This past Saturday was the Solstice 300K. The forecast looked good, and so I scheduled an century for the next day (yesterday). A 300K followed by a century was even better preparation than a 200K followed by a century, but I'm whooped. The good news is that I gleaned valuable training information for PBP.
Solstice 300K
About two dozen people signed up for this brevet. That's a bigger group than usual, probably lured by the Silver Comet/Chief Ladiga Trails. It's called the Silver Comet Trail in Georgia and the Chief Ladiga Trail in Alabama. This brevet has the simplest cue sheet ever; just stay on the trail. We started in Cedartown, GA and rode the Silver Comet all the way to the east end in Smyrna. Then, we retraced our route, stopped for a lunch break in Cedartown, rode all the way to the west end in Anniston, AL, and returned to Cedartown.
The route for the Solstice 300K is easy, but there's a trick. A 300K normally has a maximum finish time of 20 hours. However, the Silver Comet is open only from daylight until dusk, which is a little more than 14 hours of daylight around the summer solstice. Therefore, no lollygagging on this brevet!
We rolled out at 6:00 AM, or approximately civil twilight. Only 1.6 miles into the route, our group had to do a little adventure racing:
Fortunately, the tree across the trail was passable. We helped each other get our bodies and bicycles through the branches and foliage.
It took me a while to determine how the groups were going to form up. I was pretty sure I would be riding with my friend Jen all day. She also brought three friends. Additionally, there was a nice guy named Gary, who is from Pennsylvania. His sister lives in the Atlanta area. This was his second brevet with our Audax Atlanta group.
One guy went off the front early. I knew I didn't want to go that fast. However, I thought I might keep up with the next guy, Nathan. Nathan is a really strong rider. In fact, we went faster and faster until we caught the first guy. In the meantime, two of Jen's friends stopped for a nature break. They said they had to average 25 mph to catch us!
That was enough for me. I knew I couldn't ride that fast all day, and it probably wasn't smart for me to have ridden that hard for as long as I did. I backed off. Jen gladly joined me. She, her three friends, Gary, another guy, and I formed a companionable group.
A big storm had come through the night before. Not only did it down the tree near the start, it also left lots of sticks and other debris on much of the trail. We had to be extra diligent in avoiding hazards and pointing them out to each other. I'm amazed that no one in our subgroup got a flat.
It's always more crowded on the east end of the Silver Comet, which is metro Atlanta. The trail is a big amenity for people who live near it. I can understand that; it's great for walking, running, or a bicycle stroll. However, it's not really conducive to the type of road riding I like to do, i.e., group riding in a pace line. We slowed down and tried to be courteous to everyone else on the trail, but it still got a little dicey a few times. I've decided I'm not particularly enamored of the Silver Comet.
Fortunately, we had more breathing room as we headed back west. We took turns pulling. I didn't know exactly how fast we were going, but I could tell simply from perceived exertion that we were going harder than I would have by myself.
Recently, I switched from Garmin to Wahoo. I have a Wahoo computer mount on all my bicycles except my Trek, which is my randonneuring bike. I had discovered at the Acworth 200K that my Wahoo really doesn't work in Garmin mount. I can sort of get it to stay in the mount, but it's precarious. For the Solstice 300K, I put my Wahoo in my jersey pocket so that I didn't have to worry about it falling off. It still recorded my ride, and I didn't need it for navigation on this particular ride anyway. It was interesting to ride without seeing my speed, distance, or power. By the way, when I got home, my sweet soigneur - a.k.a. Robert - put a Wahoo mount on my Trek for me. That certainly came in handy for the next day's century.
We wondered if the tree across the path would still be there as we headed back into Cedartown. It was:
It's nice to have the central staging point in Cedartown on the Solstice 300K. We can stash coolers in our cars for a convenient lunch stop. I was psyched to have a pimento cheese sandwich - not something I normally eat on a summertime brevet because of the mayonnaise. My sandwich was delicious, but I could eat only half of it. On brevets I generally have to eat smaller amounts more frequently rather than a larger meal. I put the other half of my sandwich back in my cooler for a post-ride snack on the drive home.
One mental advantage to this brevet is that it's easy to break into chunks. It's 51 miles from Cedartown to Smyrna and then another 51 miles back. Then it's 44 miles from Cedartown to Anniston and then another 44 miles back, Looking at it that way, it seemed less daunting to continue the journey after our lunch break. Plus, I was really looking forward to a milkshake at Sonic in Anniston!
We were averaging more than 17 mph. That's a pretty hefty pace for a 300K. There's no way I would do that on my own for that far, but I thought I could keep it up by drafting in the group. Gary eventually dropped off the back, leaving six of us.
The Silver Comet is concrete, but the Chief Ladiga is asphalt (and narrower). Asphalt is less expensive than concrete, which is why most roads are paved with asphalt. However, asphalt is more flexible than concrete and cracks more easily, requiring more maintenance. The Chief Ladiga Trail was pretty bumpy in a lot of places because of tree roots. One of the guys complained several times that Alabama doesn't know how to lay asphalt. That's not it at all. If Alabama won't even fund higher education adequately, I guarantee that maintaining the Chief Ladiga Trail isn't high on their financial priority list. Interestingly, when I told Robert about this guy's comment about Alabama not knowing how to lay asphalt, Robert scoffed and informed me that the National Center for Asphalt Technology is located at Auburn University. Hmm...maybe the Chief Ladiga Trail would be a good graduate student project.
At last we approached Anniston, which meant it was almost time for my milkshake! Coconut cream pie or maybe key lime pie...
What a letdown. They didn't have all the flavors I remembered from before. I settled for a strawberry milkshake - not bad, but rather prosaic. Still, I was glad for the calories to fuel me for the final leg.
The sixth guy (not one of Jen's three friends) didn't know how to ride in a group. It felt like he increased our average power by at least 50 watts every time he got on the front. Not cool. I was really working to keep up every time he pulled.
A storm started brewing. Three of the guys took off, leaving Jen, Jay, and me to fend for ourselves. However, we caught back up to the other three when they stopped to check on a couple on a tandem who had a flat. Mr. 50 Extra Watts may be somewhat of a jerky rider, but perhaps he's a decent human being after all.
There aren't many places to take shelter along the trail. It rained on us a little, but the wind was the biggest factor. Fortunately, the storm passed fairly quickly.
We finished in 12:50, which is about what I expected. This includes time spent at controls. I thought this would be one of my fastest Solstice 300Ks, but my actual ride time (10:53:29) was middle of the pack for the five times I've done this route. Regardless, the biggest takeaway is that I need to ride PBP, particularly at the beginning, at my own pace. It will have to be slower than the Solstice 300K, which is only one-fourth the distance of PBP.
Sunday Century
I got a good night's sleep, in quantity if not quality, to get ready for my Sunday century. When I got on the bike, I felt OK but somewhat sluggish. I decided simply to ride steadily and not worry too much about my pace. This was going to be as much mental as physical.
It was a great route, the same one I did on behalf of the ASPCA for A Year of Centuries in 2013 (ASPCA Ride). An hour into yesterday's ride, I was pleased to see that I was averaging about 16 mph - not bad, all things considered.
After riding through the Piedmont Wildlife Refuge - yea! - I stopped at the public restroom next to the fire station in Juliette. I refilled my bottles and got a bite to eat. Although I know that proper fueling is a must in endurance riding, I still was amazed at how much better I felt after getting something to eat.
My plan, as usual, was to eat something about every hour and a half. Just before the halfway point, I stopped at a convenience store for some Powerade. I wasn't yet ready for lunch, but the Powerade and a Clif Bar really hit the spot. Onward - I wasn't breaking any speed or power records, but I knew I could do this if I just kept riding steadily.
I was grateful for another stop at High Falls State Park. I was about 60 miles in, and I was tired. I refilled my bottles, took my shoes off to ward off hot spots, and enjoyed some grapes and half a PB&J sandwich that I had packed. I also got a little boost when I checked my phone. My friend Arlinda had done the Solstice 300K the day before. I didn't get to ride with her, however, because she was hanging back to ride with her teenage daughter Asia. Arlida had posted that the Solstice 300K was only Asia's sixth ride! Not sixth brevet, but sixth ride ever! I responded and told Arlinda about the century I was doing and said that I would channel Asia to get myself to the end. It worked!
Actually, I did have another good motivator during the last 10 miles of my ride: heavy rain and thunder. I got drenched, but I was so close to home I figured I might as well get there as soon as possible. I made it safely, but as soon as I walked in the door, I received a severe weather alert for Jasper County on my phone.
Recovery
During my century, I noticed a slight sore throat. I gargled with warm salt water when I got home to try to preempt full-blown sickness. So far so good, but this is another indicator that my body is worn down.
Last night I was ready for a real meal after a weekend of bike food. I cooked some pasta with clams and made a big, delicious salad. (Kale for me since Robert won't eat that and mixed greens for him - both from our CSA - yum!) Interestingly, I was hungry but filled up fast. Normally, I finish my plate easily, but I couldn't last night, even after so much riding.
Today the critter has been after me! It hasn't been after me this bad since RAAM training four years ago:
Last night I slept about 8 1/2 hours and took some melatonin beforehand, but I still didn't sleep that well. One time when I woke up, I was listening to my heartbeat. It was a lot faster than usual. My body is definitely trying to recover.
It was a tough two days of riding, but I'm glad I did it. I'll remember several lessons at PBP. First, I have to ride at my own pace. Also, it's so obvious, but I have to eat and drink regularly. Finally, I'm going to take a tip from my rando buddy Joe, who has done PBP previously. His doctor recommended getting an extra hour or so of sleep every night in the week leading up to PBP. I'll have to be really disciplined for that one, but I think the payoff will be worth it.
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