az_cyclist Posted January 13, 2014 Share #1 Posted January 13, 2014 Sunday was the Casa Grande Century, by the Phoenix Metro Bike Club. I rode this a couple of times solo, and the last 3 times with the Bull Shifters. It was 38-40 when we started, and the Bulls had 3 groups: 6 or so A riders, 6 B riders (the group I was riding with) and a group of 7 CowShifters, a recently formed group of female Bull Shifters. Since I was recovering from the 3 week cold (and 3 week recovery of it) I was not sure how I would be on this ride. About 15 miles into the ride a headwind kind of came up while I was in the pull. I had to drop off quicker than I wanted, and could not keep up with the line. They held up at the next light for me and another guy. At the first sag, 20 miles in, I took off my glove liners and knee warmers. It was a bit chilly after that but not bad. About 5 miles after the sag our paceline had grown to 10-12 riders with a few riders joining. The speed got up to 22-23 mph, and I let a gap form. One of the guys rode up and asked the 1 and 2 riders to drop back to 20. A mile or 2 of that, plus the fact I think the bagel with peanut butter and jam kicked in. The pace stayed at 20-21, and I was fine up to the lunch break at 70 miles. I took my thermal vest off at the 46 mile sag stop. Pulling into the lunch break I saw our riding average was 18.8.. probably the fastest 70 mile average I ever had. For lunch we had a choice subway, bbq chicken or pork. I also took off my wool arm warmers at lunch. After lunch we had 30 or so miles left. I had the bad timing to be in the pull when we were going up the only real hill on the route then into a headwind. I dropped off the paceline again, but caught up to them at the last sag about 5 miles later. The last 15 miles were not too bad, except for the rumble strips on the highway. I am reasonably sure they caused a flat I had with about 5 miles to go. We all finished together, then adjourned to the McD's in the parking lot for a coke. We finished with an 18.8 rolling average, and the overall time was not bad (6:25) I am reasonably sure it is the fastest century I have ever ridden, but it certainly helped to be in a paceline with strong riders. It was also good experience as I had to work through some times in a ride where I was not feeling the strongest. http://www.strava.com/activities/105983570 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Wheels Posted January 13, 2014 Share #2 Posted January 13, 2014 Nice report, and it sounds like a great ride. I am still a noob rider and only ride alone, but it's clear riding with a biker gang makes you faster. I thought only new carbon bike parts did that. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Beanz Posted January 14, 2014 Share #3 Posted January 14, 2014 Paceline or no paceline, that is cranking on a century! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
az_cyclist Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share #4 Posted January 14, 2014 Thanks Mr. Beanz. the Bull Shifter A group finished in 4:53... no way I can hang with those guys! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Beanz Posted January 14, 2014 Share #5 Posted January 14, 2014 Whoah! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
az_cyclist Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share #6 Posted January 14, 2014 Whoah! Tell me about it! They are strong. Several of them rode the Mullholland Double (I guess last year was the last of those), and they ride the Highland route of the Grand Tour in June. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now