Gran Fondo Leavenworth 2016

Riding the Raleigh Super Course at the Top of the First Climb, Gran Fondo Leavenworth, 2016  (from Viscous Cycle)

Even with the route changes, or perhaps because of them (map), the Gran Fondo Leavenworth 2016 was awesome. Beautiful day. Beautiful course. Superb conditions. I've already forgotten the swirling, ever-present winds - turn right, into the wind; turn left, into the wind; we seemed to be plowing into the wind all the time. My friend Sean says that the ride was 94.5 miles long, a little longer than advertised. No matter: It was great to be out in the fresh air with my friends Sean and Hala and with all the riders in the group. There's something special about being in a group, like a group of dolphins, clicking and whirling along.

Brig Seidl writes an entertaining account of the ride on the Viscous Cycle Blog.

My (crazy) goal was to get within 10% of the winner, a possible, if uncertain and very difficult goal, based on my review of last year's results. The winner, Erik Bee, came in with a time of 5:44:44. Somehow I managed to get to the finish line in 6:19:19, which, remarkably, was 10% behind the winner ((380 min.-345 min.) / 345 min. = 0.101 or 10%). Full results here.

The tubeless wheels, which I had built in the winter, and Specialized Trigger 38mm tires worked beautifully on the gravel. No flats on this Viscous Cycle outing. I rode with 37 psi in the front and back. As I hoped, the wheels were exceptional on the downhills and very good on the climbs. Alas, on the road they were not so good. Indeed, at the start of climb #2 I stopped to make sure the back wheel wasn't rubbing on the brakes or, worse, on the frame or something. All clear, thankfully, but holy moly they felt slow - it must have been the wind. Still, as best I can tell, the wheels came out of the ride just as they went into it!

Overall, I managed my efforts quite well. I stayed well within my limits on climb #1 and descended safely and quite quickly.  I dropped my jacket off at aid station #1 and filled two bottles. Did I need the jacket? I think so - I was happily warm on the way up and on the way down.

As I filled up my bottles, a group of three riders went by (they didn't stop). I put a lot of effort into catching them, hoping that I could work with them down to and along the Columbia river. While I got to within perhaps 20-30 seconds of them, I just couldn't close the gap. One of those riders, from 20/20 Fuel, dropped back and three other riders came up to me (two from 20/20 Fuel) and, basically, we road up climb #2 and stayed together until we got to aid station #2 in Entiat.

I really appreciated riding behind the 20/20 Fuel riders on the way down from hill #2. They were skillful and highly predicable. I followed their lines and appreciated when one of them shouted "hole - BIG hole," which drew my attention.

At one point  on the downhill I was scared.  I was going fast and I needed to make a left somewhat off-camber turn and the consistency of the gravel changed. The gravel became rougher and bigger and deeper (I think), and I found it hard to slow down while also staying controlled. I skidded a bit at high speed but, fortunately, I managed to slow down and get to a more comfortable speed. I'm not sure how much of a margin I actually had but I'm glad nothing too unexpected happened on that corner because I think I was closer to the limit than I would have liked. (It would be a good idea to go back and try that corner once, or ten times, again.)

Once off the gravel, we worked well together, first, to Highway #79 and, then, long the Columbia river to Entiat. Because of the wind, I was really glad to have company along this stretch.  I filled two bottles at aid station #2 in Entiat and took off on my own. Given all the wind we had experienced on the way down to the river I thought that perhaps I would get a break and the wind wouldn't be so bad on the gradual road climb back to Ardenvoir.  I was wrong about that - the wind was miserable. I just went into diesel mode along that road. At about 4 miles up the road I came up to Frank Colich and we worked together until we made it back to aid station #3 and climb #3 started. I didn't stop at this aid station.

For climb #3, I kept going in diesel mode. For most to the climb I rode in 34x32T which was quite easy.  I wonder if it was too easy; perhaps, I should have tried for a good rhythm in 34x28T. With the wind, especially toward the top, the climb was hard. I felt good but just didn't seem to have the capacity to ride hard (perhaps I was just burning fat at this point). I road alone up the climb. The downhill was good and once back on the road my legs felt good and I was able to push a good gear and make good progress. With about 3 miles to go, Frank came back to me and we "sprinted" for the line. He won!

All and all, a great Gran Fondo Leavenworth!!

What's next? The plan was to ride in GF Leavenworth, Ellensburg, and Winthrop.  So, one down and two more to go. I'm looking forward to Ellensburg - last year the rhythm of that ride was awesome. But, what tires should I use? Last year I used 32mm tires on 27 inch rims (yes, definitely old style!).  They worked well except that I flatted (on the road!). This year?  I think I'll go the Specialized Trigger 38mm but with more air pressure but they seem kinda slow on the road.  Perhaps I should just try a narrower tire ...

My training for GF Leavenworth began at Thanksgiving 2015, and I was able to be consistent for pretty much 6 months. I'll be less consistent over the summer.  It will be good to hike and canoe. Still, I am looking forward to the Ellensburg and Winthrop rides.

What can I do to make the Super Course faster?  Not sure. The new wheels and 7-speed cassette work great. I can continue to explore tires and tire pressures. But,  given the frame weight, I don't think there is too much more to be done.

The Super Course - and the Vicious Cycle Grand Fondos - have helped me be alive and being alive is good. What more can you ask for?

I'll keep training, trying to find some magical combination of hard and easy riding and rest. I'll keep working at the planks and core strength exercises. Perhaps, I'll lose a little more weight but going below 145 lbs is probably not healthy for me.

No matter, I figure there's heaps of opportunity to develop and get better on the Super Course. There's so much more to learn about how to ride.

Time on the bike, starting Nov 28, 2015, showing weeks with 3+ hour rides and 5+ hour rides:

                                              Total (hours)
Week  1-4 :   3.25 - 12.00 -  6.00 -  9.50 =  30.75 

      5-8 :  11.00 -  8.75 -  5.00 -  7.50 =  31.25  

      9-12:   7.50 -  7.75 -  8.50 - 13.75 =  37.25 

     13-16:  10.50 - 14.75 - 14.00 -  9.75 =  48.75
     17-20:  11.25 - 14.50 - 13.00 - 11.00 =  49.75  
     21-24:  16.75 - 13.00 - 13.00 - 15.00 =  57.75
     25-26:  11.50 - 11.00(GFL)              ------
                                             272.00