Real Ale Ride 2012 ride report.
Just a short note for completeness/future-looking-back sake.
Went out for a solo 80 mile ride through the hills. Rode with Kenny for a few miles until he realized I was serious about going my own pace and got tired of dropping back to ride with me. It was hilly. It was headwindy at the beginning. And the roads were particularly bad in spots, which I don't remember from past years. I launched my rear bottle twice before I finally just jammed it into the back pocket of my jersey for the rest of the ride. Not hugely comfortable, but better than constantly reaching back to check on it, then having it launch anyway.
Things got pretty sparse for the middle and end of my ride, probably a combination of less 80 milers after everyone else branched off, and the fact that most of the 80 milers were probably faster than me. Then things picked up a bit when the Real Ale route joined with the Hill Country Ride for AIDS (San Antonio?) for several miles. Except everyone I saw was wearing a HCRA bib, and I became convinced I had taken one of their turns or missed mine, and I was going the wrong way. I figured at the worst, I'd end up at THEIR finish line and call Matt to come pick me up.. wherever that was. But eventually they turned left and we turned right (and then I saw one of their riders having gone the wrong way, and told her I thought so, and hopefully she turned around).
It was an okay ride. With the hills and the headwind, I started out pretty slow. Picked it up some in the last miles, but still slower than in past years. I also just couldn't get comfortable. I was in and out of my aerobars every few minutes, trying to get comfortable, but it wasn't happening. I was pretty glad to be done when I was done.
Of course then I had a run off the bike. And while it wasn't 100 degrees like last year, it was in the low 90s, and it was full sun, and it was hot. And this year they only had one aid station, at mile 1. I slogged up and down and up and down the hills on the shadeless highway. I ducked off into the tall weeds on the side of the highway to pee, ending up with sawlike grass in my bike shorts. I just let it chafe all my butt-flesh off, because I didn't want to stick my hand down my shorts on a busy highway. And eventually I got down to the farmer's market where I turned around last year, stood in their cold section for a second enjoying the shade, then turned around and slogged back. I was happy to see the man laying in the grass on the side of the road had moved, so presumably wasn't dead. Just.. drunk? Hungover? Tired?
With a mighty positive split (the opposite of what I was assigned), I finished up my run, deciding that 42 minutes was close enough to 45.
So I didn't feel great about my ride, but I got some solid hill work in, and a good run off the bike in bad conditions. And I drank my beer and enjoyed my chopped beef sandwich (mostly the many pickles I put on it).
And that's really about it for supported rides this summer. Now we go it alone and unsupported through August. Oof.
Went out for a solo 80 mile ride through the hills. Rode with Kenny for a few miles until he realized I was serious about going my own pace and got tired of dropping back to ride with me. It was hilly. It was headwindy at the beginning. And the roads were particularly bad in spots, which I don't remember from past years. I launched my rear bottle twice before I finally just jammed it into the back pocket of my jersey for the rest of the ride. Not hugely comfortable, but better than constantly reaching back to check on it, then having it launch anyway.
Things got pretty sparse for the middle and end of my ride, probably a combination of less 80 milers after everyone else branched off, and the fact that most of the 80 milers were probably faster than me. Then things picked up a bit when the Real Ale route joined with the Hill Country Ride for AIDS (San Antonio?) for several miles. Except everyone I saw was wearing a HCRA bib, and I became convinced I had taken one of their turns or missed mine, and I was going the wrong way. I figured at the worst, I'd end up at THEIR finish line and call Matt to come pick me up.. wherever that was. But eventually they turned left and we turned right (and then I saw one of their riders having gone the wrong way, and told her I thought so, and hopefully she turned around).
It was an okay ride. With the hills and the headwind, I started out pretty slow. Picked it up some in the last miles, but still slower than in past years. I also just couldn't get comfortable. I was in and out of my aerobars every few minutes, trying to get comfortable, but it wasn't happening. I was pretty glad to be done when I was done.
Of course then I had a run off the bike. And while it wasn't 100 degrees like last year, it was in the low 90s, and it was full sun, and it was hot. And this year they only had one aid station, at mile 1. I slogged up and down and up and down the hills on the shadeless highway. I ducked off into the tall weeds on the side of the highway to pee, ending up with sawlike grass in my bike shorts. I just let it chafe all my butt-flesh off, because I didn't want to stick my hand down my shorts on a busy highway. And eventually I got down to the farmer's market where I turned around last year, stood in their cold section for a second enjoying the shade, then turned around and slogged back. I was happy to see the man laying in the grass on the side of the road had moved, so presumably wasn't dead. Just.. drunk? Hungover? Tired?
With a mighty positive split (the opposite of what I was assigned), I finished up my run, deciding that 42 minutes was close enough to 45.
So I didn't feel great about my ride, but I got some solid hill work in, and a good run off the bike in bad conditions. And I drank my beer and enjoyed my chopped beef sandwich (mostly the many pickles I put on it).
And that's really about it for supported rides this summer. Now we go it alone and unsupported through August. Oof.