We were up by 6.30 getting Simon all ready for his big ride today. He had a bowl of Raisin Bran with Frosted Flakes, 2/3 of a bran muffin, and some tea. Last night he polished up his bike and made sure he had his kit in order.
We were off to Western Speedway by 8. It was funny on the drive there. We saw 1 car with bikes and a guy riding his way there. We expected way more people en route. It didn’t many because there ended being 100+ there at starting time.
It’s a gorgeous, sunny day today and not too warm (yet). After some palaver they were off at quarter past nine.
I’m hoping to be down at the finish line for him just after lunch. It all depends on when we leave Stephanie’s and how hard it is to find parking. Stay tuned for more later.
Updated by Simon
The ride is done and done! I was very successful. 25th overall for the Legend distance and 3rd in my age group. Results are here. As I was hoping, after riding for two years at 3600 feet of elevation, I felt like superman when returning to sea level. I was a monster on the hills, easily passing riders without really working hard. The thing that was losing me time was my downhill speed: I didn’t know the roads, and I was cautious when descending into blind corners. My caution appears to be justified: I didn’t crash, but there were crashes. When I stopped at the Aid Station at Sayward Road, there was a guy there with torn shorts and road rash.
Here is a link to the data that I recorded during my ride.
Updated Well After the Fact
We’re home now, and I used Handbrake to transcode some video Tammy shot of the start:
Way to go!!! Simon…Congratulations!!!
Thanks! I’m proud of myself, but if you look at the results from the 140 km distance, the fastest rider did it in 3:48: 55 more kilometres in only 50 more minutes! I have a long way to go… 😉 🚴💨 🚴🚴🚴🚴🚴