Because of the back injury, I went into this ride fairly anxious as to how my back was going to respond. The good news is that other than a few twinges it was fine.
For the ride, I had a big cooler at the top of the hill in my car and a second cooler at the bottom. The one at the top was for longer breaks and held several sandwiches, cokes, chips and grapes. I also had 2 gallons of water in the car.
The cooler at the bottom was for quick refresh stops and had 6 water bottles, 3 filled with Spiz and 3 plain water. It also had several bananas, energy bars, 2 PB&J sandwiches. I also stashed a gallon of water at the bottom.
I started exactly at 9 AM with Bob and Dawn on Bunker Hill. We all rode away from the hill for a bit to warm up and then descended to the bottom and started climbing. I had the following for nutrition/hydration:
- I started with one water bottle full of Spiz (3 scoops rather than the recommended 4) which gives just under 400 calories per bottle.
- I had a half PB&J, a banana and a Gu flask in my jersey pockets.
I pretty much stuck to the plan and never felt "out of gas" during the ride.
I did 18 laps which was just under 40 miles and 6K feet of climbing before I took my first extended break. Before the break I'd been maintaining fairly consistent wattage of 175-200 watts and my lap speeds were consistently in the range of 10.5 MPH. I actually still felt pretty good when I took my break.
During the break, I ate a wrap with turkey, lettuce & tomato, some chips, some grapes and drank a coke.
After the break, I felt OK but just didn't have any power. I thought I might return more or less to what I was doing previously after a lap or two but never did. My lap speed average dropped to in the range of 9.5 MPH for the rest of the ride and never really recovered.
As noted in the team report, the wind was out of the NW switching more westerly through the day. The final pitch up the climb goes straight north into the wind but this was OK as it cooled me off. When the wind switched to its more westerly direction this gave a slight push up the hill.
The westerly wind would prove to be my undoing to some degree. With the tail wind (no apparent wind) I'd be really hot when I got to the top but then on the descent I'd be going straight into the wind which cooled me off and dried off accumulated sweat.
The bottom line is I was really pouring off the water and it was kind of hard to tell because I remained dry.
Total liquid consumed during the ride were 5 16 oz bottles of water/Spiz and one 24 oz bottle of Coke. I also took an Endoralyte Extreme every 40 minutes which gives 120mg of sodium, 180 mg chloride and 75mg potassium.
The last two laps I was pushing the time limit of 6:40 for the Fleche and I started cramping really badly on the climb. I took 2 Endurolytes and drank all of the water in my bottle but on the last lap, near the top I cramped so badly that I thought I was going to have to get off and walk. I made it to the top without walking, rode to the car and ended my ride having completed the Fleche distance within the time limit. Final stats:
- 62.92 miles
- 6:13 moving time, 6:34 total time
- 8,963 feet of climbing
Post ride, I had a celebratory beer with Bob and Dawn then collected my stuff and headed home. On the drive home I drank 2 full bottles of water (32 oz) and when I got home drank an additional 64 oz of water and took 2 more Endurolyte extremes.
I took a short nap (20 minutes or so) and when I got up both of my legs cramped so badly I couldn't walk and hurt so much I broke into a cold sweat. I stood there for 3-4 minutes (seemed like an eternity!) then was finally able to move. I took a jacuzzi bath in warm water followed by a cold shower, drank about 1/2 cup of pickle juice, drank an additional 48 oz of water then had two beers with dinner.
This morning my legs are a bit stiff but otherwise OK. I'm still really thirsty.
