04/06/09

My first century for 2006 and what a nice day for it!  I started this ride with friends.  Sean Tressler was doing his second century after doing an awesome job with me at last year's El Tour de Tucson.  And Mike Cash, a friend from work, brought his tandem and stoker Carol along for her first century.  I also ran into Mike Sturgill at the start and said hello.  Mike is the guy I rode the first day of the 600k with and RAAM qualified in 2004 and 2005.  Amazing cyclist.  Based on the lines at registration I think GABA had a record turn out for this ride!

There isn't a mass start, so people just leave when they are ready which makes for a nice start.  It was a little brisk, but not too bad at all and we left the start area at a fairly easy 17-18 mph pace.  In prior years wind has always been a factor on this ride, but this year it was pretty light most of the day.  When we turned onto SR87 I picked the pace up to around 20-21ish.  I needed a pee break so I planned to stop at the first SAG to hit a porta-potty.  I could see Sean's shadow so I maintained the pace, but somewhere along the way Mike and Carol dropped off to ride at their own pace.

When we got to the first SAG, there was only one porta-potty and a really long line waiting for it.  I wasn't willing to stand in that line, so we continued on for a few miles.  This route is very flat with little vegetation along the road, so at the first shrub I stopped even though it didn't provide much privacy.  We continued on passing a number of people, but nobody jumped on.  One pace line passed us, but I was feeling pretty good and I didn't want to risk riding with an unknown group.  A couple miles before the second SAG, Sean asked that we slow the pace a bit.  We stopped at the next SAG just outside of Eloy so he could refill his bottles.

When we turned off of SR87 onto Jimmie Kerr Blvd what wind there was became a tail wind.  Sean said he felt ok, so I picked the pace up to 24-25 and maintained that most of the way to the freeway, but a few miles out I noticed Sean's shadow dropping back, so we slowed the pace again.  He didn't mention it at the time, but he had been riding at lactate threshold that whole time.  Ouch.  I was riding aerobic, so I assumed he was ok.  We took our time the rest of the way to the park where a barbeque lunch was waiting for us.  GABA always does a good job at the lunch break and this year was no different.  I filled up on BBQ Beef and Chicken with a little pasta salad on the side.  And a piece of cake, can't pass on the cake.  I sat with Mike Sturgill and talked about RAAM.  Apparently they have changed the rules this year and are mandating 4 hours of rest a night.  That is really going to change the way RAAM is raced!

We took it easy for a few miles after the lunch stop to let everything settle, then picked the pace back up to 20-21ish.  There is one slow climb heading back up SR187 on the way back with a nice descent afterwards.  I picked the pace up to about 32 mph on the descent and Sean came around me for a pull.  When his speed started dropping I went around and took the pace up to 34.  I glanced back and Sean was gone.  When I went around, he tried to grab my wheel, but had a cramp in his leg.  That LT effort was coming back to haunt him!

When we turned back onto SR87 we were still able to make good time because it seemed like we had a bit of a tail wind, but at some point it shifted around.  Sean was suffering a little at this point, so we slowed the pace down and just road easy to the finish.  When we got there my computer showed 99.7 miles, so of course, being rather obsessive compulsive, I had to ride around the parking lot until it showed over 100!

Overall a nice century to start the year.  I felt strong and rode strong.  I was able to spin easily into what wind there was and maintained an endurance/aerobic heart rate.  Total time was 5 hours 33 minutes (including stops). Average speed was 19.9 mph (not including stops).