Lithuania

i am good on sundays. i work saturdays so i cant ride then.

I think I am going to test my luck on thursday. I am going to start from the base with my conservative goal of making it to the visitors center at mile 4.5 and my wishful goal to make it to mathews arm.

orcanova

So we could do one of three things...a slow group ride with a small group so everyone can hang together...or an A and B group...or we could just all ride at our own pace but meet before and/or after...that way some can hammer, and some can take their time...and anything in-between

Lets shoot for Sunday Sept. 24th or Oct. 1st....and see if that is workable for most people. Which one do you mean by the 4th week...?

derath

I wish I could do this, but I just don't think I am ready for that kind of climb yet.

-D

badkarma

The grades on Skyline really aren't bad at all. I ride a comp double with an 11-23 cassette, and I don't think I touched my 2-3 smallest gears. I did an out and back for a total of 40 mi. from Thornton Gap, and the relentless up-and-down wears you out, but don't be afraid of any particular climb that will floor you.

orcanova

naw...you just take your time and be comfortable going slow...

RealtourRoadie

That's stud caliber. Only done skyline a handful of times but the riders I've seen with 23s were definitely using them.

I'm usually at about 9.5 - 10 mph, mostly in my 25 on the long ascents. Regardless of gearing though, it's awesome training. I'm in if people here want to do a group ride. I can go during the week.

badkarma

I'm more of a masher than a spinner, that's probably why.

I wouldn't mind meeting up with some folks to do 30-40 miles on Skyline some weekend in the future.

Lithuania

those two dates sound fine to me

bobby c

Right now those 2 dates are fine with me. Just as long as there is a B group and nothing comes up, I'd like to do it.

bobby c

By the way, I just say this on Craig's List -

GET OUT OF DC AND CYCLE THE MOST SCENIC ROAD EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI

Daily departure 7:15 AM, with flexible return time.
Group rates available.
Pick-up and drop-off may be available.

The listing is for $30, but a group rate would be lower. In case people would rather not drive....

Lithuania

i am going tomorrow morning.

orcanova

^cool...let us know how your ride was...are you going with that group?

Bobby...A & B groups of course...if only a few people and I am there I or someone would ride with you...no one dropped...

Lithuania

nah im going solo. im dreaming and packing for 50 miles but we will see.

RealtourRoadie

Did ya do it? Beautiful day! How'd it go?

Lithuania

just got home.

i will post a full report later but heres a preview

Ive never ridden sustained grades like skyline so I was nervous I wouldnt be able to finish the first 4.5. I told myself I would even if I had to stop a bunch of times.

If I made it to the visitor center feeling good I would go another 10 to the first signifigant peak.

Well I made it to the visitors center and I made it another 10 miles then another 10.

I ended up riding all the way to mile post 50.

This was only my second century and my first one solo.

I took a ton of photos.



https://trail.motionbased.com/trail/e...kValue=1331963

Lithuania

another thing I want to mention is that I think any body can handle this ride. Like orca said, just take it slow and easy. I never shifted into a lower gear then my 39X21. I had two more gears to spare. My average cadence was around 50 for the first 4.5 miles. My cadence is usually in the 90s - 100s but I didnt even bother wasting the energy here.

Bobby, I dont think you would have to worry about getting dropped. I would probably stay behind too if you needed it. Id prefer to conserve the energy anyway.

badkarma

Nice job doing a century on Skyline! The only time I did it, I did 40 miles and I was exhausted from the relentless up and down.

bobby c

Way to go - nice job.

Actually, I'm not worried about getting dropped - I ride a lot solo. When I go I just want to make sure that people go ahead if they want, I'm perfectly comfortable chugging up the hill on my own.

Nice pix, BTW.

orcanova

Riskus, Dude...I just want to tell you...doing a solo century on Skyine Drive is really huge!!!! That was a century with over 10,000 feet of climbing. And that is a pretty low heart rate with only about an hour of stoppage.


How old are you? The reason I ask is that when I do that kind of effort I usually have more stoppage time...I think because my aching body requires me to at 42 yrs. of age.

What is really cool about your effort was your previous posts...saying..."I don't think I am ready for that" followed by "I'm going tommorow" followed by your honest confession about what your mind was thinking, about "maybe I'll finish the first 4.5 but we'll see..." followed by your report of an epic ride that went WAY BEYOND what you thought you could do.

I'd like to hear more detail about your nutrition, and how the ride felt. Did you feel blown at any point? Was the end of the ride in a zone where you've never been or was it OK. How about all that descent at the end...pretty cool, eh?

Great ride. Congrats!

(post more pics too...)

Lithuania

I am 28 and recently lost about 35 pounds over the last 4 or 5 months so ive gotten pretty fit. My resting HR is 30 so maybe thats why it never got really high.

I really had no idea I would be able to do this much. I never even considered it. I thought 50 total was long shot.

Nutritionwise... I ate a bowl of kashi crunch cereal, two pieces of toast with jelly and a banana before I left my house. I stopped at the apple house for a pancake and 3 pieces of bacon because it was too foggy to ride that early. I brought with me 2 large bottles of cytomax and 1 small bottle in my jersey. I had a pb&j sandwich and a turkey sandwich, 2 cliff bars and a fruit leather. When the ride was over I still had 1.5 clif bars left. Carrying all the stuff in my jersey was a pain and it kind of bothered my back.

About 2 weeks ago i did my first century with my father in law on the w&od trail. About halfway through I felt horrible. Like I was going to throw up. My glasses started to feel like they were squeezing my head and I thought I was close to bonking hard.

On this ride I never even got close to that. I dont know if it was because I was riding slower overall or because I had a ton of food with me but I felt great. About 70 miles in I started freaking out because my garmins battery was low and I thought it was going to die on me so I skipped the last rest stop even though I only had a half bottle of liquid left.

Miles 24-21 (76 -79) sucked. 18 - 16 was bad too but 8 - 6 was probably mentally the worst because I thought I should already be all down hill at this point. I remember someone saying after mile 4.5 it was basically 17 miles of climbing and even though I knew that wasnt true after doing it I kept wishing it was 17 miles of downhill. I think these stretches were only bad because I was rushing a little more to save my battery.

The only thing that really started to bother me was my butt and back. I never had to stand to climb but there were times that I stood up anyway just for some relief. I wear really high end bibs too so I was suprised.

I came into this ride pretty nervous about the descents. I was always kind of timid going fast, especially on terrain I am unfamiliar with. After the ride I RIDE for descents. I didnt take these descents to hard. I never really got much over 35mph at anytime. The last 5 miles were GREAT. I think I was over 30mph almost the entire time. Barely touched the brakes.

well i took over 150 photos and its taking me a while to label and resize them but once that is done I will post them on a new thread.

for the time being here is a photo of my sexy self.



looks like i came from OUT of the mountains eh?

watchman

The skyline drive is a fun ride. I rode it from North to South last year. In a couple weeks I'm going to ride from South to North which should be an easier route, at least the end will be alot easier. Definately alot of cummulative climbing on that road, no one climb is all that hard, but after 105 miles of hills, you start to feel it. From North to South, I believe their is a little under 16,000 feet of climbing.