Double or Nothing

it was 2008 when we coined this the Double or Nothing Metric. that year we did this ride on Saturday then hit the Udder Century Sunday, yes the very next day, for 100 miles. one day 62 miles with 6000 feet of climbing and the next day 100 miles in 5 hours (ride time). you had to do both to earn your Double or Nothing Badge. one of my most favorite cycling weekends to date.

the Double or Nothing name actually came about during the 08 BFNIC Spring Classic Ride. he was killing me up the hills. near the end of the ride i darted past and indicated last one to the top buys the first round. well, he grabbed my wheel, timed his jump just right, and hit the top first.

a few minutes later we approached another steep bugger. i dart past again and scream " Double or Nothing." i hit it hard at the bottom as i tend to do sometimes. too hard. midway up he zooms past me again. this was a longer climb though. i was falling back, but then i noticed he let up as he neared the top. i jumped on it hard.

as i neared his wheel the noise from the hard effort and my flapping wind jacket gave me away, maybe even startled Cy, and he droped the hamer one last time for the win.

tomorrow is the twenty ten version of the ride. good times. .

Not Ready Yet?

The BFNIC Spring Metric Classic ride was yesterday. It was up in the lovely Crystal Lake area, which means hills. Yes we have some here in Illinois. We don't have any around my riding grounds, but they do up yonder. Hum, that seems like excuse number one? Here go two and three:

1. See Above ^
2. Prior to this I had only three rides for 118 miles.
3. No trainer for me means no riding legs at this point in my season.

The weather was great. The ride and route were very well planned out. It was great seeing the other BFNIC'ers for the first time this year!!

Now the suffering. As this group normally goes (fast) we started out briskly. Especially considering it was the second thirty mile loop that included the hills. We bolted out of the start consistently in the 17 to 21 mph range like it was late season. This pace was cool with me at first, but I did pay later in the ride for it. Plus, I was struggling with finding the right gear. I like to spin, but today I was trying to ride mostly in the big ring with less spinning. I just couldn't find my sweat spot.

After the first thirty'ish mile loop the legs were burning. I regrouped at the stop and things went well until the hills around mile 60'ish. While I couldn't hang at the front I was still maintaining a nice effort up to this point. The last hill at mile 65 finished me. I have limited cycling experience, 1 year for 2500 miles, and none with 15% grades! I think my main missteps were standing too early and not attempting the "serpent weave" back and forth across the rode. See, at the steepest part I was already standing to keep the cranks turning. The legs basically wanted nothing to do with this and shut down. I had to stop and unclip before I likely fell over due to lack of movement.

I felt a bit bummed about having to stop. I mean I am in the best shape of my life, as the saying goes. I am lighter, stronger, and more fit then ever. I think my actions show I may be a bit smarter too. It's early in the season. I just didn't have the legs and more importantly the technique to tackle that hill at mile 65.

I think I may be back to this Bull Valley and that 15% grade. This ride was only 2800 feet of elevation gain. I have one slated for June with over 10,000 feet!

The stats:

69.29 miles / 4:02:24 ride time / 17.2 mph avg with 34.5 max / 125 avg HR / 65 rpm avg with 115 max / 3300 calories burnt.

The MotionBased Link...........HERE.

Later.

And in this corner....

we have allergy season. CRAP! I didn't have allergy issues until I turned 30. What is up with that?? Anyway, I finally shake the flu midweek and get socked with more headaches and snot on Thursday. I thought the flu was back, but it isn't.

Allergies can kiss my arse though. I have had three very solid runs this week. A hard effort, a recovery effort, and you ho hum nine minute per effort. The legs have been very responsive.

Only three measly runs? Yep, because today starts three consecutive days of cycling. Spring is back in Chicagoland and I will be head out shortly for a nice 30 miler. Tomorrow is the BFNIC Spring Metric Classic and Sunday will be a nice afternoon recovery ride. Good times.

Later.