| Here is my ride summary. This was my first century this year and my second
ever so this may be a bit lengthy reflecting my newness to this sort of
thing.
I thought I would report that I did elect to do the 100 mile route. I had
twisted my knee a couple of weeks ago but after completing my 60 mile ride
the week before I felt that I could do the C if I stayed in low gears up
the hills.
The ride is very well marked and very scenic. From Rutland there is quite
a bit of downhill and flat before the climb into Barre. Turning southwest
out of Barre there is another section of flat and downhill which goes
through a nice rural area. I stayed near the lead of the main group till
the rise into Barre where I backed off to spin lower gears but caught them
again on the section leaving Barre. There is a right turn and a steep
uphill followed by a longish uphill and I decided to use my third chain
ring and take it easy to conserve energy for the entire ride. I was still
uncertain about my knee at this point. This section is quite scenic
alternating between some farms, some vistas and some woods untill the
entrance to Quabbin at Gate 43.
At the end of the ride in from Gate 43 is a beautiful point with very nice
views of the resevoir! This is a good spot for a break and a snack. Upon
returning to Gate 43 Dick Avery was there with water, bananas, sports drink
and good cheer! Much thanks goes to Dick for a very well organized ride!
From here there is a bit of a rise till the long down hill into Ware. The
scenery is very pastural along this route.
In Ware the route starts going along route 9 and by this time of the day it
had become hot. This section is not very nice until leaving route 9 to
re-enter the Quabbin for the ride up to the tower. There are some nice
views along the way and I stopped at the tower along with a lot of other
riders for a snack, the view and some rest. I even walked up the tower
which provided for even nicer views. This was probably a mistake since I
noticed my knee was a little shakey on the way down the steps. After
leaving the tower the route crossed by the Windsor dam and returns to route
9 for a while before turning right (North) onto Rte 202.
I was riding pretty much by myself since the steep hill coming going over
toward Quabbin. Along 202 I connected with a couple of riders who were
basically going a similar pace. I was riding more slowly up hill and a bit
faster on the down hills. One of the riders was feeling hungry so I gave
him a box of raisins that I had with me. I think this helped him but he
needed to stop badly and I wanted to keep going to the pastry shop up the
road. Route 202 was hot and with few views to speak of and the auto
traffic is going quite fast along here. It is also "rolling" that is to
say there were 8 mph uphill sections and 40+ mph downhill sections! I was
overjoyed to finally come to the pastry shop! The pastries are very good
here. I had two different kinds of biscotti's and chatted with some of the
other riders. At this point I felt that I should not rest for more than 20
minutes thinking my knee might stiffen up. I told the other riders to say
hello when they passed me and started out along a nice downhill to Rt 122.
(BTW there was some discussion about a rider who did not make the US
Olympic team since the coaches selected people who had been riding for/with
Lance Armstrong. This particular rider had done very well. Does someone
know who this rider is? I would be interested in finding out more about
him.)
Rt 122 was nice with several views of Quabbin and various other water and
woods scenery. It continued in the rolling mode. Once the route turned
onto some backroads where it would stay till reaching Barre once again, it
was rural, quiet and hilly with some nice scenery. There was one downhill
with a bridge at the bottom and some sand on the road just before the
bridge which was a little tricky. I rested on Barre common and had a snack
before setting out for the last 15 miles or so.
After riding along for a while a group of three people passed me in a pace
line. So, I decided to tag along. Wow, this was great I was rolling along
and resting at the same time! Now came the inevitable long hill on
Colebrook Rd. I started spinning and noticed that I was not losing much
ground on the other three so I decided to go for it and pushed a little
going up here both spinning and out of the saddle. I was actually feeling
pretty good and made it to the top. I started down the other side figuring
I needed to keep going while they gathered waiting for the slower climbers
in the group. It was not long before they passed me and I caught on to
their wheel for the ride back. This worked fine till coming to Rt 122A
which is a long gradual uphill to the finish/start point. I knew I could
not keep up with the two stronger riders who went on ahead each separately
and the other rider bonked at this point. So, I rode on in feeling tired
and yet good. Overall time: 7:45, rolling time: 6:27, rolling avg: 15.7.
This is a very nice ride and my knee still feels ok today two days
afterward.
Gotta go now for a lunch time ride!
Rick
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| Thanks, Chip.
The knee continues to strengthen. I got back from a lunch time ride and
was able to pull pretty well on the flats! The knee did not bother me on
the slight up-hill sections today but fatigue did! I cut out after about
9 miles and just did a cool down for a couple of miles back.
The knee still bothers me going up and down stairs or running and sometimes
while I am sleeping it gets in a bad position. I think I'll continue to
stick to cycling for the next couple of weeks and not push hard up any
hills. After that I think it will be fine.
Rick
ps. Ok, so I'll probably run a little before two more weeks is up. ;-)
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