April 19th I started my season by traveling to Nashville for the Music City Double Century. It was a last minute decision. I have been feeling very good lately and wanted to test my legs in a race even though i had not yet done a double century this year.
I hoped in with Paul Carpenter, who is doing the Race Across the West this year, and drove down to Nashville. The rain started as soon as we arrived in Nashville.
Jeff Bauer gives a good ride report at the The Harpath Bicycling Club Blog.
Shortly after the start I found myself riding with 3 other riders, Jeff Bauer, Paul Carpenter and George Hiscox. The feeling of the ride definitely took a turn toward brevet riding rather than racing. Jeff, a local, provided the navigation throughout the day. I could not be bothered with following a queue sheet. Paul made sure we kept the pace up and didn’t get too lazy.
I had never ridden around Nashville before. It is a beautiful countryside. It was hillier than i expected.
My biggest memory of the ride is the dogs. I had a dog run in front of me and than circle back and bite me on the calf. In all the miles of riding i have done this has never happened before. Usually the dogs just run along side and yelp for a bit. I now have the dental impressions of this canine impressed on my leg.
We continued on, though dog bites do hurt a bit and cause one to pause at the sight of other dogs. I felt quite good for the first 135 miles. Than i ran out of gas and struggled to keep up with group. While it may be my condition was not as good as i believed, I think this bonk may have been due to inadequate calories. I am using a energy drink and in the rush to get going I did not mix my water bottles to have an adequate amount. After all these races I still am struggling with how to get enough calories in, but I think i am on the right track.
Ride Stats:
Entire workout (169 watts): Duration: 11:49:35 (12:10:34) Work: 7173 kJ TSS: 841.5 (intensity factor 0.845) Norm Power: 208 VI: 1.23 Pw:HR: 10.08% Pa:HR: -9.13% Distance: 204.015 mi Min Max Avg Power: 0 647 169 watts Heart Rate: 87 170 135 bpm Cadence: 29 163 78 rpm Speed: 2.2 44.7 17.3 mph Pace 1:21 26:49 3:28 min/mi Hub Torque: 0 459 77 lb-in Crank Torque: 0 1059 191 lb-in
remember what bob roll says about scars: they’re good.
nice job finishing despite the bonking.