Ride to Remember - Day 3

After the first two days of Ride to Remember, I was tired but feeling so pumped about riding with my team again.  My original plan was to see how I felt after Day 2, and from there decide if I was riding with a faster group, or staying back and relaxing.  With my legs sore and an early start time, I decided I would rather stay with my friends than try to race out with the fast packs.  Looking back on it, I can see that God had a big hand in this.



As the start time grew near, everyone was excited to start the final day.  The course had very little climbing, in fact the only real elevation of note was the final climb on the Ravenel Bridge at the end.  We expected smooth, quick riding as we went along.  You could feel the energy in the entire group as we headed out with yet another police escort.  Things were moving quickly, until the worst possible thing happened - we had a teammate go down.  Road conditions, as well as unfortunate circumstances came to the ultimate downside of a friend on the ground, hurting.  We all circled around and banded together to quickly check out her bike and give support.  The EMS was there in no time flat, and decided that it was best for take her to the hospital to check out her wounds.  While it was mostly scrapes and bruises, it meant that her day ended in Orangeburg.  We attempted to get her bike, along with her husband's, onto a teammate's car for transport with much difficulty.  Ultimately I ended up suggesting that we put the bikes on the sweep wagon until the 2nd rest stop, where my wife was volunteering and could take the bikes to the finish line.  

After she was on her way to the hospital, we started back out again.  At this point the weather had started to shift, and we had to ride through rain on and off.  The energy of the group had shifted from excitement to nervousness, and everyone seemed to have the safety of our fallen teammates on our minds.  The road conditions were not ideal, as there was a line of bad road right where the right side in a double pace line would have typically ridden.  We had to shift the group to the left, which wasn't ideal, but it kept the need to actively avoid road hazard to a minimum.  While the mood was rather serious after the crash, the EMTs behind us were actively working to cheer us up as we moved along.  When we were in rural areas, they would broadcast music through their PA system, giving us something to banter about.  Whether it was CCR's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" or Aerosmith's "Back in the Saddle", the fact that they were trying to cheer us on (and up) was heartwarming.  We slowly caught up with various slower moving riders, and picked up several folks on and off as we continued our trek.

In order to take the burden off of some of the others in the group, and to help keep our speed up some, I started taking extra long turns at the front of the pace line.  This was helpful, as we were able to keep the pace up a little bit higher, but also detrimental as my tired legs were going to feel the pressure.  Stopping at rest stops became a struggle, as they would start to stiffen up after just a couple of minutes of not pedaling.  Ultimately by the 40mi mark, a few of us decided to strike out on our own so we wouldn't have to stop as long at the rest stops.  While I hate that I ended up not riding with the folks I wanted to ride with so badly, I believe it helped both groups to be more effective.  I would have preferred to ride in with my friends, and if I had to do it over again I think that I would ride back up to the top of Ravenel to ride in with them.

From the 40mi mark until we entered Charleston, the new group was much smaller, and our focus was on keeping a consistent pace and effort and being efficient on our stops to keep our muscles from cooling off too much.  We started out as 3, and picked up folks on and off as we moved through the routes.  We quickly caught up to, and passed, another pack of riders, and ended up picking up a few folks from there.  By the time we got to the PB&J stop at mile 60, we had a handle on the efforts that we could put out.  We rolled into the mandatory stop at mile 80 with no incidents, and had a slightly extended stop while we waited for our final police escort to guide us through US-17 in Charleston.  After a few slices of watermelon, and a well received soda to fuel up the legs, the police arrived to lead us through US-17.

Unlike Day 2, the heaviest traffic section of the ride was guided by the local police.  Through a heavily traveled divided roadway, it must have been a sight to see the group of us pacing behind a police escort at 20mph.  The group had swollen to over 20, as multiple groups had come together at the mandatory stop.  As we were escorted through intersections, and brought through the outskirts of the city, we moved quickly and efficiently.  230 miles into the journey, the efforts seemed like nothing as we rode along, and my spirit soared.  We reached Ashley River Bridge and we were required to walk our bicycles across the drawbridge section.  This was difficult, as walking in my cycling shoes on normal roads is difficult.  Walking across the metal section of the bridge was slick, and it was easy for my cleats to get caught in the grooves.  Luckily the section that we had to walk across was short, and we were back on our bikes riding into downtown Charleston.  



While riding at sea level is nothing completely new to me, it was fun to ride through the historic downtown; waving at tourists and locals alike, passing horse drawn carriages, and seeing the bay just over our shoulder.  We made our way by Market Street, and worked our way closer to the bridge.  A quick lane shift into the bicycle lane, and we were on the Ravenel Bridge.  I have to say that this part of the trip was everything that it was made up to be.  The emotions of the journey we had just completed was overwhelming, but the ride wasn't over yet.  The climb was not difficult, but with runners to our right and oncoming cycling traffic to our left, the small lane that everyone shared meant that keeping your concentration was critical.  Having so many folks in a pack, climbing at different speeds, meant that it was even more important to keep our eyes open for potential hazards.  The group made it to the top, and the decent was relatively uneventful.  
 
Finally the emotions were just to much to take in, and I was able to just allow myself to be overwhelmed with everything.  I had heard about folks getting over emotional at the end of hard efforts, but with the amount of support and the love that was shown to us as we had spent the past 3 days traveling across South Carolina in support of the Alzheimer's Association was unbelievable.  Watching folks lining the road taking pictures and cheering us on was incredible.  While I have been on more challenging rides, I cannot imagine that I will experience one that will be more rewarding than what I had just gone through.  The best part was seeing our fallen teammates at the finish line, cheering us on and taking pictures!  They had been discharged earlier from the hospital, and made their way to the finish to see us get through.  I had to go give them hugs, as gently as possible, and get an update.   Afterwards I was able to cheer on the rest of the team come across the line as well.  

After getting to our hotel and getting a shower and changed, it was time for the celebration party.  Hosted at the Citadel Beach Club, we had a chance to experience low country life with time on the beach and a seafood boil.  It was a good time to just relax with our teammates again, and have a good time remembering the trip.

 



What an amazing journey.  Originally I was unsure of if I wanted to do this ride more than once, but at this point I feel like there is no doubt that I will be riding to Charleston next July.  It won't just be to ride with our teammates that couldn't make it this year, but to be a part of such a strong community that is making such a huge difference to families that are hurting.  As of this writing, we have raised over $175,000 to help the 79,000 Alzheimer's patients in South Carolina as well as fund research to end this disease.  It's unbelievable what this group was able to accomplish.  Just a pack of 220 cyclists, making it personal and putting themselves out there to make a difference.  Donations are still be accepted until the end of July, and you can help support us by donating via the Alzhiemer's Association's web site.  Together we can #EndALZ

Ride to Remember Day 2

Day 1 of Ride to Remember was amazing, but very tiring.  The pool felt great, and the time at the lakehouse was very relaxing after the amount of work.  As much as Day 1 was challenging, Day 2 would become a good test of mental and physical endurance.



Day 2 started early as we had to get up, pack the car, and head to the start point for a 7am leave time.  After a good breakfast at the hotel, we went to head out and were greeted with wet weather.  Apparently the storms we outran yesterday caught up with us overnight.  We made our way to the starting line and got the bike out, and I quickly got ready to leave.  With C and the girls heading out to a water station, they had to leave before the rest of the bicycles.  The good news was that the radar was optimistic on it drying out as the day went on.

The big concern for today was the climb that was marked at mile 51.  When talking to others, this was the point where the ride would get difficult today.  Rolling to the 51 mile mark was interesting as the landscape changed, and we saw the fields turn from corn to sugar cane and peanuts.  The scenery likewise shifted from mountains to midlands.  

We reached the climb point, and the group that we had been in was disrupted pretty heavily.  One set of folks skipped the water station right before the climb.  Those that stopped were gaped by the folks that went past.  Once we started climbing, the folks that stopped ended up getting separated, and by the time I got to the top of the climb I ended up being by myself.  Looking back I couldn't really see the folks I had been with, and looking forward I really couldn't see anyone ahead.  Knowing that the folks that skipped the water station couldn't be too far ahead of me, I attempted to bridge forward.  By the time that I caught up to them, they had stopped at the next water station.  I decided that by that point I would just keep going, and at some point they would catch up with me.  Instead of having them catch up with me, I ended up out pacing them.  

The last 20 miles I fought a some pretty strong winds, and the roads were not the most pleasant to be by myself on.  Rolling through Orangeburg may of the roads were 4 lanes wide, and the traffic was rather heavy.  In one section of the road a contractor had lost a bunch of materials, including a box of nails that were on the road (I later found out that several folks from the ride stopped and picked those nails up out of the road - so awesome!).  The last 5 miles or so were tough, but it felt good to get to the finish line and hear my girls cheering me on.  After a burger, a shower, and a much needed bike wipedown I felt a whole lot better.  I do have some soreness in my right leg, I sure hope it's not my IT band.  Blaine gave me some tips on stretches that I can do to relax it some, and I spent some time this afternoon icing it down and resting.  I plan to use some BioFreeze tonight to hopefully get it as good as I as possible tomorrow.  

In the afternoon, the local YMCA donated entry into the local waterpark to the riders and volunteers.  Thus we took the kids over and let them ride the slides and enjoy the water for a bit before dinner.  It was a welcome rest time after a long day out on the road.

Dinner was provided by the local Rotary Club at a nearby church.  Having everyone sitting around having a good time chatting was so awesome, everyone is in good spirits for tomorrow.  With over 150 miles completed at this point, we're down to the home stretch, with just the last century to Charleston to go.  Tomorrow should be a fast ride, and a lot of fun.

Group dinner hosted by the Orangeburg Rotary Club

Team Miss Mary posing for pictures

Ride to Remember - Day 1

After months of training rides and anticipation, it's time for the 2014 Ride to Remember.  The past week has been as much about forcing myself to not ride as the previous 4 months were about riding.  While I know that this ride is going to test my ability to manage efforts over multiple days, somehow it just didn't matter once we got to the start line.  Waking up early, packing up the van, getting everything together for a multiple-day ride.  Gathering at downtown Simpsonville, it was awesome seeing all of my team mates there and excited to ride.  While I've been on rides where the starting area was well over 1,000 riders, somehow this crew of 220 people that signed up to trek all the way to Charleston seemed special.  No professional riders to draw the crowds, no massive fanfare.  Just a couple hundred people uniting for a common cause - to help those that suffer from Alzheimer's.  

As we rolled out, the pace was fast, and we had a great lead out by the Simpsonville police.  Some of them were even on bicycles!  The weather wasn't ideal to head out, with rains coming through a few hours before the start.  Wet roads were going to have to be dealt with, and with a number of treacherous train tracks early in the day, it meant being extra careful.  Everyone in my group had no major issues getting past the tracks, and we had no major events up to the first rest stop.

One of the challenging things on a ride such as this seems to be keeping with specific people.  With the large group of folks at the start, our band of merry suffers ended up being split up.  Over the course of the 68 miles we gained and lost folks, and had a good time.  The PB&J sammiches at the 3rd rest stop were a real treat!  They definitely helped with energy levels as we continued to trek towards Newberry.

Once of the unfortunate incidents happened closer to the front of the pack.  As the story has been retold, one of the riders ended up going through some grass clippings and uncovered a stick that caused him to wipe out.  His day was done, as the bike was not rideable, but he was in good spirits.  In fact, he is intending on riding tomorrow on a spare bicycle that his girlfriend is bringing to him this evening!  

After the ride was over, one of the sponsors of the ride hosted a gathering at his lake house.  Good music, good food and good friends, all in a very relaxing environment.  Then it was back to the hotel to make sure that clothes for tomorrow is laid out, cycling clothes from today are washed, a quick shower, and wind down for sleep.  Tomorrow starts early, with another 80+ miles to go.  It also is reportedly the hardest day of the trip, as we go through the heartland of South Carolina heading to Orangeburg.   

16hours, 250mi, 5 days

With 2 months left to go before the Ride to Remember, I've been refocusing my efforts on making sure that I can complete and enjoy the 3 day trip.  With back to back to back days of riding across South Carolina, it's going to be a completely different level of challenge to what I've trained for in the past.  For rides like the Assault on  Mt Mitchell, the effort is contained in a single day.  The concept I used was the train to be prepared for that one huge day of effort, and then take 2 or 3 days off afterwards to recover.  Now I need to be able to put out large efforts multiple days in a row, conserving and refueling appropriately to be able to complete mile 250 over 48 hours after I start mile 1.

Thus when I saw that Strava had a riding challenge sponsored by Scratch Labs that was designed to be done as a multi-day effort, I figured it was a good opportunity to test out my current fitness level prior to the Ride to Remember.  The Scratch Labs Stage Race Challenge was set around the 8 days of the Amgen Tour of California, and required you to log 16 hours of moving time during the event.  Doing some quick napkin math, I realized that if I averaged at least 15 miles per hour during the time period, I would also end up riding a cumulative total of miles as I would experience on the Ride to Remember.  It was going to take efforts every day to finish with enough time (and miles) logged.

Monday - with the first day lost to a mechanical issue, I decided that I needed to ride on what is typically a rest day for me.  With my new Garmin 800 in hand, I decided to try out a different route than I typically take.  It would give me a chance to learn more about the bike computer, and give me some time on the bike.  The ride was very successful, and I logged in my first solid ride of the week.  2 hours down, 14 to go.

Tuesday - looking ahead on weather sites indicated that I was going to have to compensate for at least 1 rain day during the week, which meant figuring out when I could get in more and/or longer rides.  With a 20% chance of rain Tuesday afternoon, I had to make the decision to ride at lunch to make sure I got in time, or decide to risk riding in the afternoon.  What I decided to do was make it a potential "2 a day" scenario:  get in an easy ride during lunch, and if the weather held out go out again to SCTAC for additional time/mileage in an easier group than I'm used to.  The lunch ride went without a hitch, and I let my cycling clothes dry during the afternoon in preparation for the evening ride.

Evening came around, and the weather looked favorable.  After a ride around the SCTAC airport known as the "Perimeter Road Loop", I went out with the 16mph group.  I just wanted to sit in and have a somewhat easy ride, although very early on I could tell that the group wasn't going to end up being a pace that I'd really enjoy.  Thus about a quarter of the way out I decided to go out on my own ahead of the main group, and bridged over to another group ahead of us.  With Tuesday in the books, I was at 6 hours and 92mi completed.

Wednesday - originally on Monday when I decided to ride, I scheduled this to be a recovery ride day, knowing that Tuesday evening was probably going to be difficult.  When the forecast started showing an extremely high chance of rain on Thursday, I knew I had to move up my timetables and use Thursday as an off the bike recovery day, just in case of bad weather.  Thus instead of just a single extremely easy ride, I ended up completing yet another "2 a day" workout.  Ride #1 was another 30mi long loop, using the same route that I had taken Monday.  

The evening ride ended up being the original intended recovery ride.  At this point I had to say that my legs were extremely tired, but I was happy about my ability to set an effort level and keep to it given additional efforts ahead.  At the halfway point of the week I was just under the 10 hour mark.  The goal was in sight!

Thursday - the weatherman didn't disappoint.  With rain pretty much all day, many of the group rides were canceled.  I kept looking at the after work forecasts to determine if there was a glimmer of hope of getting in a quick ride, but the wet roads and radar reports didn't make it look very promising.  By about 7pm the roads were looking relatively clear, but the sky still looked threatening.  I wasn't too concerned with 3 days of riding left that I could get the time in.  

Friday - I had already been figuring out what I wanted to do for rides over the weekend, and I came across an older 80mi route that I had been really wanting to try out all spring.  Looking at the forecast, it was going to be cool but nice, and it would give me over 4 hours of time in the saddle.  For the ride on Friday what it meant was that I had to make sure to get in time Friday, but definitely not overdo it.  While longer than the recovery ride Thursday evening, it was a shorter effort than I had been doing most lunchtimes thus far.  I was now just over 4 hours left to finish the challenge, with a big 80mi ride the next day!

Saturday - I have to say that building up an epic week of riding like this has a way of really testing if you are able to stick to your game plan, as well as keep each workout within reason so you can maintain your effort.  With a seemingly monsterous route ahead of me, especially solo, it was going to be a good dry run of my ability to keep to my game plan.  Without the distractions of keeping with a group, it was up to me to make good sound choices on fueling and pace.  After a good breakfast, and a little bit of a late start, I got underway.  I ended up needing arm warmers, as the weather was cooler than expected at the start of the ride, and I packed enough water and food for at least 2/3 of the ride.  I already knew in my head that I'd probably be stretching that to be for the entire ride, but I had made this route with at least 2 known good rest stops along the way.  Of the 80 miles that I was going to ride, there was probably only about 10 or 15 miles of it that were new roads to me.   That meant that at any point I could decide to change the route up if I felt that things were not going well.

During the route I did extremely well at making sure to have fuel, and taking my time when I needed to.  The hardest parts to deal with really were the climbs.  Up until this week, the largest effort week I had done was 171miles and 11 hours.  This meant that by Satuday I was into uncharted territory for how much energy I'd have left.  I was having to make sure to conserve energy whenever possible, allowing myself the chance to recover on downhills and setting an easy pace on the uphills.  The goal wasn't to set any personal records, but rather to get a solid effort in and have good time in the saddle.  

What I wasn't expecting was that the weather was going to show signs of turning.  The weather reports had said a 30% chance of rain on Sunday, and clouds in the afternoon Saturday.  By the time I was just about home on the route, the winds started to pick up, and if I was back Florida I would have expected a severe thunderstorm within the hour.  I worked my way back to the house, and completed the course in just over 5 hours of moving time.  16 hours completed, and 252miles traveled.  This turned out to be a good strategy, as Sunday ended up being washed out all day long.  The weather finally cleared late in the afternoon.  For me it ended up being a great afternoon to catch up on some rest and spend some time with the family.

In the end I feel like my training is in a good place as the time draws nearer for the Ride to Remember.  My goal for the ride isn't to go with the A group and ride like crazy each day, but rather to enjoy the experience and ride with friends and teammates.  The ride profile should work well to my personality type on the bike, as the majority of the non-flat riding ends up being late on Day 1 and early on Day 2.  As long as I am able to "ride my ride" during the event, and force myself to stop when I know it's appropriate, I should do fine.

Hiatus

It wasn't my intention to take an almost 3 month break from posting.  It's not that I haven't been out riding, or had anything to write about, but after a few weeks of missing out on writing about a topic, I felt like I was behind, and it snowballed from there.

AOTC 2014 did not disappoint

So, in my worst announcer type voice, here is the short-short version of the past 3 months:  I've gone through several highs and lows and completed the Assault on the Carolinas, which was once again a fantastic ride.  I've dealt with another wave of mechanical issues on the bike, including being managing to taco my small chainring, and had to make the decision to drop from riding in the inaugural Beech Mountain Metric.

Even my Garmin had a mechanical...	Taco... small ring.

At this point I've set my sights, training, and fundraising on the Ride to Remember this July.  It'll be the first 3-day event that I have ever attempted, and it encompasses over 240mi of riding.  The fundraising benefits the Alzheimer's Association, where the funds raised are used to help Alzheimer's research, care, and support of the over 5 million Americans suffering from Alzheimer's currently.

Personal life also required more attention during the past few months, and I've had several lower than average volume weeks as a result.  With only 9 weeks left until the Ride to Remember, though, I feel like I'm on track.  In fact, I'm looking forward to giving a recap of the Skratch Labs Stage Race Challenge on Strava which I'm using as a dry run of what to expect in July.  With only 6 hours of riding left to complete the challenge, I feel like it is really putting me to the test.

The best laid plans

As a part of 2014, I realized that I had to do something different than 2013 to meet the goals that I had laid before me.  For 2013 my big goals were to complete the Assault on Mt Mitchell and to ride at least 400mi/month on average (but aim for 100mi/week average).  I completed all of these goals, riding over 5,400 miles and completing the Assault as my first English Century.  What I realized is that without a comprehensive training plan, I was expending a lot more work than I should have needed to in order to complete the first of these goals, and by having goals that were distance-based I was setting myself up for always feeling like I had to be on the road gathering miles.  I signed up for 3 "major" events for 2014, which I will consider my "hard goals", and I'm working on the "soft goals" for additional requirements along the way.  The events that I've signed up for at this point are:

• The Assault on the Carolinas - 62mi ride in the early spring that was one of my favorites from last year.  Starts and ends in Brevard, NC and benefits the Rotary in Transylvania County.

AOTC 2013 finish line

• Beech Mountain Metric - this is a new event for 2014, and is a metric century event in Beech Mountain, NC.  Starts and ends at ~1mi above sea level, this is going to be a challenging climbing event.
• The Ride to Remember - this is a 3 day event where riders travel from Simpsonville to Charleston, SC.  Proceeds from this ride benefit the Alzheimer's Association. The lengths increase from 60mi to 80mi and culminating with a 100mi ride to the coast.  240mi in 3 days will be a real challenge, and will test my ability to recover and prepare.  This is also a fundraising event, so I will be working on creative ways to gather support for the ride.

Beyond the planned events, I have a few other goals I would like to cover in the process.  

• Complete a training plan -  This one sounds easy enough, but sticking to a 10-12 week plan is very challenging.  It means finding a way to ride when riding is the last thing you want to do.  It will mean NOT riding when I should be resting, and preparing myself mentally and physically for the rest of the year.  So far I am working my way through a training plan using Training Peaks right now that will finish right before the Assault on the Carolinas.  It is going to be very challenging, but I think it will ultimately be very beneficial.

  

  Feb 3-9 training log.

  
  
• Quality over Quantity - Instead of just putting in miles all the time, I'm focused on my rides having a purpose.  If this means spending an hour with The Sufferfest to get a workout to target certain aspects, or just following the training plan, giving my workouts a purpose should allow me to do more with less time on the bike.  

• Balance Bike & Family time - last year to meet my mileage based goals I ended up riding on both Saturday and Sunday ... a LOT.  This meant taking time away from my duties as a husband and father.  This year I am looking to balance that out, making sure to not rush out on the bike when I don't need to, and getting my other goals accomplished around the house.  I'm hopeful that this can extend to finding a way for the whole family to spend time on the bike together as well.

Taking a Water Break

With focused goals that are within my own ability to control and manage, I think 2014 will be another good year on the bike.