Subject: Ride Report -
PPTC 300km brevet [long]
Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 12:18:22 -0400
From: Alan Felsen <felsen@erols.com>
To: WHIRL <whirl@cycling.org>
On May 9th (the week before the Big Ride) I attempted the PPTC 300km brevet. I wish I could report on the entire ride but I DNF'd and turned it into a century ride. I rode a Vision R-44 SWB/USS/FS (full suspension) and was the only recumbent on the ride.
After days and days of rain the morning of May 9th approached
with only light drizzle and cloudy skies predicted. The
weather and my general lack of training (less than 100 miles ridden
since the 200km brevet 4 weeks earlier) made me question whether
I was going to even attempt the ride. My original plan was
to get to bed very early on Friday so I would start the ride well
rested, but I was already running about 10 hours short on sleep
for the week. I initially decided not to do the ride, then at
about 10:30pm I got everything ready and set my alarm for 3:00am.
I figured I'd see what the weather was like in the morning and
decide then. I awoke at 2:45am before the alarm went off
and made my mind up. Forget it. Back to sleep.
At 3:00am the alarm went off and I changed my mind again, got
up, and headed for the ride start.
As we started the ride
from Frederick at 5:00am and for the first several hours we encountered
nothing more than a mist and wet roads. The route headed
north into steady headwinds and climbed (and climbed, and climbed)
into Cunningham Falls State Park. As long climbs go this
one wasn't too bad. It was a very scenic road with a creek
rushing downhill next to the road and tall trees arching overhead.
The ride continued
north into Pennsylvania and more headwinds, and into the first
real drizzle of the day. The cue sheet was marked with a
two peaked mountain icon to indicate major climbs and a one peaked
icon for smaller climbs. The road into Cunningham Falls
State Park rated the two peaked icon. In 14 miles near mile
60 (? - I can't find the cue sheet) there were 5 single icons
and one double on 7 consecutive roads. This was as we went
toward and then over Big Flat Ridge. I had a rear flat on
one of the climbs which gave me a much needed rest while I stopped
to patch it.
The weather improved
a little with the rain letting up and the sun trying to make an
appearance. The 4 mile descent off of Big Flat Ridge would
have been a real thrill if it had been 10 degrees warmer and the
roads had been dry. As it was my legs were getting stiff
and I had to keep pedaling to keep them from turning to stone.
As we approached the
town of Brookside I ran out of water in my Camelback and was extremely
hungry. I stopped at a store for a sub and a drink, then
partially filled the Camelback and continued on to the second
control point. Because of my flat tire and long stop for
food (and my 11.0 mph average rolling speed to that point) I made
it to the control 5 minutes after it closed. Since I wasn't
planning to continue the brevet series and wasn't worried about
qualifying, this wasn't a big deal, but as I approached the control
I had made my mind up. Time to bail out. I decided
that being cold, wet, and sleep deprived was too much like work
for me (literally... I get plenty of that on the job). The
hills and headwinds had made the first 100km of this ride harder
than the entire 200km ride a month earlier.
We were about 90 miles
into the ride and in Bloserville, PA, just northwest of Carlisle.
I called home and my wife was gracious enough to make the two
hour drive up to Carlisle to rescue me. I rode a few more
miles with two other riders I had caught up to at the second control.
We then split up as they continued on the route and I turned towards
Carlisle and the exit from I-81 where I was going to meet my wife.
Just as I arrived at the designated point my computer clicked
over to 100.0 miles.
Vital Statistics:
Planned distance: 192 miles
Completed distance: 100 miles
Average speed (rolling): 11.6 mph
Total time on bike: 8.55 hours
Total time: ~11 hours
Max. speed: 36.0 mph
Total climb: way too much