When 200km equals 141 miles
If you’re not familiar with the ratio between kilometers and miles you may not notice the incongruity of the title. I got a couple of bonus miles when I rode to and from the event and missed a turn–16 extra to be precise. This bumped the ride into second place on the longest ride list.
John Ceceri organized another great long distance event, the 200km Brevet–the third of his rides I’ve completed, including the Saratoga 12/24 and ADK 540. There were 22 riders representing six states. This is the first time I’ve ridden in a Ceceri ride and didn’t get rained on.
The day started at 5:30am. It was a little harder than usual to get up at this time since Daylight Saving Time kicked in a couple of hours earlier. The excessive darkness was pretty oppressive at this time of the morning, however I checked the forecast and was comforted to see that increasing daylight was slated. Choosing the clothing for the day was a little challenging. The starting temperatures were upper thirties and the high would be upper 50s, possibly 60.The course consistent primarily of the club century and Saratoga 12/24 courses stitched together. There were really no significant climbs, but Jockey Street was prevalent–one of my least favorite roads. Jockey is full of rollers and, when heading north, has a total gain of a couple hundred feet. The pavement is kinda choppy, too. ‘Course, I’ve become something of a pavement snob given how good the roads are around my house.
At the start I pulled out with the group and quickly realized I forgot to grab a cue sheet. So back I go for one. Now, whenever I play catchup to a group ride, I’ve had to really hump it to get back in touch (I’m thinking the Wacky Wednesday night rides that are, at most, 40 milers but usually 25-30 miles and kinda fast). I was surprised how quickly and easily I rejoined the pack after a couple minutes delay. Turns out I wasn’t the only one who forgot something… John forgot his water bottles in the car, so I gave him one of mine (the one with plain water) and kept my Perpetuum flavored bottle. John bought me a spring water at a rest stop but I never ended up using it. There were plenty of control points and Stewart’s Shops along the route so I never had to tap the second bottle. I did keep eyeing it throughout the day and thinking “Am I not drinking enough?” even though I drank every 15-30 minutes. There were so many rest stops with opportunities for refills that I just didn’t have to dip into the 2nd one.
My usual chain lube ran out so I went looking for another during my lunch break a day or two earlier only to come up empty handed. I ended up trying a different formula lube, Road Rage by Pedro. I used to use Extra Dry by Pedro. Let me tell you… big improvement. With Extra Dry it would never last a century before I started hearing chain noise. I hate chain noise. After 141 miles the chain is still silent. Very dirty and black, but silent. (Subsequently, John mentioned he shys away from it because it makes his wheels dirty. I’ll have to report back on my findings on this point.)
After a couple 20-30 miles I settled into a pace with two other riders, John Ward, and Guy Harris. They both regaled me with stories of BMB, or Boston-Montreal-Boston. This ride was new to me and I learned it’s the culmination of a series of qualification brevets. You have to complete a 200km, 300km, 400km, and 600km brevet before attempting the BMB. But wait, there’s more. Then there’s a time limit for BMB: 90 hours. I was in awe of these accomplishments. John W. rode in 1998 and Guy in 2005. From John’s stories it sounds like four hours is the maximum you want to budget for sleeping. Any more and your body shifts gears and thinks “Alright. I’m done. I’ll just tighten up these muscles and shut down for now.”
The day was a brilliant, sunny day, much appreciated after Saturday’s dreary rain. Something about the sun always helps lift the spirits and energizes me–I certainly know I’m not unique in this feeling.
Heather Mosley and her husband, Wiley started the ride, but didn’t end up finishing. I’d joined one of her Sweat ‘n Century series two falls ago. They started out really hot and apparently Wiley burned all his rockets and couldn’t continue after the Middle Grove Stewart’s check point where I caught up with them. I was frankly surprised to see them at the stop since I figured they were probably at least 15-20 minutes ahead of me by that point.
I brought my Magellan Gold GPS along with me to track the course and altitude. It was a very flat course–check the Y axis of the graph to the right for the maximum altitude of 846 feet. Total altitude gained ended up at 2656 feet (based on an analysis by TopoFusion software). My climbing ability felt very good today. All the nuisance, steep bumps in the road did little to hamper me. A quick downshift and a dozen, twenty or thirty pedal strokes would see me to the top. Compared to my two steady companions I was climbing a little faster. This would continue all the way to the end of the ride.
After chatting with Guy and John W. for many many miles, I grew lazy in my focus on the course. This was when the wrong turn reared its ugly head. I blew right past Route 32 and continued east on Clark Rd all the way to West River Rd like a Hummer looking for a gas station. We even had to stop for several seconds after I had warned them that visibility was poor and traffic was relatively high at the intersection. As soon as we hit WR Rd, I’d realized my mistake. I let loose with a litany of self-flaggelation and apologies to the guys. They were very kind and waved it off and a minor accident. They were blaming themselves for not checking me since nothing was stopping them from checking their own cue sheets. Earlier John W. said “I feel like I’m cheating riding along with someone who knows the area and doesn’t need the cue.” All in all it was only about 5 miles extra, and the nuisance climb in the middle of Clark Rd.
West River Road. Finally. This was part of the Saratoga 12/24 course–one of my very favorite roads. Guy, John W. and I cruised south with a light tailwind at about 21-23 mph. John W. did most of the pulling, he seemed to enjoy the flats. The checkpoint at the Bluebird Road Stewart’s Shop was manned by the very amiable Dick Murphy. Turns out he lives nearby and we’ve never crossed paths while riding. We’ll exchange e-mails and try and coordinate some training rides.
My comfort level went through a couple of changes for this ride. About 40 miles in I was getting an achey neck and shoulders, but that only lasted 10-20 miles. The knees never once felt sore. Knee soreness is happily a thing of the past. Only hard, steady climbing can bring out the soreness that once plagued me. And even then it needs to be on at least a century caliber ride.
At one point, however, around 110 miles along Burgoyne Rd, my breathing became painful. Any attempt at a full breath would result in my ribcage feeling constricted and very uncomfortable. This forced me to drop from my two companions. I soldiered along hoping it was temporary and was surprised to see John W. riding back to me shouting that we had made a wrong turn. I was confused because I could see Stafford’s Bridge Rd just ahead and knew the right onto Fitch Rd was just a few hundred feet further. There was a minor typo in the cue sheet and we were in fact on course. This was fortunate for me because it gave me about 2 o 3 minutes of rest while rejoined them and discussed the map. I still had some discomfort when breathing in fully, but not enough to impare me too much. I still finished strong. John W. pulled ahead of Guy and me towards the end, but we weren’t really trying to break any records. Plus I’ve never really been inspired to climb hard on Crescent Rd. over the Northway… a paltry three miles from the finish.
Guy was impressed by the Saratoga Racetrack and Grandstand which we rode by in the last mile. All out-of-towners were very impressed by the scenery and roads in this particular event. I got the feeling that the endurance riders felt this course was on the easy side given how little climbing there was. Greene Rd by my house was the only significant climb, and it’s not that much.
After the ride I hung out with the few others that were there before riding home. John Ceceri was going to have a little barbecue but I knew Steph was waiting for me to get home for dinner. I learned that Bill Schwarz who rode a hand-cycle dropped out not feeling well. And that Heather and hubby scored a DNF as well. I had a soda, chatted for a bit with John M. then made my goodbyes. To get the soda I had to help myself to the fridge–but not before asking Mrs. Ceceri if they were any available. It wasn’t until I was walking out the door that I noticed the sign in large stern letters that said “No Cleats in the House.” Oops. Sorry, Mrs. Ceceri!
Dinner with Steph consisted of sirloin tips and mashed potatoes at the local 99 Restaurant. I ended up losing 4 pounds during the event which works out to about 2.3% of my body weight, perhaps a little excessive. I’ve heard 1% is the most you want to loose.
The companion 300km brevet will not be on my calendar of events because a conflicting event is taking place. The March of Dimes Walk for Premature Babies is the same day, April 30th, and Steph and I want to show our support for the cause. I’m sure I can find another 300km brevet this spring.
Things I noticed:
- Two wild turkeys along Charlton Road
- A lot of riders with Camelbak hydration systems
- A lot of riders with BIG saddle bags or backpacks
- A slower pace, longer stops and generally more relaxed pace than I’m used to
- I finished 40 minutes behind John M., AGAIN. (If you credit me 20 minutes for the wrong turn.) First time this happened was in the ADK540.
- My average heart rate up to the Bluebird Rd control point was 158. It dropped to 155 by the end of the ride. (153-155 has been a consistent level for me for long rides this year.)
Statistics from TopoFusion:
Distance recorded on my GPS (not including ride to and ride from event start) 130 miles
Moving time: 8:59:24; Total time: 9:41:51; Stopped time: 42:27
Climbing elevation: 5978 ft; Descending elevation: 6050 (yeah, these numbers just aren’t right!)
Avg speed: 14.5Max speed: 39.8
Uphill time: 2:35:23; Downhill time: 2:20:27; Flat time: 4:03:34
Uphill distance: 32.8 mi; Downhill distance: 34.86 mi; Flat distance: 62.36 mi
Uphill grade: 4.6%; Downhill grade: 4.0%
Difficulty index: 34.27; Effort index: 170.977
Pace: 4:07