My President’s Day Ride

February 19, 2008 in Cycling, Rides by Bud | 5 comments

JohnD and I went out today to ride a metric century from Mint Hill toward Polkton and back. It was a beautiful day for a ride. Warm and sunny. We had very little traffic going out and with a tailwind and generally downhill route we were able to average nearly 20 mph for the first half of the ride.

The big problem was coming back. That nice tailwind we had going down turned into a severe headwind coming back. There were times I was nearly blown off the bike and other times when I saw my speed drop to about 9 mph. Still it was a great day for a ride no matter how difficult it was.

A few things I learned or confirmed on my ride today:

  1. I still can’t climb hills worth beans
  2. I figured out how to avoid cramping
  3. I am much stronger riding into the wind than I am going up.
  4. I need a longer stem

Here are the stats and a route map:

Location: Mint Hill, NC Start Time: 2/18/2008 10:01:35 AM
Category: Road
Distance: 63.22 miles Ascent: 2,719 feet
Total Time: 04:26:09 Descent: -2,736 feet
Moving: 03:56:02 Stopped: 00:30:07
Avg Speed: 00:03:44 / mi Fastest Speed: 00:01:47 / mi
Slowest Speed: 00:19:51 / mi Calories: 4366
Weather: 64 °F PartClouds
Bicycle: PedalForce - RS #1

Elevation Profile

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  1. John DeMeo’s avatar

    John DeMeo on February 19, 2008 at 8:43 am

    More food, maybe 2 more rest stops, and less wind. I was done, and to ride at 9 10 or 11mph into the wind, not fun. But good company for 3/4 of the ride until I couldnt keep up and began my death ride LOL.

  2. Jan Roovers’s avatar

    Jan Roovers on February 20, 2008 at 6:13 am

    Thank you for this information. I want to try this route riding at a decent pace to prepare myself for the longer charity rides this Spring and Summer. Hopefully it will not be as windy as you guys experienced on President’s Day.

  3. Bud’s avatar

    Bud on February 20, 2008 at 8:45 am

    Jan, if you are going to attempt this solo, I would suggest Sunday morning. After the one or two cars you will encounter on Fairview and the beginning of Brief Rd you will likely not see another car until you get back to Lawyers Rd coming back into town. The only real problem with Sunday morning is that you will most likely not find any of the stores or gas stations open until you get to E Lawyers & Sikes Mill, that is about 52 miles into the ride.

    John, I can’t believe you wanted more stops, I thought there were too many stops as it was. He had to take the extra one when I needed to figure out where to turn in front of the church, then we had that long stop at the Citgo station. How many more did you need! Just kidding, but now you have a goal, have to do that ride in under 4 hours total time!

  4. John DeMeo’s avatar

    John DeMeo on February 20, 2008 at 10:25 am

    I have back issues, and I need to stop and get off the bike for about 1-2 mins every 45 min or so. Or just straddle the frame and stand up and unhook my cleats. I do drink alot and pit stops do help. The stop at the citgo was a little long. What I would have liked was 2 stops for about 5 maybe 7 min. And then a few where I can just unhook and stand for a min or 2. This is why I used to ride by myself a lot so I can rest the back when I needed too. This is also probably why I do the organize rides by myself, because what happens is
    1. I dont drink properly
    2. I dont eat properly
    3. I dont stretch the back correctly

    when I get caught up with a group. The new years eve ride was good, we stopped at 2 stores and was perfect for me. Curts flat helped too. Thanks for the company on the ride. I will try to be better prepared next time, stonger and more consistent.

  5. Bud’s avatar

    Bud on February 20, 2008 at 3:14 pm

    John, don’t feel bad as I said I was just kidding about the stops. You are correct the Citgo stop was too long. We both have stuff to work on, my climbing still sucks and I tend to hold up the group on long climbs, that is why I also ride by myself most of the time. Eating and drinking aren’t a problem for me.

    I do enjoy others company on a ride, but I tend to want to “get the ride over with” when we are near the end, hence my desire not to stop. But you and I have ridden together before, usually its the other way around, I fade badly at the end and am the one that cannot keep up.

    I still believe you need more rest. There are too many days you are doing cardio, take a day off from the Y once in a while and you will be more refreshed when you get on the bike.