And here's my contribution to the TFCE blogging. I had a WONDERFUL time! It was great to see everyone, and gather at the port-o-potties for the requisite photos. Christian was sporting a new, only mildly beer-related jersey from a Belgian rock festival. We got in a few good shots and then all rolled out together. As we were in the first mile or two, I began to feel a bit antsy. I saw Christian roll ahead and confer with Ron; it turns out he was telling Ron he was feeling spirited and that he wanted to motor ahead. Once he did that, Amy decided to do the same thing; in my antsyness, I caught her and hopped on her wheel and attempted same. Before too long Ray had caught up and we had Christian in sight, and then Jim came along for the ride. Until the first rest stop, I think I had the ride of my life, matched only by triathlons and the crits I did this summer. I chased as hard as I could, alternating between chasing whoever was there, Amy and Ray. Up to the first rest stop, our average speed was between 18.5-19.5 mph! When I saw that staying with Christian meant maintaining a constant heart rate of around 85% max, I decided that it would not be prudent to shoot for this for 100 miles. Turns out that Christian had more legs than, well, any of us that day...so we let him go. Occasionally we'd see him in the distance hauling whole groups of hopefuls up the hills, and we did hang with him at every rest stop. Ron had stayed back and we found out that he'd ridden ahead of the B group and hung with a bunch from East Granby. He caught us at the first rest stop. So the rest of the journey included me, Ron, Amy, Jim, and Ray. I was determined to PR on this course, which led to some interesting shifting techniques; 3x this meant shifting completely off my gears. I finally figured out what I was doing wrong and it stopped happening. After that rest stop, it was a better ride because our little group decided to stay and work together. We took alternate turns pulling, having varying levels off spitfire. Ron certainly did his share; when I fell off the back a couple of times Jim was the gentleman that brought me back. Ray was absolutely a motor and would often take over for Ron when he got tired. Amy performed valiantly despite some back pain and having fewer miles than she'd hoped for this summer. We rode together and paced together, banked corners and accelerated out of them. Everyone was riding very well! This course is clearly much flatter than we are used to in NE CT, but there are its share of false flats, and by the end of it my altimeter read 3500 feet of climbing (1100 feet more than the Princeton Freewheelers Century). Lovely homes, beautiful countryside. Rose hip fruit was very apparent right by the beach; I always look for it. Mile 72 was a very loooonnnggg rest stop because we were working so hard, there was a whole lotta stretchin' goin' on...and then I just had to stop at Gray's and get the Mile 72 Coca Cola! It's UNBELIEVABLE how well that works. When I arrived at the finish I felt like I had money in the bank. After that Coke I would take pulls, Ron would bark at me to fade out, I'd stay at the back, and then we'd hit a rise and I'd be slowly making my way to the front....and then felt I ought to offer another pull! Everyone was very patient (I think) during the fixing of my 2 flats; I actually sliced through a brand new Michelin tire and needed the ol' dollar bill repair! I was so impressed with how strong everyone was riding and how well we all worked together. When I admitted I wanted a course PR everyone pitched in and helped! I was hoping to finish over 18 mph but we were just shy of it...I got 17.77 avg on my computer. This is the 2nd fastest century I have done; the first was 2009 PFW at 19.1! Oranges, bananas, PB&J, gatorade, these are the stuff of cyclists' weekends. At mile 72 we saw a group that had this purple Cancer Sucks t-shirts, who were riding in support of a friend who couldn't ride that year, and they were planning to visit him after the ride. Ray, Ron and I had to refuel in Seekonk on the way home for a Starbuck's celebration. Why do I have to watch calories, and Ron can get a Venti Java Chip, full fat with whip cream and a shot of espresso? How is that fair??? So I enjoyed my nonfat, decaf pumpkin spice latte, and Ray his Vivanno protein shake. A great time, a great ride, great camraderie...you couldn't ask for more!
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