Today went as according to my plan. The previous days were occupied by getting all my gear and kit ready. I used the previous year’s TGF carry bags. It worked great! Everything I needed was categorized. This way, I was able to put my gear on and not worry about what I’ll need (in the event of a mishap) as I have prepared for most contingencies. I set my alarm to 4AM. I hit the snooze button a few times and got up at 4:15. It wasn’t as painful as it was, last year. Given that I’ve switched to a morning clock. I made my print outs of the check lists. I put it on a collar and wore it till I departed. It worked perfect! Every time I finished a task, I would scratch it out on the list. I did not forget a thing, this time. After doing all the preparations and feeding. We left to the start / finish at around 6:15 – ish. We used the new parking space that was a few blocks from the Start Line. I did my pre-ride check. Making sure all my apps were up and running and that the GPS and camera were operating well. I had the smartphone on my battery bank, charging all the way to when we reached the parking space. I decided not to wear my knee warmers, but wore my arm warmers. With the intent of removing them at the first, planned, stop.
After completing the checklist, I headed to the staging area. I had about 20 minutes to spare, so I rode laps on the nearby street. The rear derailleur wasn’t working as it normally does and it was tough to decide what to do. I think I left it alone. I tested the camera to make sure it was working. No problems there. I took some photos. Shortly after, I went to the staging area with about 10 to 15 minutes to spare. I was in the top 20 to 30 riders. In the meantime, I started the Strava App and took some more photos. I was also checking the battery life and how fast it was consuming. It was a bit on the lesser side that I would have liked, but no worries. They did the usual pre-start stuff, announcements and the National Anthem. Shortly after, they initiated the start of the ride via a claxon.
It took about 2 minutes to cross the start line, as there were two other groups ahead. As soon as I made my way onto Tehachapi Blvd, I began advancing through the pack of riders as much as possible and as far as was safely allowable. I think I crossed the center divider a few times, no risk taking from that point. I was concerned about making the right turn onto Steuber, as I seldomly ride there and thus not knowing the landmarks by heart. Fortunately, no issues. I just followed wheels and observed the people ahead. Steuber felt like it was taking more time than I anticipated. So, I took the opportunity to move forward. Keeping in mind that I would be mixing with the 80-mile group. When I reached Highline, there was a pack, but mostly strung out. I kept following wheels. There wasn’t a rotation going on, so I was drafting almost all the time. The legs felt good. No signs of fatigue. Somewhat elevated in the HR, but nothing too significant. I was paying attention to the road, specifically for debris that could cause a puncture. I stayed in the draft till the mile climb after Tucker. I think I may have advanced a few places at that point, and the pack was even more strung out. When I got to the summit, there was a rider behind me by about 100 yards or so, and there was a rider ahead of me by about 50 to 100 yards. We made it to Backes and turned right.
I made my way to WTR. There was a sharp right turn that followed by a fast section, doing 25 MPH+. The guy ahead of me overshot it, but kept it upright and no traffic to add to the danger. When I reached WTR, the signal was red and I had to stop. I ended up pressing the crosswalk button, but it took a while. Eventually, the traffic had cleared and I decided to take a minimal risk of running it. That was the only time I did that. From there, no taking chances. (Interesting, there was no traffic control there). I was periodically looking at the GPS and I was on schedule. I made it to White Pine in around 40 minutes. I passed the folks, no stopping. I had enough provisions and no mechanicals. I kept going. From that point, my mind was set to thinking I was doing another training ride. The wind was mild, so the ascent was quick.
I reached the top of the descent and headed down. I was playing it on the cautions side, but I kept the gas on. I put in a few good efforts over the riser. Not maxing it out, but a good dig each time. The descent went well. No traffic to negotiate, and no cyclists to mitigate. I knew where to play it safe and where I could floor it, or tuck.
I made it to the base of the climb. My provisions were plenty. I had well over half remaining. I wasn’t drinking much in the first 30 minutes as I was riding with a bit of urgency and being around other riders required all my attention. The climb went as planned. I had to keep in mind to approach via the land marks. It worked like a charm. It kept the mind going and the body followed. The steeper sections allowed me to advance just a bit more. I was by myself at this point. I took the opportunity to stretch and hydrate when the road leveled off, or on the dips. The tempo was steady, with minimal accelerations. The wind was calm, so drafting wasn’t necessary. So, no significant effort required to hop on wheels. I reached the summit and headed down. I was trying to stay as arrow dynamic, but I had to stretch and hydrate a bit.
I reached White Pine and looked for the folks. They were about 300 yards inwards. I did exactly what I planned. My hunger was normal. I ended up munching half a power bar, drank some Gatorade and water. I swapped bottles and then headed back out. Overall about 3 to 4 minutes of stopping. The electronics were performing great, no adjustments needed. The rear derailleur was hesitant on the downshift. It was mis-shifting as I was going to and coming from Keene. I ended up doing a quick adjustment. I got it spot on. The derailleur functioned perfect from that point on. As I was making my way through White Pine, I realized that I forgot to remove my arm warmers as I planned. So, I waved the folks to drive up to me. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the signal. So, I had to formulate a plan. I decided that I had two choices. Ride with them on, or perhaps shove them in my pocket. Or I could ditch them somewhere, where I could find them later. I decided to ditch them. I made it to OTR and there were a few cyclists around me, but mostly gapped. I kept the tempo steady, but put in just a bit more juice on the steeper sections. When I reached the end of OTR, I pulled over and ditched my arm warmers in the nearby bushes. It took about 20 seconds, or so.
When I arrived at Banucci, I kept in mind that this was the most difficult climbing section in the entire ride. So, I gave it just bit more effort than usual. A good place to advance. I reached the plateau and decided to feed the other half of the PowerBar. I had one left in my pocket. Making my way up Banducci, there was some traffic, but I tried to stay off the shoulder where there could be debris. Steady tempo, but mostly high. I reached the summit and spared no time to descend, as this was the usual resting point on my training rides. The descent went fast and I was able to WOT, tucking. I reached over 42 MPH towards the bottom. I wasn’t sure what to expect on the flats. When I got there, the wind was calm. So, I was doing mostly 20 MPH+. As I was going through Banducci, there were artifacts hitting my body, including my face. At one point, something got in my left eye, and I couldn’t figure out what. I gave it a good rub, no harm transpired. A mile later, the same thing happened to my right eye. I gave it a rub, and no harm transpired.
I made my way to the backside of SS. I put in a good effort, up the brief climb. At this point, I was assessing my provisions, bio, and overall feeling in the body. I had to decide whether to stop or keep going. Everything was in check, so I decided to keep going. I sped my way through SS and headed back. I was doing the numbers at this point. Realizing I had about 1 hour left and I was about 2 hours into the ride. (Plus or minus). So, I was on par for a 4 hour ride. The wind remained calm. I was doing around 17 to 18 on Banducci. Made the right turn on Pellisier. As I was riding down Pellisier, a rider bridged up. He looked to be my equal. He was going about 2 MPH faster than I. I hopped on his wheel and drafted all the way to the entrance of Bear Valley. He turned left, I went straight. I gave him some acknowledgement and made my way to the last major climb.
The legs were feeling good. I still had plenty of provisions. I was giving it full gas, knowing that this was the last major climb to put in a good effort. I think my legs started to complain ever so slightly, but it was just the usual sensation of fatigue. I passed a lot of riders, but most of them were on a different ride. Kept the tempo high, all the way over the summit. I reached the plateau and took a few moments rest. At this point, I decided to feed another PowerBar. I was nearly out of Accelerade and I needed additional nutrients in the stomach. I figured, take no risks, nothing bad can transpire from doing so. I rode no handed and peeled open a PowerBar. Consuming half of it. I made my way to Route 202 and down to OTR. When I reached OTR, I fed the other half of my PowerBar and headed down. I stretched a bit and hydrated. I tried to stay as aero as possible on the descent.
After reaching Mariposa, there were no stoppages due to traffic, so I was able to sail through the stop sign. I made it through the community. There were few riders chasing me. I passed a few riders, as well. There was an older fellow that passed me and gapped me a bit. I tried to keep him in sight. On the last riser, I was able to catch up to him. I think he surged forward and I lost my wheel. Shortly after I made the right hander onto WTR.
I was approaching the last leg, onto Westwood. The wind remained calm. But I think it was slightly head at this point. There was a steep section that I wasn’t familiar with. I kept the tempo high. Just reminding myself that there was only about 10 minutes remaining. So, whatever pain I put myself through would be brief. So, I kept the tempo high. Of course, I was stopped by the traffic light on Tucker. I had no choice but to wait. Probably for a minute or two. Prior to that, I passed the fellow that bridged up to me near Mariposa. Aside from that, I couldn’t spot others in my category. As soon as the light turned green, I floored it. No worries about cramping or anything detracting as I was only 5 minutes away from the finish and it was mostly flat. I sped my way into town. Did the right, left, left turns. Lined it up for the finish and crossed. And immediately greeted with a wet towel and a nice Medallion. I remembered to stop my timers. Looking at the clock, I made it in around 3:57 hours. At this point, as I am writing this log entry, I’ve no clue where I stand in my category.
Side notes:
As I was getting closer and closer to the finish line, I was pepping myself up. But then I kept reminding myself to remain focused. I was thinking to myself, watch the debris on the road. Because the worst thing that could happen is a flat tire. The mechanicals appeared to be working well. That was the only thing that would stop me from having a well accomplished ride.
(09-19-2019)
I petitioned for a correction to my results. The time they have given me is 3:55:44. The reason for the 2-minute adjustment is due to the fact that I was behind the start line by a minute or two at the beginning of the ride. The timer starts when you cross the start line. Now that the category has been updated, I got 12th overall, 2nd in the 40 something group, and 1st in my age category. I knew I was in the top 50. But wasn’t expecting to place as good as I did, especially in my age group. I’ve created a PDF file containing the results. Overall there were about 209 participants in my category.