Cross Timbers Classic

I finished my first bike race today. Technically I guess the Cross Timbers Classic is a "tour", not a "race", but it still doesn't change the fact that I finished a 50+ mile bike ride!

The first 1.5-miles of the tour was a lap around Texas Motor Speedway. Even though I am not a NASCAR fan by any stretch of the imagination, it was still a really cool experience (and wow, are some of those turns really steeply banked - I guess they have to be when cars are circling them at 150+ mph!)

It took me about 4 hours and 20 minutes (including two rest stops) to complete approximately 50 miles (52.5 according to my bike computer). That works out to 5.2 minutes per mile or just over 11.5 miles per hour. Not counting the stops, I was at about 12.5 mph - which jives with what my bike computer often displayed as my current speed. I'm definitely not (and perhaps will never be) a speedster, but for a first time ride of that distance, I am very happy with my performance.

Actually, I did the first 24 miles in 1 hour and 45 minutes (or 13.7 mph) and then hit the (second) rest stop (skipped the first one). The pace definitely slowed after that. At that rest stop, I (thought I) was glad I had chosen to persevere with the 50-mile route. (At the 14.5-mile mark, I could have made a left turn and cut it down to a 30-mile ride). However, at the 32-mile mark, I started hitting some nasty hills and definitely had second thoughts about whether I had made a wise decision. Good thing there were no other opportunities to cut the route short - I might have taken them!

Again, I noticed that, overall, my cardio fitness was not the limiting factor for my biking performance. Except for some of the hills, I can honestly say that I barely breathed hard at all during the entire ride. But I still need to strengthen my legs BIG TIME. And the really funny thing is that after the bike ride, any soreness that might have lingered from Wednesday's run was gone!

Ride Highs:

1. The opening lap around TMS
2. Finishing all 50 miles!
3. Racing by myself (solitude - just me and my thoughts)

Ride Lows:

1. Scraping my arm against a farmer barbed wire fence while turning into a rest stop - stings more than it hurt or bled
2. Going 6 mph (or slower) up steep hills
3. Hitting a really nasty hill at 38 miles and having to stop ... and then having to resume from a standing start
4. Falling over at 43 miles (couldn't unclip at a stop sign) - luckily, the only thing hurt was my pride
5. Leg cramps in my right quad at 47 miles - the last 5.5 miles were slow and painful
6. Racing by myself (when with other riders, they pushed me to go faster)

Now that I've experienced a 50-mile ride, I am very confident that I can do the 12.4 - 25 miles that are needed for a Sprint or Olympic tri. I am also fairly certain that I am NOT interested in doing rides/races that are much longer than 50 miles (at least in the immediate future).

Don and Jarrod are seriously considering doing the Hotter'N Hell Hundred in Wichita Falls this summer, but if I go with them, I will be doing the "Hotter'N Hell Fifty" (or possibly the 100K - 62 miles). If it takes me 4+ hours to do 50 miles, there is no way I want to be riding for 9 hours to do 100 - and thus spending 4-5 hours in the August afternoon Texas sun!

Ride Review:

• Course: 2/5 - this course is unsafe! terrible traffic (18-wheelers!) on Hwy 156; non-existent traffic control in the afternoon (have to make a unpatrolled left-turn onto a busy highway); several sections of two lane roads with no shoulder; the only reason this is not a 1/5 is because of the opening lap at TMS
• Rest Stops: 2/5 - the stops didn't offer anything great - just some fruit, water, and Gatorade; they were also too far apart (only 3 stops for a 50+ mile ride!) and placed in terrible spots (just barely off the road so bikers were congregating right on the course)
• Logistics: 3/5 - early online registration didn't allow discounted fee via credit card; decent parking; easy same-day registration; lots of cold bottled water, soda and energy drinks at registration site; not much going on at the finish line :-(
• Overall: 2/5 - I may do it again because it is close to my house; then again, I may just do the 10 mile fun-ride with my family - get the goodies without the danger!