(picture courtesy of Caroline Thompson)
The day started early--after a quick stop at Starbucks, we headed over to the start to set up. Sunrise was gorgeous as was the weather all day--60's and not a cloud in the sky.
There seemed to be a 50/50 mix of MTB and CX bikes. I think both had their advantages. One guy did it on a SS--not sure there was any advantage there.
I'm not sure what I'll ride next year.
I'm guessing between Dave and his father Duff there has to be 50 plus years of experience of putting on swim meets--no wonder the day went off without a hitch.
Duff was awesome--after the start, he headed to the 20 mile mark and then to the half way point--a welcome face and he served up a mean Coke--the first taste I've had in three years.
The whole field rolling out. These guys dumped me as soon as we came over the back of the first climb, but by the end I'd manage to catch all but three of them who were on cross bikes.
Roads are awesome and in great shape--long and rolling.
Definitely some soft areas to stay away from.
(picture courtesy of Caroline Thompson)About 20 miles in, I was feeling great--no wind and no cramps. I was in 12th place and losing sight of the lead group--not a lot I could do rolling the one cog.
Most of the "rollers" were in the 7% range and nothing longer than I'm guessing 2/10 ths of a mile long.
I should have listened to the Big Man as we gained about 6000 feet of vertical on these "flat" farm roads. Why again did I ride the one speed? As Baby Don would say, "you stupid daddy". It was not the climbing that hurt but the down hills and flat sections--I'm not accustomed to spinning at 120 rpm. That 120 rpm dished out some nasty cramps in muscles I did not even know I was using.
I forgot to put the mount for the Garmin on the bike before sending it out to Omaha--my little zip-tie get up worked just fine.
The MMR (that's minimum maintenance road) was awesome. I was a little concerned as Dave had said it was really nasty and may not be ridable for the CX bikes. I think they must have done their "minimum" maintenance just before the race because it was some of the best road we rode all day.
Confused? I was wondering if I would find my way home--I never loaded the gpx file into the Garmin.
Dave's directions were fantastic--I pinned them to my jersey in a plastic bag.
I finished in 7:25:15--4th overall.
Not bad considering it was 65 miles further than I had ever ridden my SS before.
Big Dave rolling along--wondering why he got himself in to this.
He finished 12th--most impressive given he has been very delinquent in his training.
I can't wait to see what he has in store for us next year. The general feedback from everyone was that this was a great day--I would certainly agree. Great job, Big Man.
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