Today was the 2024 Tehachapi GranFondo…
I woke up around 4:15 AM after hitting the snooze button a few times. I followed the morning checklist to the letter. It worked like a charm. I didn’t forget a thing. I had oatmeal with raisins and that held me over without GI complications. I had about 20 minutes to spare, so I took a quick 10 minute nap. Shortly after, I departed. I used my car and mom and dad took the Focus. We arrived at the parking lot with plenty of time to spare. I got my kit together, assembled the bike, took a quick bio and then started roaming around the parking lot. I tested the electronics. Everything checked out. All I had to do was wait for the start of the event. The first thing I noticed were the wind conditions. The wind had picked up and was heading East. I was hoping for calm wind conditions.

Everybody started together. After the national anthem, they made a prayer and we shoved off shortly after. As I planned, I decided to get as close to the front as possible. In about 5 to 10 minutes, I was at the front. The lead vehicle controlled the speed. The first thing I started to notice was a bit of saddle soreness. I was wanting to stand to relieve pressure, but that’s a no-no while in the middle of a pack. So, I just grit my teeth until I had the safe opportunity to. The soreness subsided and I was able to carry on with business.

As we were making our way east on Highline, that’s when things started to string out and I was losing places. I didn’t panic. The outbound leg was super quick as there was a strong tailwind. I let people by, I was saving my matches for later, even if I was loosing places. The first climb wasn’t too bad. I used it as a warmup climb. IE, no redlining it. The part of the ride I hated the most was the descent off the first climb. There was a strong crosswind, so I was feathering the brakes till I reached the base. Once I reached the base, I had to deal with the headwind. I was having problems holding 10 MPH as I was isolated. There were others with the same problem.

After making it back to Highline, I knew that this was going to be a slow march heading West. I put that in my mind. Everyone was going through the same thing. I bridged to others and others bridged to me. I decided to skip the first SAG station. A few minutes later, I was feeling reluctant was I only had half my sport drink remaining. But I had a full bottle of water. I figured I could mix a sport drink if needed.

When I arrived at the Banducci Wall, I felt a bit better in the morale since these miles were very familiar. I put it in my easiest gear and did the usual grind. There was some traffic mitigation amongst other riders and me. The Alpine Forest was a more favorable climb. Less traffic and familiar gradients. It went real quick. The legs were doing well. I was near max going over the top, but I had some matches to use for later. I weaved my way up the steep segment that followed the Arosa climb. I did everything to save my legs for later. Otherwise, going around the backside went as planned. It was safe mostly safe and in my limit. There wasn’t a SAG station at the exit of the Alpine Forest. I stopped Once to feed. I munched a Clif Bar in the span of a minute. I think I saved a bit more for later. This held me over till I reached SS.

The downhill was enjoyable. It was safe despite the wind conditions. I was able to tuck most of the way down, so I didn’t lose time. The trek through the farmlands was like Highline, but the headwind wasn’t as strong. In the meantime, I was planning when to BIO and stretching as much as I could.

I made my way around the backside of SS. The downhill going into town was fun. As I was making my way through town, I noticed one of the markers was pointing to the right when it should have pointed straight. So, I told myself that I should follow the markers. There were others ahead of me. I remember thinking that I was off course. There were no other markers. The riders regrouped after we noticed we were off course. One of the cyclists was able to confirm how to get back on track. So, I followed her wisdom. I made my way back to the SS aid station. When I got there, I had to think what to do and in what order. I filled my bottles with water. Then I mixed a powder drink. Finally I took a quick bio. I got back on the road after that.

I made my way through the farmlands. I was thinking to myself that this is the route I practiced. So I was gauging my efforts accordingly. My legs were feeling good and I chose a tempo that wouldn’t compromise them. There was a SAG station on the entrance of Bear Valley, but I decided against stopping. The CV climb went as planned. I settled into a tempo I could sustain and keep the legs in check. MY HR was elevated at this point, so I was constantly monitoring it. When I reached the summit, I pulled over to feed a Clif Bar. I opened the wrapper and fed as I was riding on the false flat.

Route 202 had some traffic mitigation. I was letting countless cars by. I had to merge at the safest moment. The descent off OTR was a treat. I was able to let the wheels roll with minimal braking. I pushed over Mariposa, no heroics or redlining it.

I arrived at White Pine. And, as planned, I met up with the folks. I swapped bottles, sprayed cooling ointment to the joints and calves. I took a quick bio and then got back on the road.

The climb to the top of WTR was into a headwind, so I put it into slow march mode. After reaching the summit, was able to recover on the downhill. I was wondering where in the field I was. It felt like I was near the last few riders. There were riders on their way back, but not by significant numbers. I pushed up the risers without sprinting. After reaching the base, I pulled over to swap out a GoPro battery. Shortly after, I got back on the road and got on with the climbing business. I was surprised that my legs were doing well and that I didn’t have any significant ailments other than the usual fatigue. I counted off the landmarks. I was thinking I could reel some riders in. I reeled in maybe 5 others. I had enough provisions to get back to the finish, so that wasn’t a concern. My HR continued to be elevated. I’m glad I had the monitor going. I gauged part of my effort on that metric. After reaching the summit, I was able to relax for a few moments. I had enough to get back to the finish and put a good effort getting there. There was a nice tailwind so I put it in the big ring and pushed away. I was delayed by the traffic signal on Tucker, as was expected. The finish was right up the street. They detoured the cyclists around the backside of the old Kmart and back to the finish.

The first thing I did was stop the GPS and the Wahoo app. I met up with the folks and took some photos, grabbed a finisher’s medal and then back to the car to go back home.

Concentration was good. I had a few lapses, and had to remind myself to stay focused. There were minimal gremlins. Balance and form was not so good in the first 20 minutes, but got better as the ride progressed. I think just needed to get warmed up. Ailments were the best of things. I had minimal pains. I did have a bit of right calf soreness, but it subsided after stretching, getting out of the saddle, hydrating, and adjusting my cadence. I could feel the usual fatigue, but that was expected. Nutrition was good. I should have stopped at Tucker as it would have been the wise thing to do, but it turned out that I managed to make it to the next aid station without going into hunger knock or dehydration. Gear worked flawlessly. The GoPro worked great. The GPS had plenty of battery life for the entire event. The bike performed beautifully.

Other notes, I’ve no clue where I finished in the group, I’m guessing in the latter half. Despite the high wind setbacks it was a successful ride.