MoM RR

The misery is over.

My Memorial Day weekend was full of excitement in the mountains of Blacksburg, VA. Members and friends of Coastal Racing and I participated in the annual Cycling Doubleheader of the family oriented Wilderness Ride and the ominous Mountains of Misery. Both rides provide cyclists with challenging hills and, yes, mountain passes miles long with grades the organizers boast as reaching 12-15%.

The weekend started with a casual 38-mile Wilderness Ride that Ryan and I cruised through with relative ease in under two hours. Afterward we went back to the cabin to meet up with other members for an open water swim on Claytor Lake. Amazingly the mountain water was relatively warm for May but we still sported the wetsuits. I ended up swimming 20 minutes down the lake and another 21 back for a good solid workout. Afterward we ate like kings, had a few beers, and hit the sack for tomorrow's big ride.

The morning came way too early, partly because I didn't sleep well. I don't know if it was some pre-ride jitters about not getting enough training in or the fact I crashed last year and broke my thumb.

Only four of us were in for the long ride (Joel Bell being a stud and doing the double metric). We got there not long before the start and quickly got ready and lined up for the fourth wave. This time around the directors were limiting the size of the waves, which made the ride somewhat harder than last year because we were spaced out. Ryan and I spent the first 20 miles or so trying to find a suitable group of riders to roll with. Last year I had the privilege to ride wheels for most of the first half of the ride. When you're riding 103 miles in the mountains you take what you can, when you can.

Like before, the first serious challenge arrived around Mile 60 with the first mountain climb. This year I rocked a new Bontrager Race Lite GXP compact crank (50/34) and it made a world of difference. I still had to work like a mule to get the pedals around but I could get them around. By Mile 80 I was cursing the hills of a section with four or five continous steep rollers. My left knee had started to ache from all the climbing. And all I could think was that the person who designed the course was just being mean at this point. To say the least, I was happy when I reached the "five miles remaining" sign, but I knew it was literally an uphill battle from there.

After the ride we headed back to the cabin to eat and play flip cup till early morning, which is hindsight was a bad idea. The next day I felt a bit under the weather (partly hungover) and by the second day I had a full-blown head cold that sidelined me for a week.

Week 24 Recap / MoM RR

Going into the long weekend I knew I'd max out on bike mileage while on the trip. So I kept the week's activities to three swims and one run.

When Saturday arrived I felt great and was ready for the easy 38-mile Wilderness Road Ride that would precede the big event. I spent the untimed ride relaxing with my triclub and eating everything in sight at the rest stops. After the ride I went for a beautiful open water swim across Claytor Lake in Radford, VA.

On Sunday morning the crazy Coastal Racers (myself included) started the century ride dubbed Mountains of Misery. I would soon learn the ride would live up to it's name. For most of the morning Joel Bell and I stuck together with a small pack of guys. Joel, being a tremendous triathlete, would occasionally drop us but we'd meet up shortly at the next rest stop. By Mile 50 we had averaged around 20mph, which was decent considering the course. When the ascent up the first serious mountain began at Mile 60 it became clear I should have bought another gearing setup. My standard 25 forced me to do a ton of mashing. Halfway up the mountain I told Joel I'd have to catch him later. Once on the top I rested a minute before the descent. I though perhaps I'd catch Joel since we'd been stopping for five or so minutes at every scheduled break. Around Mile 70 I was all alone in aero cruising the flats and enjoying the day. I felt great and was ready to climb the last mountain and finish the ride in 6:30 or so.

I caught up to two guys and decided to take a rest and draft off them. After another group went by, our group picked up speed (22ish) to try and add to their line. At the same time, two cars passed us but not the other guys. Our lead guy got spooked when the last car hit his brakes. This caused the guy I was behind to jam his and quickly move left cutting me off. The next thing I know I was flying over my handlebars and tumbling down the street. I landed on my back on the side of the road. The guy who wrecked me came back and blotted my chin while his buddy called 911 on his cell. All the one guy could say was, "Sorry man. I did you so wrong." Shortly afterward a member of my club showed up and convinced me I should take the ambulance to the hospital. I'm glad I did.

As far as my injuries go, besides my pride, I have a fractured thumb, six stitches in my chin, a sprained shoulder, and two very swollen, road-rashed knees. At this point the thumb will not require a screw (depends on if it rotates any further over the next two weeks). If my shoulder doesn't improve I'll be heading back for an MRI. Basically this means no training for 4-6 weeks. That mean's I'll miss the Yorktown and Bath County sprints.

Here's a look at my thumb x-ray: