Summary: 350k, 3,800 meters of climbing in 9.5 hours. 243 Weighted Avg and 7,500 KJs. https://www.strava.com/activities/337957399. Countless bottles of Skratch, UnTapped, rice cakes, GF zucchini bread my wife made, and assorted bars consumed.
"There's talk of a July 2 200 on 100. You've been warned," was the text from Ted King about two weeks ago. That's ample time to prepare for a 200(+) mile ride with guys who get paid to race, right? Luckily I had some endurance from a 100-mile late May gravel race and prep for last week's elite nats road race #fail, but I knew this would be a different animal entirely.
Along with Ted and Tim Johnson, the current Canadian pro national road race champ, a brute from U.S. U23 national team and a couple other guys--some of whom jumped in along the way--were aboard.
We started at Canadian border just past 6am with a ridiculous pace that let up 9.5 hours later at the Mass state line. It was tough to get accustomed to; not just the power required but speed for that long, which meant never drifting. We had hours of cross or headwind at sustained 250+ just to sit on. The big boy's power for that duration is something to behold.
Everyone cracked at one point or another--most of us more than once. A reoccurring leg cramp I've been fighting flared up around mile 125 and the gullet went on strike at 8 hours. It became akin to an IM in shutting off mental chatter and willing your body to get it done. I've been in the box plenty bike racing, but hadn't visited that place you go to on such a lengthy effort, in quite a while. Good times.
"There's talk of a July 2 200 on 100. You've been warned," was the text from Ted King about two weeks ago. That's ample time to prepare for a 200(+) mile ride with guys who get paid to race, right? Luckily I had some endurance from a 100-mile late May gravel race and prep for last week's elite nats road race #fail, but I knew this would be a different animal entirely.
Along with Ted and Tim Johnson, the current Canadian pro national road race champ, a brute from U.S. U23 national team and a couple other guys--some of whom jumped in along the way--were aboard.
We started at Canadian border just past 6am with a ridiculous pace that let up 9.5 hours later at the Mass state line. It was tough to get accustomed to; not just the power required but speed for that long, which meant never drifting. We had hours of cross or headwind at sustained 250+ just to sit on. The big boy's power for that duration is something to behold.
Everyone cracked at one point or another--most of us more than once. A reoccurring leg cramp I've been fighting flared up around mile 125 and the gullet went on strike at 8 hours. It became akin to an IM in shutting off mental chatter and willing your body to get it done. I've been in the box plenty bike racing, but hadn't visited that place you go to on such a lengthy effort, in quite a while. Good times.
Last edited by:
Carl Spackler: Jul 3, 15 17:00