Sunday, May 13, 2012

Vermont spring 200k

bakery in Richmond
stretching time
???????
rest stop
view over the valley
power line donut
Burley rando
sunset along spear st.
 
I rode the 200k this Saturday. You couldn't ask for a better day. It was clear and sunny and just warm enough and just cool enough. The ride started in Burlington and headed south to Richmond and over the hills to Bristol and Brandon and Middlebury and then back north along the lake. It was a moderately hilly route. Definately not flat but also not brutally hilly. There was a very nice group of folks, as usual.

I had a decent ride but had been hoping for a quicker finish. I pulled in with 50 minutes to spare. I was in high spirits despite some cramping as we climbed over the Bristol gap. After that I took it easy on the legs as anytime I pushed too hard I felt the lactic acid coming on.

One rider finished in just over 8 hours and the last rider pulled in at the buzzer. There was one rider who did not finish but made a valiant effort as he was recovering from both a broken collarbone and a blood clot!

The fellow who I rode the last 40 miles with was pulling a Burly trailer that had glass jars of peaches, sardines, nuts and other goodies. The next morning he was planning to ride to work, teaching a spinning class!

It was a classic Vermont ride with plenty of nice country stores and supply stops and scenic spots along the way.

9 comments:

Pondero said...

Nice going, Greg. It looks like you had a great day on a great route. Thanks for the inspiration. I've got a long way to go for a 200k, but I'm stretching my rides out a little.

bmike said...

Great work Greg. That course is deceptive. I much prefer the long steady climbing in the first half than the choppy terrain of the second half.

Well done!

Unknown said...

Thanks Chris. I look forward to reading about your riding adventures in brevet land.

Thanks Mike. It is indeed deceptive. When I mapped it I thought, by the numbers, that is not too much climbing. And then I pushed a little too hard for the amount of climbing that there actually was.

bmike said...

there is actually quite a bit of climbing on that route - with those stiff rollers on the inbound leg. about the only 'flat' section is on the river after brandon, and a bit on 7 and green bush on the way in.

that first half, is pretty much all up hill from control#1 to the base of app gap.

the ripping descent is worth it though!

lake 200? 80 miles of about as flat as you can get for VT... then the chop?

i'll try to order cool with a gentle breeze.

Unknown said...

I would appreciate some cool weather for the lake 200k this year, thanks. The V-8 worked 2 yrs. ago but tasted nasty.

bmike said...

ha, just looked at an updated elevation plot of the 200k... 9k'+ in climbing. so, yeah, you worked it.

that is versus the 9k+ feet of climbing for the entire lake 300k....

Unknown said...

Wow, MapMyRide said 4600' !
That makes me feel pretty good.

bmike said...

the online stuff is all over the place for elevation gain. i'll have to check topofusion...

7750 according to the custom algorithm...

so, not as high as ride with gps, and not as low as mapmyride

Unknown said...

Mike,

I looked into it and MapMyRide counts "real" climbs but not the milder rollers. Hence not all elevation gains are counted.