Cache Valley Century

Frustration abounds.............

The Cache Valley Century is normally a ride I kind of like.  It's a charity ride, put on by Common Grounds Outdoor, to support those with disabilities enjoying the out of doors.  A worthy cause - I believe.  The reason I like this ride is to work with groups and dial-in some important skills needed to be successful at LOTOJA.  I would guess that maybe 50% of these riders are LOTOJA folks themselves, and thus you get a pretty good refresher in "catch and hang on".  The drawback is there are a lot of "less" skilled riders that can also cause a crash.  Normally, you can get out front of the scary riders in the first 20 miles.  After that, you find a group that fits your speed and tempo and the rest is academic - normally.

This morning started pretty much as planned.  In the first 5 -6 miles, I had a good group on my back wheel that was willing to work together.  Having been out in front long enough, I rolled out to the left to let the pellaton roll by, at which point I jumped on near the back.  The "train" wasn't as well developed as I had hoped, with one guy in particular riding back and forth, left to right, coming close to wheels and pedals.  I thought he would certainly take somebody down.  As he drifted up to the front, he took his turn "pulling", with the rest of us in a single file line.  The rest of the "train" depends on the guys upfront to give hand signals of approaching hazards - like BIG potholes.  Suffice it to say, that idiot led us right through a pothole that could swallow a Buick.  Both me and the guy directly behind me nailed it full blast!  Luckily we didn't go down, but I knew it likely pinched my inner tubes.  Sure enough, out between Dayton and Weston, my rear tire went flat first.  This meant I lost my little group.  After making a quick repair, I pedaled my guts out to catch one of the several groups that flew past while I was on the side of the road.  I figured worst case would be catching a group at the Cornish feed zone.

Just past Cornish I managed to hookup with a guy that kept a pretty good pace.  We took turns out front for several miles until we caught a larger group.  Knowing my rear tire wasn't to full pressure, I figured I'd be working harder, but also figured I'd find a floor pump at the Clarkston feed zone.  For some reason, I was having a harder time staying up with the group.  Behold - another flat tire, but this time on the front.  Again, on the side of the road with my last tube.  Another quick repair and I was trying to catch a group before Clarkston.  It seemed I was having to work harder than usual to catch groups.  Getting into Clarkston, they didn't have a pump, nor did they have hardly any water, but they had a long line to get what water there was.  Okay.........onto Mendon.  Keep in mind, I didn't plan to make any stops prior to Mendon.  So much for plans.

All the way to Mendon I was pushing a headwind, and couldn't seem to get comfortable behind the one or two riders I came across.  I stayed with one group for a few miles, but even that seemed harder than usual.  At Mendon, they did have a pump!  Sure enough, my tires where somewhere around 50% of normal pressure.  No wonder I was working so hard.  I quickly got water and back on the road, with something like 30 miles to go.  Not enough to make up what I had lost in the first 70 miles, but try anyway.

I made pretty good time getting back to Benson Marina, but was strictly on my own.  They guys I caught were way too slow, so I just kept going.  About 3 miles out of Amalga a quick group came along, which made for a good opportunity.  They turned into Sugar Park (Amalga), so I thought I'd stop with them.  Only twelve miles to go, I picked up a little water and shot some pickle juice.  I didn't wait long and was back on the road.  Maybe 4 miles out of Amalga, that same group caught me again.  I stayed with them until we got on the highway headed back to Richmond (the finish).  Something about that group made me nervous, so I let them go and waited for the next group.  Unfortunately, nobody else caught me and the people I caught were simply too slow.  So I finished at my own pace - almost 30 minutes off my target.

In the end, I did have to make a sprint to beat the light at highway 91, so I know I had plenty of "gas" left.  I also stayed in my big ring all day - including the last heart-breaker on the west side of Richmond.  I still had a lot I could apply, but being kind of defeated, I kind of mailed in the last 5 miles.

Not a great day, but good enough for an assessment.  Two weeks to go and I know what needs to happen between now and then.  The bike is also having a few issues, but that can be fixed - I hope.  I on the other hand, have been beat up a little.  This week was barely 220 miles, but they were good miles.  I need to put in two hard rides next week, while trying to heal up.  Getting to the holiday weekend, I'll need to move to a maintenance mode.  And then..........the big day.

This variation of an original post in July seemed oddly appropriate today.

Click here for Joey Ramone covering Louis Armstrong - Awesome!

Ride Hard!