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rbent Forum
https://rbentonline.org/YaBB.pl General Category >> Ride Reports >> I Rode the New TTTT Course Today https://rbentonline.org/YaBB.pl?num=1249772119 Message started by bikerteam on Aug 8th, 2009, 5:55pm |
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Title: I Rode the New TTTT Course Today Post by bikerteam on Aug 8th, 2009, 5:55pm WOW - the new course is harder than I thought. No flats, just climb, climb, climb. Try to copy the link below into a browser. It's my stats. Below the link is the text version of my Stats via Garmin Connect (I have the 305 Edge). Confession. After 10 months of riding the Schwalbe Ultremo, I had my first, and then second tire blow out (rear tire). It happened on my first lap. The second time the casing blew off as I was descending at about 40 mph. Not far from the finish I had to get a ride in. Went to the new bike shop in Glen Rose and purchased a Conti GP 4000. You can see when I got pikced up in the details. My second lap was ridden at 70-80% effort. Avg. speed was less than 16 mph. Winds were gusting at 25 and it sure slowed me down. Combined, two laps totaled 3,400' of climbing. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/10757407 Time: 02:58:16 Distance: 52.53 mi Elevation Gain: 3,398 ft Calories: 3,531 C Avg Speed: 17.7 mph Max Speed: 47.7 mph Avg Heart Rate: 136 bpm Max Heart Rate: 161 bpm Elevation Gain: 3,398 ft Elevation Loss: 3,375 ft No power data found for this activity. Avg Bike Cadence: 79 rpm Max Bike Cadence: 121 rpm Public Private Send to DeviceCloseFound RAY Edge 305 |
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Title: Re: I Rode the New TTTT Course Today Post by goatstick on Aug 8th, 2009, 7:47pm And I was hoping to get away from climbing for the TTTT... That's about 300 ft more climbing per lap (~25 miles) than the Centerpoint century loop has, which is one of the flatter century rides around here. Was hoping for something a little flatter than that for a change though. What do you think the average grade and length might be? Looks like maybe it's still a relatively fast course. Thanks for the info. How did the bike handle the blowout? Rim still ok? After my Ultremo blew off the H3 just sitting there I decided I didn't want to ride them anymore. Would not want to be on the bike when that happened. |
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Title: Re: I Rode the New TTTT Course Today Post by Kwijybow on Aug 9th, 2009, 1:23pm As Ray mentions this course is not easier than than the old course by any means. The climb up to the turn on Brazos Point Rd. was the hardest in my estimation, also being the new Boulderseal, about .7 miles of it. I'm going to recommend to Dan to go to Barnard at the 4 way stop in Glen Rose rather than use Grace St. I thought it was an actual stop light, but its a 4-way stop sign with flashing red light. Easier to see , and safer I believe, also no speed bumps. My early morning laps were very quiet. There is almost no traffic, either out in the country or in-town, which is nice. There is a fair amount of wildlife, Steve saw deer and armidillos, and I saw a coyote, and dodged a garter snake, but neither of us had any dog encounters so that was nice. I did have a wrong way cyclist with no light just outside Glen Rose at 3am, so there are still things to keep you alert! Ray I'm glad you're blowout didn't cause a crash, that sounds pretty scarey! Take Care, Nelson. |
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Title: Re: I Rode the New TTTT Course Today Post by Killer Bee on Aug 9th, 2009, 2:18pm The first 8.1 miles form the start/finish(Glen Rose) to Nemo(high point of the course) is pretty much steady climb(there are some flat spots), the big hill at mile 9.60 has a nice descent ,BUT is boulder seal & then a 10-12% climb for close to .5 mile. The turn onto Brazos River Rd., also has a nice descent ,then a flat(across the the Brazos River),then a 9-10% short ,hill. Once you turn on Hwy 56, there are some really nice/fast road surfaces, downhills, then at mile 15+ a 10-12% hill, followed my another 5-7% hill, then more up & down(which seems to be the theme of this course). The back side(hwy 56) is the easiest part of the course, down 202, & FAST Hwy 144 into town. AND if you're riding an event at the TT at night, have good lights. It's EXTREMELY dark on Brazos River Rd. Ray, very close call, I'm glad the incident wasn't any worse than it was. Schwalbe Ultremo? Ugh! |
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Title: Re: I Rode the New TTTT Course Today Post by mleuck on Aug 9th, 2009, 3:22pm bikerteam wrote:
That looks like the middle half of the Goatneck ride |
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Title: Re: I Rode the New TTTT Course Today Post by Killer Bee on Aug 9th, 2009, 5:45pm mleuck wrote:
That looks like the middle half of the Goatneck ride[/quote] Mark, you got it, it is part of the Goatneck course. |
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Title: Re: I Rode the New TTTT Course Today Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Aug 9th, 2009, 5:47pm Killer Bee wrote:
10-12% for a half mile? That's Tyler's "The Beast" TWICE.... Ugh... this sounds like a WONDERFUL adventure for someone doing 500 miles solo, doesn't it!!!! Maybe Driscoll doesn't really like 'bents after all... ;) |
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Title: Re: I Rode the New TTTT Course Today Post by Killer Bee on Aug 9th, 2009, 8:30pm FlyingLaZBoy wrote:
10-12% for a half mile? That's Tyler's "The Beast" TWICE.... Ugh... this sounds like a WONDERFUL adventure for someone doing 500 miles solo, doesn't it!!!! Maybe Driscoll doesn't really like 'bents after all... ;) [/quote] Hah, anyone of us can climb anything on that course. At least you can get a run on the big hill(after Nemo), it's the smaller 7-9% that you can't get a run on that hurt. |
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Title: Re: I Rode the New TTTT Course Today Post by bikerteam on Aug 10th, 2009, 6:04am Peggy called me last night, and debriefed both your 200k and your TTTT practice. You all are animals. I'm very impressed! Nelson, I agree about requesting a change from Grace to Barnard. IMO, it's not just the 3 or 4 speed bumps with reflectors, but the stop sign at the end, where it connects to Barnard is dangerous. You can't really see traffic coming from the left as you turn right to go back to the start/finish. As riders are that close to the start/finish they will not want to stop at that stop sign. I was lucky on Saturday with my two blow outs. Yup, both on the rear, on the Ultremo. Second blow out tore the tire casing, which is why I had to flag done a truck for the last little bit back to the finish. I was riding the Xstream. Yesterday, however, was a little worse. I rode the Ti Aero with the local Flower Mound Flyers (Angie rode too). At about mile 45, as it was getting hot, I am the lead rider of about 15 and making a left turn. I hear a pop and think it's another bike. In an instant I'm on the chip-seal sliding. Apparently, as I was making the left turn, my front Ultremo blew off the rim, and I went down pretty hard. Tore my shorts, and road rash on arm. It's was cool though, as the rest of the riders all surrounded me to protect me from the on coming traffic until I could collect myself and get off the road. |
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Title: Re: I Rode the New TTTT Course Today Post by Kwijybow on Aug 10th, 2009, 8:26am Quote:
all I can say is Schwalbe is off my list of approved tires. I'm sorry you went down Ray, at least it wasn't 40mph, and hopefully you heal up quick. After Saturday's chip seal torture fest my Velocity wheels are again making suspicious noises. Hopefully will trace that down this evening. I need to talk to Dan yet, but I agree about the turn onto Barnard from Grace, I didn't like that one, and cutting out Grace St. eliminates that issue. It sure is nice having a hotel right on the route, and real bathrooms, and stores if you need them. Take Care, Nelson |
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Title: Re: I Rode the New TTTT Course Today Post by evblazer on Aug 10th, 2009, 9:27am bikerteam wrote:
[smiley=injured.gif] Ray... You gotta save some of the excitement for us Saturday Social riders you know. I would have had a nice first aid kit for yah and emergency flashers to boot. [smiley=popcorn.gif] We just had a boring little ride. The excitement of my day was the new fellow telling a bunch of folks he was worried because I kept falling behind in double oak where it was completely flat. It was always around those intersections with the stop signs [smiley=whistling.gif] Shortly after I think we were going up some hill and I start rolling up the hill passing folks some new lady in the back calls out "car back" followed shortly by "never mind" as I roll past. Apparantly I'm slow and a car :'( Texas Roads do not do well with Schwalbe tires lately. They may have before but whatever it was that has changed just beats the crap out of them, unless you ride a baron. My kojaks were fine in the winter but they seems to blow out during my rides home in summer. The recent two were right outside work heading down that hill and the second after stopping at the 7-11 on beltline/royal and starting up royal. Maybe hot chipseal does em in? Hopefully they can get the route worked out with that blindish turn because it sounds like even a rider were to stop you can't really see traffic, which I find I have to stick out a few feet or stand up on my hurricane or sofrider as compared to my road bike so it could be especially bad for bents. |
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Title: Re: I Rode the New TTTT Course Today Post by Kwijybow on Aug 10th, 2009, 10:05am Quote:
rest assured it will be fine. The turn in question will be cut out for sure. I think Dan has mentioned there may be police or volunteer help at the busier intersections during times when there might be more traffic. I don't expect a lot of traffic at any time though. During the evening hours it was a ghost town. I saw some cats prowling around, that was about it in town. |
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Title: Re: I Rode the New TTTT Course Today Post by aikigreg on Aug 10th, 2009, 11:04am Ray, the ultremos were recalled. Had you contacted scwalbe and already gotten the upgraded replacements? |
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Title: Re: I Rode the New TTTT Course Today Post by bikerteam on Aug 10th, 2009, 11:57am Hi Greg - I went to the bike shop in Glen Rose and replaced the rear tire Saturday. I had them throw out the blown tire. I have the front tire that blew off the rim on yesterday's ride. So I sent an email to Schwalbe today asking them how the will handle the situation since I was out of town and threw one of the tires away. The recall web site said they will replace them with the 2010 Ultremo when they become availble. I'm thinking about just writing off the financial loss, and not risking further injury to bike or body. btw: I'm proud of your accomplishments and high level of mental and physical drive this year Greg. Sebring, RAO, Randonneuring, going to ride with Kent Polk, etc... Keep raising the bar my friend! |
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Title: Re: I Rode the New TTTT Course Today Post by aikigreg on Aug 10th, 2009, 1:11pm Mental - you got that right! Thanks for the compliment. Honestly, I just keep waiting for the arthritis to get so bad I can't compete anymore. I can see it coming, but I don't know how long I've got. So I'm trying to take the bull by the horns, gather my rosebuds while I may, and all that. Anyway, Schwalbe is sending me a set of Duranos and tubes as an interim replacement, and will also send a full replacement set of ultremos when they're ready. Great customer service, but those tires should never have had that problem. I wil use those tires, but may never buy any form them again. Then again, I've also gone through two Michelin Pro Race 2 in under 300 miles on each tire, and a conti gp 4k (non black chili). All of them since February. Not my year for tires. |
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