willing to face 30-40 mph wind for the return. Nosce te ipsum
-- velle est posse! (latin for "Know thyself -- to be willing is to be
able!). I'm still working on getting my fitness level up.
There wasn't any reason for me to suffer all day Sunday.
Ed was waiting at HonDah casino and signed my brevet card. I just wanted
to finish the ride at this point, so I left right after he signed it. I
rode pretty easy down the descent from Pinetop to Show Low and struggled
up the last climb to the hotel. I checked in, called Annette and told
her I didn't feel up to riding back. The next morning I got up before
the group left to let them know I wouldn't be starting. The wind was
blowing strongly through the trees. I was still glad I decided not to
start.
So, in 2006 I finished the ride in just under 9 hours. This year I
finished in just under 10 hours, so it took me an hour longer. Given the
difficulty of the course, the extra 25 pounds I put on since the last
time I did this ride and my current fitness level, I think I did great!
:-)
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