- 19.6 avg
- 44.0 max
- 151 AHR
- 173 MHR
- 42.78
- 2:10:54
We drove up to Torrington early this morning to ride in the Tour of Litchfield Hills century. Unlike most other centuries I have done, this one has a mass start, like a race, instead of sending people off whenever they get ready to go. I like this format, because it gets everyone together and the fast group can then work the pace. I was hoping to make this a sub-five hour century, and since there were a lot of tough, strong riders, especially from Benidorm (including at least one Cat 2), I thought it would work.
About five miles in, I hit a pothole, and one of my water bottles bounced out. I tried to pull out to the left to go get my bottle, but some jerk insisted on passing me on the left then, so it took me a while to get out of the pack and back to my lost bottle. I probably should have just left it, but I didn’t relish the idea of riding a hard 100 miles with only one bottle. By the time I got the bottle and took off again, the fast group had passed and had at least a half mile on me.
So I went into chase mode, keeping in mind that I did have 100 miles to ride (well, 95 by that time). The terrain was rolling hills, so I couldn’t set a fast pace and drill it but had to keep adjusting for climbs, descents, and a mean little headwind. I started picking off the stragglers and was making good time, with an average speed of over 20 mph. I hit the long climb up route 4 to Sharon and soon saw that the fast pack had split in half and I was about to overtake second half.
Then my cell phone rang. Dorothy, who was riding a few miles behind me, had broken a spoke in her rear wheel, and the wheel pulled so badly out of true that it was not ridable. I rode back to her, and we caught a SAG wagon back to the finish.
The Tour of Litchfield Hills is a very well-organized ride, and the money raised goes to fight cancer, so I’m sure we will be out again next year, with tighter water bottle cages and stronger wheels.
EDIT: I noticed tonight that my water bottle cage is actually broken. I’m not sure how you break a stainless steel bottle cage, but I somehow managed to do it because I am insanely tough on my equipment. I should hire myself out to bike and accessory manufacturers as a tester and try to break their products.
One day we need to ride together.
You will drop me but it would be fun anyway.
Thomas
(Charlotte’s other half)
That would be fun! I would actually love to ride in Europe, especially on some of the various national tour routes. And I don’t drop on friendly rides. 🙂
I managed to break my bottle cage… it just sheared need the bolts… anyway well done