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Sunday morning club ride

07.20.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 9 Comments

I did something today I haven’t done in awhile — I joined up with the neighborhood club for its Sunday morning ride. The club is the Circle C Ranch Cycling Club, or CCRCC. It’s named for the neighborhood in southwest Austin where we live.

I was interested in doing the ride because it’s one I rode many months ago, and really enjoyed it. It gets out into the hill country west of Austin quickly, and features lots of rolling hills. I have also realized that I have to do more hill work if I want to complete that century in the fall.

We started off in a group of about 17 or 18, and stayed in a pack for about six miles. Once we crossed U.S. 290, though, the pack started to split up into two groups. I was on the back of the second group. Soon, I was watching the second group disappear out of sight around a bend.

We got to the main objective of the ride — Fitzhugh Road. Now, the last time I was on this route, the group stopped at the convenience store at the corner for a quick rest break. Today, no rest break. Well, it was only 10 miles out from the start. One club jersey was just reaching a bend about 500 yards ahead of me.

I followed, but couldn’t catch them. I am pretty much a 15 mph average rider, and these guys (and several women) are faster. Plus, the rollers. Oy!

One of the nice things about the Fitzhugh route is that you can pick your own distance. It’s an out-and-back route, so you can turn around wherever you like. Most people pick a cross road. The first major intersection is Ranch Road 12. I figured they would take a break there, and that’s how I would catch up. At the same time, the rolling hills were really taking it out of me. I planned to tell the ride organizer that I was turning around there.

When I approached the intersection, I could see a group of about seven of them stopped beyond it. Ah ha! I had caught them. But before I reached the corner, they shoved off. I pedaled hard, and latched onto the back of the group. It took awhile to get to the ride organizer at the front, to tell him I was turning back.

By now, the morning sun was out in full force, and the temperature was around 90°F (32°C). The breeze wasn’t bad though, and I was wearing a full zip jersey, so I could zip down and take advantage of the breeze. When I reached the convenience store back at the 290-Fitzhugh corner, I got a bottle of sports drink, stood in the shade of a tree, and finished it off. The rest of the ride was uneventful, and I got home in time to watch the end of the British Open.

I’m a little bummed that I’m not on a par with the club riders, but there are also rides for slower guys like me, so maybe there will be more club rides in my future.

Totals: 36 miles, 14.3 mph average (That’s .7 mph faster than the last time I did the ride, in January. I’m not in their league, but improvement continues).

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Categories // clubs, Rides Tags // clubs, hills, Rides

Smoked by a young gal

07.07.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

Actually, this is more along the lines of what I consider a normal biking experience. This morning, I was pulling up to a stoplight in the left turn lane. Two young women on bikes were waiting to make the turn also. I wrestled with the wrapper of a Clif bar, and finally got to take a bite, when the light turned green.

We waited for the oncoming traffic to pass, then made our left turn onto a wide shoulder along a highway. I was still ripping the remainder of the wrapper off the Clif bar, so I didn’t pay much attention to them. But once I jammed the wrapper into one of my back pockets, I settled in for a charity ride pace on this eight-mile stretch of my route.

One of the ladies rode a red Motobecane. I didn’t get a look at which model it was, and didn’t really care. I couldn’t tell if she was an experienced biker, since she wore a gray racer-back top like women triathletes wear, and not a biking jersey, but didn’t have aero bars on the bike, like triathletes often do. The other young lady wore a pink helmet, which I thought clashed with the celeste color of her Bianchi road bike.

I had assumed they were riding together, but Ms. Bianchi quickly fell behind, and once my Clif bar distractions were settled, I called “On your left” and passed her. Ms. Moto was pedaling easily, in what appeared to be one gear harder than I was, and we maintained about a 25-yard gap between us.

But at the bottom of a gentle downhill, I was picking up speed, and went around her, too. Now, this was not a race. I had planned to ride farther than usual this morning, and I was determined to keep a steady, but not killer, pace. I concentrated on my cadence on a half-mile long uphill, and was pleased that I didn’t have to shift to the small chainring.

At the top of the hill is a cross street which is my cue to upshift and pedal harder. But before I could, I heard “On your left,” and Ms. Moto glided by. That hill must have been lots easier for her than for me. I upshifted, and watched her pull away. She must have been easing into her ride when I passed her, because she was increasing her distance from me with every pedal stroke now. I kept her in my sight for most of the remainder of the eight miles, but lost her with about a half mile to go.

I pulled into the Veloway, not to ride it, but to take a quick break, drink some water, and walk the numbness out of my little toe. Just as I was about to remount and head out for another 10 miles, I heard a bike finishing the Veloway loop. I always check out the other riders, to see if they’ve got cool bikes, or if they’re someone I might happen to know. I knew this one. It was Ms. Moto. She had turned into the Veloway too, but instead of stopping, she did a quick 3-mile loop.

‘Tis as it should be. She’s 35 years younger than me, and 80 pounds lighter. There’s no way I’m going to be able to keep up with her. I’m just content with the fact that I finished a 33-mile ride today at a 16.8 mph pace, and still had enough go power to clean the garage this afternoon. What more do I need?

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Categories // Rides, training Tags // Rides, Smoked

That which does not kill you…

06.24.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 2 Comments

After Sunday’s disappointment, I was anxious to see how I would do on today’s quickie after work ride. I did 15 miles, and am happy to report that it was great.

Despite the 95°F (35°C) heat, with a brisk wind from the south, my average speed was higher than usual. I felt strong pushing up the few slight hills on the route, and did not run out of gas toward the end of the ride, as I have done often in the past.

Because I knew the ride would be a little less than an hour, I didn’t take any special measures. I ate lunch an hour before the ride, and brought two water bottles (which I emptied during the ride). Otherwise, it was a pretty normal afternoon ride.

Yesterday’s rest undoubtedly helped the recovery. But I think so did the stress on the body Sunday. I bounced back from it well. We’ll see how next Sunday’s ride goes, because I’ll be out of town until then on business, and won’t get in any additional riding.

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Categories // Rides, training Tags // hydration, improvement, Rides

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