Thanks all for coming out, especially the ones who braved something new!!! Riding this course is definitely a mental adjustment after the familiarity of the old one -- not only is it 30% longer, it's also got significantly more rollers and longer climbs out of the rollers. There's a fairly long climb after only three miles, and at least three other climbs along the way that brought me down to 8 mph... but also some fairly nice (albeit too short) 40mph downhills!
Special thanks go to Rodney, who agreed to let me borrow his Xstream for the weekend's fun. I just got this itch to try to make some comparisons to last year's course on a similar bike to last year...
On my first lap, after starting with the main group, I hung back with Thomas and Frank for a while, using some caution on the still-wet road surface. Then confirming that they were going to stay together, I caught up with Robert and Bryan and rode the middle third with them, then did my own pace for the last third, fnishing the first lap in 1:45 overall.
As Bud said, we took a long break, and waited for Robert, Brian, Frank, and Thomas to roll in, figuring that they might not be up for a second lap. Thanks to Steve for driving a few miles back out the course to make sure Thomas and Frank were making their way in all right!!!! And thanks to you four for coming out, and good to meet you, Frank!!
Bud, Steve, Peggy, and I went out for a second lap, and it was already getting kinda toasty. I decided to try a "relay race" lap pace calibration, and the others were going to take it at a slower pace, so right off the start, I was off on my own.
On last year's course, my approximate average lap speed was 22.5 mph for the 20 miles, typically finishing in 53 minutes and change. On this course, with the caveat of being a few pounds heavier and not having ridden an Xstream for 6 months, I averaged 19.5 mph, finishing in 1:22. I took some "benchmark" time readings at various landmarks, which I'll compile and list later, for anyone who's interested.
I've also got lots of photos to compile, showing some of the great downhills and nasty climb sections, that I'll probably have up tomorrow.
This course is definitely tougher than the old one, and not just because of the distance. I really missed that wonderful (comparatively speaking) last 5 miles of the old course, that was mostly a downhill ending with Goatneck Hill. None of that silliness, here, although the three miles going in to Glen Rose is pretty sweet -- I was typically rolling at ~35 through this section.
More to come...
PB