tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489743813488008984.post1711845260220835526..comments2023-11-02T08:06:39.682-07:00Comments on Andrew and Leslie Holton: Quadzilla "400"Andrew and Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17837102402590138029noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489743813488008984.post-48393937872233482492010-08-23T11:23:59.801-07:002010-08-23T11:23:59.801-07:00Springwater is the decision point for the FL350 cu...Springwater is the decision point for the FL350 cutoff. Our pace to this point put us on the bubble for the 40 hour event time cutoff. I was trying to earn UMCA Ultracycling Cup points for the event, so taking the cutoff meant no points. I was inclined to press on because the FL350 was the same as a DNF, so I had nothing to lose. But with nightfall imminent, the three of us at the checkpoint decided to stick together for the night, and take the FL350 cutoff as Michelle D had done before us. Since she had done this ride many times, and done well, that was probably the wiser choice.<br /><br />We rode with Stan from Canada for a while, but after stopping a few times to wait for him, we decided to press on. The FL350 cutoff had one super nice long descent that I took at 25-30 mph tucked in the aerobars freewheeling for a long, long time. That run was worth the whole trip!<br /><br />Michelle left ahead of us again at the stop in Geneseo. Stan came in behind with another rider. Down the road, we found Michelle stopped nursing an aching back, so we took a break too, and left together. We passed through the Canandaigua rest stop together. The wind was blowing so hard there, you had to hold your plate down so your dinner didn’t blow away. My bike blew over twice!<br /><br />So I was riding with the ladies all the way to the sleep stop in Auburn. I picked up a pain on the outside of my left knee on the way out of the last stop. We also had to stop to fix a flat at one point, and we also took an extra break at a gas station. We got in to the Super-8 at 5:10am.<br /><br />I had not booked a room, because I planned to blow through there with a shower and a nap a lot earlier. The bonus miles, the wind, and probably too many miles last weekend, had me well off my plan. My knees ached from all the low cadence climbing (with more to come), and the new pain was not going away. I still had enough time to finish before the cutoff, but my spousal unit was waiting back in Ithaca to drive my sorry ass home for work on Monday. A 9pm departure was not going to go over well. I was also concerned whether I could stay awake the whole 40 hours, after only getting 4 hours of sleep the night before. <br /><br />I decided to take a shower, a nap, and another double dose of Ibuprofen, and make a final decision at 6am. My knee was no better then, but not so bad that I couldn’t continue. My real worry was that continuing would screw up my training for the ADK-540, so I decided to pull the plug. This was a just for fun ride now that I was on the FL350, and it wasn’t going to be any fun for me or my wife. So I woke her up and told her to bring the sad sag wagon. I knew there were a lot of DNFs already and there would be a lot more based on the late arrivals, probably due to the wind. So I didn’t feel too bad about my first DNF. When it started raining, that eliminated any regrets.<br /><br />This was the first time I rode 24 hours straight. I rode further and longer on the NJ600K this year, but I spent 7 hours at the sleep stop since I had time to burn, rather than burning up in the heat. This was a good warm-up for the ADK-540, but now it looks like I may be on business travel that week, so I'm thinking about doing the Tejas 500 instead. So I guess I will have a similar experience flying halfway across the country to do a race with strangers. One good thing is that it's a lot flatter than the ADK500, so that should give my knees a break.<br /><br />My left knee is still giving me problems whenever I try to mash the pedals. I'm going to see the bonecrusher tomorrow to see if he can do any ART magic for me again.<br /><br />Good luck in Ireland!Dougnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489743813488008984.post-69675344400730901122010-08-23T11:21:11.985-07:002010-08-23T11:21:11.985-07:00Leslie, here is the ride report I posted to Jud Ha...Leslie, here is the ride report I posted to Jud Hand's blog, with a few edits for context.<br /><br />I was the third rider who jumped on the lead group out of the start as they passed you and Michelle. I had no idea where I belonged in this pack, so I figured I would start out in the front and work my way back. I had set a high power alarm on my Garmin 705 at my 20 min power of 300W, and my goal was to try to stay below that to make it through this ride. I was getting the raspberry just drafting behind these guys in the flat, so I knew I wasn’t going to hang with them long. So I decided to just suck wheel to the first climb, and use the head start to recover before the next pack caught me. <br /><br />I joined a group of five for part of the first climb, and did my peak 5min power of 327W then (still getting the raspbery). Then I backed off and ended up with one other rider behind. <br /><br />I had the course in my GPS, and wasn’t trying to read the cue in the dark. The other rider was reading the cue and called a right turn before my GPS showed it, so I assumed the GPS track I got didn’t reflect the latest cue, and I turned too. After the next turn, we re-joined the course on my GPS and began descending just as it got light. We passed one other rider going the other way, which was strange. A few miles later, we realized what happened. We got turned around after the wrong turn, and were now descending back down first climb heading back to the start!<br /><br />The whole group had passed us while we were looping around, and we just saw the one lone rider off the back. So now we were way behind the weakest link, with 10 bonus miles, and a bonus climb to boot. The other rider decided to jump on it to try to catch the group. I decided to stick to my power plan, and climb at a more sustainable rate for my 230lbs (the second time up the first climb I peaked 20 min at 265W). Now I was alone in the back, with the better part of an hour shot to hell.<br /><br />I brought a 34/28 compact, which had served me well up until this ride. But once the grade got over 12% on the climbs, my cadence dropped below 50, and I had to walk (and I wasn’t the only one). I did a lot of S-turns as well. It made me miss the granny gear on my touring bike. The organizer had told me that they climb at 4 and descend at 40 mph, and that’s a perfect description of the Finger Lakes topography on this ride. <br /><br />The wind had to be blowing 20 mph out of the SW all day and night. When the course turned south on 414 into Watkins Glen, I think I would have been going backwards if it wasn’t a downgrade. It also made my bike a little squirrely on the crosswind descents.<br /><br />I caught up to you at Lamoka Lake and rode ahead after the secret control. I ran into you again after climbing out of Hammondsport, and we rode together to the lunch stop, but then you left ahead of me. I didn’t see you again until the next stop at Springwater just before 6pm. Michelle D. was there also, but was ready to go sooner.<br /><br />(continued)Dougnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489743813488008984.post-39794292062840811012010-08-21T11:22:32.711-07:002010-08-21T11:22:32.711-07:00Terrific report and riding! I told you that you w...Terrific report and riding! I told you that you were never going to remember 'Sir's' name, up on Gannett Hill! Funny! For the record, it was Doug.<br /><br />Good luck on all your upcoming events. It was nice to meet you.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17880212925664939961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489743813488008984.post-42561791816212068372010-08-20T07:04:32.710-07:002010-08-20T07:04:32.710-07:00Great to read you made it through and finished!
...Great to read you made it through and finished! <br /><br />My report and photos are here (http://blog.onno.com/?p=343) and here (http://gallery.mac.com/okluyt#100491&bgcolor=black&view=grid).<br /><br />Onno, from the Geneseo stop.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08254297712253214379noreply@blogger.com