Well, not off to a good start keeping up with trip and race reports, but here comes a bit of both to catch things up. First, the final 2 days of the Asheville trip from a week or so ago.
Day 2
The weather looked like it was going to be rainy and mild, and we had the goal of completing a century. We wrote up the cue sheet and got on the road around 10AM from Liberty Bikes. We were doing the French Broad River ride from Rapha Continental’s website. However, we found out quickly that intersections out in the farmlands to the SE of Asheville are not marked well, so we got lost almost immediately. The scenery however was awesome and the roads were in very good condition for the most part. After winding around (somewhat in the direction of Chimney Rock) for an hour or so, we picked up a highway. After following this in the rain for a while, we discussed heading back toward Asheville ASAP and picking up the Blue Ridge Parkway. Just as this was discussed, we happened to stumble on an access ramp to the parkway…what luck. We hopped on, heading east toward Mt Mitchell. It was mostly climbing, so very slow going and we soon realized in the drizzly conditions a century probably wouldn’t be possible. The plan changed to turning around at 50 miles and heading back to town (we were at about 43 at the time). No more than 4 miles later, we were turning since the fog had descended on us (or we climbed to meet it) and visibility was scary low.
Now begins the suffer-fest. Considering the original route and the weather forecast, I had dressed for rain, not cold. So, while cautiously trying to navigate through the fog on the wet roads that we were descending for about 45 minutes, I started to get cold…more like freezing. My hands and feet had been numb for a while when I started to shiver. Shivering (aka shaking the handlebars) while descending at an avg of 30mph is scary, but I was pretty numb to that as well since the only thoughts going through my mind were the warmer clothes I opted not to wear and the possibility that I may develop hypothermia. After what seemed like the longest, loneliest ride I can remember ever being on, we made it back to Liberty bikes. Luckily, we had brought a change of clothes so I was able to get dry before returning to the cabin for a hot shower. The rest of the evening was relaxing and staying warm until an early bedtime. I was more exhausted that night than I have been in a long time. Total ride for the day was 63.25 miles in 4hours15min w/ approx 4700 feet of ascending.
Day 2 route
Day 2 elevation profile
Day 3
My last full day in Asheville, and the plan was to ride early from the cabin. Well, we actually had to drive down the mountain a bit to get to paved roads, but close enough. It was supposed to be cold and overcast with a chance of snow in the afternoon. After the lesson learned the previous day, no warm weather cycling clothes were left behind. We took off, and descended the first 5 miles down from the ski resort area. After a short climb, we hit the real descent…2 miles at ~9% grade. I was more than aware of the steep grade of the descent due to the continuous signs warning trucks of the steepness. I hadn’t had much of a chance to work at this point, so was a little cold from the descending. Also, I couldn’t enjoy the free speed since I was already thinking about having to climb back up the same hill to finish the ride.
Once down, we had lost 1750 feet of elevation over the first 7.5 miles of the ride, but then hit flat to rolling terrain as we continued to head south and east. We passed through the Mars Hill area and then more due east into smaller towns. Once getting rolling, it was a pretty comfortable ride for a while and we found ourselves on one highway for a long while. After some pace-lining, we noticed the pace start to drop off and a burning in the legs. No one wanted to admit they were having a rough go of it and may just not have the legs today, so we silently pushed on. It was only a few miles later, once our pace had dropped to under 16mph (in a pace-line) that we realized we had been climbing on the longest false flat I’ve ever been on. We had ascended over 500 feet before even realizing it. This discovery was a relief since it provided an excuse for the slow pace, but short lived since the road stopped hiding the grade and showed its true nature while steadily getting steeper. We trudged along for another few miles until the once busy highway had become a dirt road before deciding to turn around and head back to the cabin. We needed to make haste if we were going to beat the incoming snow, especially since we had to contend with a mountain top finish.
After some success with backtracking, we arrived at the base of the climbs to the finish. Our group of 4 would all be going it alone here due to the different levels of fitness/climbing prowess. We split apart immediately upon hitting the grade. I put aside any dreams of attacking the hill immediately and sat up into a (relatively) comfortable spin). This continued slowly, with some standing climbing to stretch out thrown in every few minutes, for the next 25 minutes or so. I arrived at the top to catch up with the waiting riders ahead of me and discuss the effort. We had gone up about 1250 feet in the past 2 miles…I rolled along the climb somewhere around a 6.5mph average. By the time the last of our team arrived at the top of this climb, the snow had arrived and was falling steadily. We decided to tackle the remaining climb to the cars together (for the most part). One of the stronger climbers of our group paced me and Tim, the stragglers, through the snow the rest of the way. Today’s effort totaled ~61miles in 3hours55min w/ about 3900 feet of ascending.
Day 3 route
Day 3 elevation profile
The bonus of riding from the cabin was a short trip back to the warm showers. We were warmed up and rested by the middle of the afternoon. This gave us the opportunity to go play tourist in downtown Asheville. A couple of my teammates are vegetarians, so they scoped out a vegan restaurant called The Laughing Seed. I got to branch out a bit with a Tico burrito, which included wild rice, black beans, tofu, avocados, peppers, and a variation on a ranch sauce drizzled over top. Branching out is delicious. Post dinner, we checked out a local brewery known as The Lab and sampled a couple of their offerings. The tourist trip was short lived since there was a basketball game of interest on, so we bought a couple growlers of our favorites and returned to the mountains.
All told, the long weekend trip to Asheville was a success, despite the weather not playing nicely. I did not get the distance in I had hoped, but considering the climbing involved; I was pleased with the amount of time in the saddle I was able to rack up. Asheville makes a great training ground with a variety of terrain, normally mild weather, and a biker-friendly atmosphere. I would like to return later in the spring/summer and take more time to check out the city itself, but that will have to wait.
To finish the update of recent activities, I raced in a cycling road race this past Sunday. The first time I’ve been in this type of race in 3 years or so, the Germantown (OH) Road Race. It’s the first part of a multi-race regional series. My goals going in were: to hang with the main pack for the entire race, to avoid trouble, and to get a good high intensity workout in. Being geared toward triathlon, I just don’t have the skill-set to entertain the possibility of winning cycling races. The weather on race day was (of course) chilly and wet, which seems like a theme lately. At least it should be toughening me up mentally.
My teammates and I started at the very front of the Cat. 5 race and two of them took the early pacing duties. I dropped back to get out of the wind, but soon felt a little squeamish with the tight pack riding. I haven’t ridden in this large a group in some time, so it took me most of the first lap (it was a 4 lap circuit) to relax. By that point, I had fallen to mid-pack, but was still in no danger of being dropped. Starting near the front helped me avoid the only wreck of the race that took place right behind me midway through the first lap, so luckily I hadn’t dropped too far by that point.
I hung out mid-pack, trying to work myself forward when I could for the next couple laps. The pace wasn’t too taxing most of the time, with there being limited breakaway attempts. The pace was pretty variable throughout, which made it easy to regroup as well. By the time we hit the bell for the last lap, I was back up with my two teammates about 10 back from the front of the group. However, the ringing of the final lap bell led to a more frantic pace and aggressive positioning maneuvers. My less aggressive nature pushed me to near the rear as we approached the final turn. The sprint was essentially up a false flat that was setup by a sharp corner and short, relatively steep climb about a ½ mile out. My poor positioning and lack of burst acceleration caused me to lose contact on the steep section prior to sprint. I wouldn’t be in the field sprint, but was hoping to regain contact. I slowly worked toward the peleton at my own sprint pace, but ran out of room. I finished just off the pack, less than 10 seconds back. Not great, but the best performance I’ve ever had in a bike race.
The race was a great time. It provided a good, high intensity workout and was a lot of fun. Most importantly, though, it reignited my competitive spirit and got me excited for my training again. I’d been in a little bit of a drag since I haven’t competed in any event since October of last year. Now, I’ve been reminded of what all the winter training has been for and it has refocused my future training. I was feeling the rush of competition for the rest of the day.
Next week is my birthday and Easter weekend, and then I’ll be bike racing again the following weekend, possibly with a double-dip (TT on Saturday and road race on Sunday).
Whew…I think I’m all caught up, for now. Reading all that was a workout in itself.
