As I reflect back to the ride, I am considering all of the things I will do different on the next big ride. This being the first time I had ever ridden much over 50 miles on gravel, I was not sure what to expect or if I could even finish the event. Certainly proper nutrition and light work loads the days leading up to the ride proved to be critical in my even finishing, but back to accessing future ride changes.
Just dumping in a big glob of snacks in the feed bag actually should have been done from the get go. This was found after my ever increasing frustration of trying to open little plastic bags and wrappers while juddering along the road, I finally dumped them all together after the 2nd checkpoint at the 65-some mile mark. My food access and stowing trash issues helped me to get dropped from the group that I was trying to keep up with and I ended up riding the last 35-40 miles solo.
All of this lead to my coming up to a T intersection of an unmarked highway about 80 some miles in, where I felt absolutely crushed. This is a gravel ride, not asphalt! No problem, just pull out the smart phone and check the mapping app to find out where I am? Argh! Since the ride did not start on time, I pushed pause function and never restarted the app at the very beginning of the ride, so no clue where I am now since the app timed out. Not to mention that I can't read the paper map they gave me, especially in sweat and dust covered bifocals with a sunglasses clip-on... perhaps showing my age here!
A passing motorist was very perceptive and noticed I looked lost, so they stopped and helped me figure out that I was on O hwy and needed to ride back up the previous hills to get back on course. I kindly thanked and blessed them as I pedaled off, reminding myself to go slow and steady, since this was now going to be well over a 100 mile ride with my second wrong turn. The whole time I rode back to the actual course, I questioned whether it was fair needing a Garmin to know the route? To which I concluded, I will need to decide if I want to be competitive or just survive these types of events.
Well, slow and steady got me home. There were some much need cheers of encouragement by the few people left at the finish point. I am guessing that I was the last finisher, but I kept telling myself not dead-last, as there were many riders that called it quits at the first and second check points. So in the end, I made some new friends and cycling connections, found my real endurance is more of a mental than physical issue, and know that I am hooked on grinding gravel on bikes.
So here are some considerations for future big events:
- Remove all of the foods from the packaging before the ride
- Purchase a Garmin or pay better attention to my phone app
- Make my bike more efficient or get stronger legs and lungs
