Monday, August 24, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
LEWIS rides 170+ miles, experiences numbness, outwits Death
Given that LEWIS!'s bedtime has been 5am while working nightshifts he simply stayed up all night before riding the Tour de Park City: the famously difficult 170+ mile race through the High Uintas which started at 6am
98 riders toed the line along with LEWIS (himself positioned 2 feet in front of everyone else on the start line) at Kimball Junction and the large pack soon took off towards Coalville. The pace was mild to moderate for these early miles which was reassuring for the legs but made for some tricky maneuvering given the large, closely-packed, and adrenaline-charged peloton. Winding along Chalk Creek Gap towards Evanston the riders encountered an approx 6 mile section of dirt road where the racing really began in earnest with several attacks off of an already fast pace. LEWIS stayed near the front so as to respond quickly and was pleased to see the group dwindling as riders fell off from the effort.
Coming through Evanston the pace slowed considerably as the riders seemed to collectively realize that the real separating of the field would occur on the upcoming 20 mile climb to the summit of Bald Mtn at 10,700 feet. About 15 miles from the summit LEWIS charged to the front and increased the pace seeing who would follow. This established a group of about 15 riders apart from the rest and several other riders came to the front to help with the pacing duties. About 6 miles from the top 2 riders accelerated off the front and LEWIS, his hamstring starting to cramp badly, simply fell off the pace and despondently resigned himself to finishing the climb with the tail end of the now shattered and dispersed pack. Summiting some time later, LEWIS realized he needed some fluids badly and rolled to a stop at the aid station, downing one bottle and grabbing another 3 to take down the mtn with him. He caught up to a chase group and descended with them while trying to take in as much fluid and food as he could.
Coming back towards Kamas the riders were rudely greeted with tough headwinds and extended rolling climbs. Each taking 30-45 second pulls in a pace line made this significantly easier but given the accumulated miles it still felt rough. LEWIS inadvertently gapped his group on the first of these climbs and noted from the top that he could see the lead group off in the distance. Timing himself by landmarks he estimated 4-5 minutes away. With 40 miles left in the race LEWIS was faced with the tough decision of either slowing to continue with his pace group and thus not have to fight the wind on his own, or head out on a solo break attempting to catch the lead group of about 12 riders. Unreflectively choosing the latter, LEWIS put his head down and started grinding it out the only way he knows how: like a hard mother-fucker. After the next climb the gap was down to 3:00. Now 2:30. Another tough climb into the wind and LEWIS was a mere 1:15 back! But with only 5 miles remaining on the course LEWIS was quickly running out of room to make his move. Pedalling as hard as he could he inched up on the pack who were executing a smooth pace line into the wind. 30 seconds now and 3 miles to go. Down in the drops and furiously spinning the pedals LEWIS shot past the group of riders with 1 mile remaining, thinking that if he could only keep his momentum the startled pack would be late to respond and he might be able to maintain a gap. It was not to be however and LEWIS was quickly subsumed by the swarm of surprised racers. At this point, realizing that all chips would have to be played in the final sprint, the pack slowed down to save their collective remaining energy for the last 200m into Kimball Junction. LEWIS learned at this point that there had, in fact, been 2 riders that broke away earlier and thus the race was for 3rd place.
Mustering the two fast twitch muscle fibers in his whole body, LEWIS managed a respectable sprint despite having chased for the last 2 hours into the wind and finished a close third in the group, 5th overall, in the process check-mating Death.
Finishing time: 8:26
Total distance: 173 miles
Water bottles drunk: 14
98 riders toed the line along with LEWIS (himself positioned 2 feet in front of everyone else on the start line) at Kimball Junction and the large pack soon took off towards Coalville. The pace was mild to moderate for these early miles which was reassuring for the legs but made for some tricky maneuvering given the large, closely-packed, and adrenaline-charged peloton. Winding along Chalk Creek Gap towards Evanston the riders encountered an approx 6 mile section of dirt road where the racing really began in earnest with several attacks off of an already fast pace. LEWIS stayed near the front so as to respond quickly and was pleased to see the group dwindling as riders fell off from the effort.
Coming through Evanston the pace slowed considerably as the riders seemed to collectively realize that the real separating of the field would occur on the upcoming 20 mile climb to the summit of Bald Mtn at 10,700 feet. About 15 miles from the summit LEWIS charged to the front and increased the pace seeing who would follow. This established a group of about 15 riders apart from the rest and several other riders came to the front to help with the pacing duties. About 6 miles from the top 2 riders accelerated off the front and LEWIS, his hamstring starting to cramp badly, simply fell off the pace and despondently resigned himself to finishing the climb with the tail end of the now shattered and dispersed pack. Summiting some time later, LEWIS realized he needed some fluids badly and rolled to a stop at the aid station, downing one bottle and grabbing another 3 to take down the mtn with him. He caught up to a chase group and descended with them while trying to take in as much fluid and food as he could.
Coming back towards Kamas the riders were rudely greeted with tough headwinds and extended rolling climbs. Each taking 30-45 second pulls in a pace line made this significantly easier but given the accumulated miles it still felt rough. LEWIS inadvertently gapped his group on the first of these climbs and noted from the top that he could see the lead group off in the distance. Timing himself by landmarks he estimated 4-5 minutes away. With 40 miles left in the race LEWIS was faced with the tough decision of either slowing to continue with his pace group and thus not have to fight the wind on his own, or head out on a solo break attempting to catch the lead group of about 12 riders. Unreflectively choosing the latter, LEWIS put his head down and started grinding it out the only way he knows how: like a hard mother-fucker. After the next climb the gap was down to 3:00. Now 2:30. Another tough climb into the wind and LEWIS was a mere 1:15 back! But with only 5 miles remaining on the course LEWIS was quickly running out of room to make his move. Pedalling as hard as he could he inched up on the pack who were executing a smooth pace line into the wind. 30 seconds now and 3 miles to go. Down in the drops and furiously spinning the pedals LEWIS shot past the group of riders with 1 mile remaining, thinking that if he could only keep his momentum the startled pack would be late to respond and he might be able to maintain a gap. It was not to be however and LEWIS was quickly subsumed by the swarm of surprised racers. At this point, realizing that all chips would have to be played in the final sprint, the pack slowed down to save their collective remaining energy for the last 200m into Kimball Junction. LEWIS learned at this point that there had, in fact, been 2 riders that broke away earlier and thus the race was for 3rd place.
Mustering the two fast twitch muscle fibers in his whole body, LEWIS managed a respectable sprint despite having chased for the last 2 hours into the wind and finished a close third in the group, 5th overall, in the process check-mating Death.
Finishing time: 8:26
Total distance: 173 miles
Water bottles drunk: 14
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