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This was a Hill Country Randonneur's event - starting in Austin TX we rode, initially east, then south, then generally west through Lost Creek, Dripping Springs, Johnson City and Fredericksburg, our most westerly point. Then we headed south and east, continuing on through Luckenbach, Grapetown, Blanco, Wimberley, Kyle, Buda, and San Leanna, before a return to the start. This ride had nary a flat road - almost all up or down! It was the most challenging ride I've ever done on the recumbent (besides last year’s 1200k).
Here’s how the climbing breaks down – most of the climbing was in the first 88 miles as follows:
4000 ft of climbing in the first 51 miles to Johnson City – 78 ft per mile;
2200 ft of climbing from Johnson City to Fredericksburg – 37 miles at 61 ft per mile.
Then:
1120 ft of climbing from Fredericksburg to Blanco – 34 miles at 33 ft per mile;
3680 ft of climbing from Blanco to the end - 46 miles at 66 ft per mile (I forgot to check elevation gain after Blanco, even though there were some serious climbs between Blanco and Kyle, and then between San Leanna and the end).
I heard about this ride the previous weekend during the rainfest ride out of Brookshire. It sounded like my cup of tea, but I thought I should do it on my road bike, as I knew I could handle any sort of climbing on the road bike, but I wasn't sure about the recumbent. But, that raised questions and issues about equipment for the road bike for night riding, plus comfort (or lack thereof) on rides of this distance. Finally, I decided it would have to be on the recumbent because that bike is best prepared for distance riding at night. To make sure, I had the cogset changed out, switching from an 11-32 to a 12-36. As it turns out, I didn't really have any real cause for concern. Most of the climbs did not exceed 11%, but there were plenty of those. Only 3 climbs were as much as 13% (none greater) and only one of those was a challenge. The challenging one was a steady 13% for about 300 ft. The entire climb was quite a bit longer than 300 ft. For this climb, I should have been in my 30 ring. Unfortunately, the climb was encountered in the dark, and I couldn’t see what I was in for until I was on it and committed on my 42 ring. Not only that, but an attempt to shift to the 36 did not work, the only time during the entire ride I had trouble with that gear (Murphy’s Law!). Not sure what the next choice down was, but this was a very tough climb in that gear choice, due to the length of the climb. So, while I was intimidated by the sorts of climbs I could encounter on this ride, I really had little to worry about. The climbing was really the least of my concerns. There were certainly the long, grind out climbs I expected, but there were also many nice rollers with very fast 40+ mph descents followed by an ascent of the next one with great speed, until I lost momentum and started a fast shift down, until I reached equilibrium. I loved those!
There were amusing moments, too, like the point at which we passed the donkey ranch. There, by the fence along the road, were about 15 miniature donkeys, big fuzzy ears pointing straight up, every one of them watching us go by, in unison, looking very inquisitive. Sharon was ahead of me at that point. She suddenly did a U-turn, busting up laughing. So I turned back too, wondering what was so funny. The name of the ranch was Donkey Oatie. It’s a play on words, but you can’t think about it literally – if you let it roll off the tongue, you immediately realize what the name is really saying. The owner was out there on her 4x and it turns out they are all show donkeys – a couple of them would be going to Florida next week to be entered into a show. One of the donkeys even posed for pictures Sharon took on her I-phone.
Temperature was a big issue, and problem, also. Fortunately we each had adequate clothing but as we were out there until nearly 2AM Sunday morning, we experienced a sharp drop in temperature, and continued strong north wind with significantly low chill. From an afternoon high of 52, the temperature dropped, in 14 miles, to 41, and then gradually settled through the 30s into the upper 20s. As the final miles were into the wind, the below freezing air and headwind was putting the chill into the teens, and this was brutal on any exposed skin (mainly the face - everything else was covered up).
Sharon had a problem with freezing hands and freezing feet. She bought a pair of work gloves at the C-store in Fredericksburg to wear over her long finger cycling gloves. I asked her later, how that was working out, and she was very glad she did that – her hands were very comfy for the rest of the ride. But, her feet had been cold all day, and she had been asking at every store we stopped at, “did they have chemical warmers?” None did. By the time we reached Blanco, the temperature had dropped to 36°. We had a stop at a C-store there, and almost right across the street, there was an Ace Hardware. But at 7:20PM, that Ace had to be closing soon. We rushed over there, and sure enough, they were closing in 5 minutes. But, they had just what Sharon was looking for – chemical warmers. So we each bought warmers – she got some for her feet and I got some for my hands. My hands weren’t cold but this was merely an “insurance” purchase. I had no idea how much colder it would get, or how much later we would be out.
As I mentioned before, the hill climbing was not even the biggest challenge. The real challenge was having patience with Sharon, who I was riding with, due to issues she had no control over. Every stop turned out to be way too long, but she had no choice in the matter and neither did I - I needed to stay with her and make sure she wasn't out there alone. Toward the end of the ride, the last 25 miles was a crossword puzzle of turns, steep hills, headwind, and falling temperature, following a cue sheet that wasn't always right. We spent a considerable amount of time trying to sort out where the course really went. Not only that, but I spent a good deal of time soft pedaling and waiting as Sharon wasn't her normal strong self toward the end of the ride. This ride had a 20 hour time limit. After pushing our bikes up the 22% Barton Creek Boulevard hill, we had 5½ miles to go and 25 minutes in which to do it. I was convinced we couldn’t. She said, yes we can – we can do it! So I took off like gangbusters, on a road that had several big, long rollers on it. Fortunately, they are my favorite kind of roller. I arrived at the end in 18 minutes. Sharon arrived 2 minutes later. We finished 5 minutes before the deadline. With an actual ride time of 14:55, that means we had off bike time of 5 hours! That is way more than ideal, but sometimes, as I mentioned, sacrifice was required, to make sure both of us had a successful ride. Finishing within the time limit was all that was needed for a successful ride. I did think our average speed was disappointingly low but that’s my perspective. Sharon was surprised it was that high!
climbing: 11070 ft
distance - 204.75 miles (including bonus miles - the nominal ride distance is exactly 200 miles)
avg speed - 13.8 mph
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Pedernales Double Century (Sat 2/11/12) (Read 1630 times)
