The ride took place in central New Jersey, in Hunterdon county - near the Delaware River. The course was one giant loop with lots of turns, however it was very well marked and I never once had to pull out my Cue sheet, even when riding alone. The start and finish took place in Lambertville NJ, and while the town is tiny, there was enough parking and pre ride pickup was easy. The weather for the day was forecast to be nice- almost 60 degrees by lunch time, but the start of the day was closer to 30 degrees.
The ride started right at 9 AM and was supposed to be a wave start- I was about 5 rows from the front and went off in the first wave. I decided to wear as little as I could get away with since I knew the weather would warm up soon. So I had tights, knee warmers, a jersey, wind vest and arm warmers- and was perfect the whole day. I think folks who wore tights, full booties and jackets were uncomfortable by 11 AM. I also used some Embrocation- essentially some warming oils on my legs- & kept me very comfortable the whole day. Right as we rolled out we started on the first of many climbs and within a mile or so we were in the first dirt section.
Now the dirt sections are basically dirt roads. Not trails or off road, just unpaved roads. With ruts, potholes, bumps and lots of gravel. And we road on them at speed- 20+ MPH in many cases with a full peleton of riders. At every dirt section, there were several riders who had to change flat tires. I road on a set of tubeless wheels at about 85 PSI and had no issues or flats the entire day. I use tubeless on my road, tri and mountain bike wheels- and really love the fact I don't get flats and have a much smoother ride compared to tubulars or regular clinchers. I am surprised more folks aren't using tubeless, but for me they work wonders!
Within the first hour the field began to thin out- some folks pulled ahead and some behind as we began to settle in for the long day. I started to ride with group of guys and took some big pulls on some long rolling sections. I really opened up the engine and bridged my group to a couple of groups ahead of us. In hindsight I probably pulled more than I should have- I ended up suffering for a while mid ride (more to come on that). I ended up meeting a guy named Mike Crocker and we road together for about an hour- nice to have a chat in between hard efforts.
At about mile 30 I took my turn leading our group which was about 15 or so. We started up a moderately steep, but long climb. I accelerated a bit and three of us surged ahead. However two guys who were on my wheel quickly passed me- I felt a bit like Tommy Volkler cracking in the tour, but I just could not match their acceleration. However my initial surge had cracked the group behind me and I began a solo ride for the next 35 miles. Initially I was fine with this- soon after this climb the first aid station appeared.
At the aid station the organizers had porta potties, water & gatorade, food including PB&J, bananas, cookies and gels. So I hopped of my bike, hit the head and reloaded my bottles, had a sandwich and some fig newtons. It felt good to stretch the legs- I am definitely not used to stopping ever on a ride, nor drafting so this was nice. However it was time to go and I got back on the bike and started out on my own. The next 10 miles were great- some rolling back roads, a long dirt section (about 2 miles long) and a nice climb which I passed a group of cyclists out for a fun ride- I felt great. However I was about to have a rough time for a while. I turned on to a busier road and into a nasty headwind, and I started to get a slightly bloated feeling. I knew I had a bit too much liquid in my stomach and while I had to keep getting some calories into my system the next 30 -45 minutes would suck.
But this is what I wanted (no not misery), but this ride while fun is also a training ride- everything I am doing this year leads up to IMLP and 76 hard miles on the bike is part of that. Having some gut issues and then having to mentally push through it is great training in the bank. When I hit one of those sucky patches at IMLP, I will call on this day to help me push through it.
So for the next 10 miles I was miserable. But I kept pedaling, albeit slower and I kept taking in some calories. The good news was my legs felt good, actually my whole body felt good, except my gut which made me feel like I did not have energy to push hard. So nothing hurt, but the engine just did not want to rev. The road was the longest stretch without any turns and without a doubt the most boring stretch of the day- granted I felt like crap so that might contribute to that feeling. And if this was a triathlon, I could see that section being a hammerfest, but at that point of the day I hated it. To make matters worse, the first turn off the boring road was on to Pine Hill Road. Pine Hill road is steep. A 1 mile climb with an Avg grade of 3.1% with a middle section that is .3 miles and a 12.1% avg grade. Certainly not a climb that if I was feeling fine would bother me, but being at the low point of the ride I had doubts in being able to get to the top with out walking. As I started the steep section I stood on my pedals and while I was not dancing, something happened. My legs took over, got my HR back up and got me back in the ride. The climb for me was slow, but I never felt like I was not gonna make it- funny how the body just got in gear. It was the kick start I needed. As I finished the climb and we turned onto yet another dirt section my gut stopped feeling funky and I had more energy. At this point I had about 10 miles to the next aid station so I basically buried my head and road through each section. The hardest part of these miles was a 1.5 mile steep twisting descent on dirt. Yeah it was hairy, but I felt great again and let the bike and gravity do its thing.
Speaking of bike- what did I ride? My road bike, a Ridley Noah RS, carbon aero road bike, full ultegra group set , ultegra tubeless wheels and hutchinson fusion 3 tires and my Adamo breakaway saddle. There were a couple of folks on mtn bikes and some on cross bikes and a few single speed guys (crazy but cool). My gearing is standard- 53/39 with a 11-25 cassette. I did see a lot of compacts. But I would guess at least 60% of the riders were on standard gearing.
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After the descent I rolled into the second aid station and met up again with Mike Crocker. We ended up riding the rest of the way back to the finish together and while we didn't crush it, we road strong but chatted the entire way. A really nice way to end a great day on the bike. And when I rolled into the finish, it was time to kick back and have a beer. One of the main sponsors of the race is a local brewery- RiverHorse so of course it was on tap. So I signed in officially finishing & got my trophy- a L'Enfer D'Hunterdon pint glass. (I really love beer glasses as trophies or awards). I had my beer (could have had more, but had to drive home & the line for a refill was really long). Bought my tee shirt (pavement ends) and headed home.
Overall I am very happy with the day on every level. One- it was a great training ride- nothing beats being outside on the bike for 4+ hours. Two- stressing my nutrition and powering through. Mental strength will power me through my A race IMLP as much if not more than the physical strength. And I need to trust that my body will respond when I call on it. Three- riding on dirt. Duh.
Since this was not a formally timed race, I don't where I finished. I think I was somewhere in the top 100 finishers based on getting my beer glass prize and the crowd at the finish area. In lieu of formal results, here is my data from Strava http://app.strava.com/activities/46536227.
And are some links to a couple of videos posted Youtube from the ride. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T2PlDDhemw&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR-Qko9ybuE (I am in this one- about 40 seconds. I am wearing a rudy lime green helmet and a white vest with black arm sleeves)
And next week I get back to the Multisport Season- Duathlon number 3- the Delaware Valley Duathlon.
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