Clip out…clip out…clip out…clip out…
That was a constant companion phrase circulating my thoughts all day today, but it didn’t help. Yes, as all my cycling buddies warned me, going with clipless pedals will result in at least one fall. So I fell! My hope is that my fall today has removed this cycling right-of-passage from my training! But probably not…
I rode with Team ETC (Energy Transfer Company) today. The route was tough, lots and lots of hills. We headed out from just northeast of Boerne, riding for 37 miles to and back from Kendalia. The curious thing was the new sensation of power in my pedal on the up stroke, given my new pedals and shoes. My struggle before on hills was my ability, with cages, to just “mash” the pedal down with my thigh muscle, with my up-hill speed languishing around 4-5 MPH. But today, I was very happy with speeds of above 8 MPH on equivalent hills.
TALE OF THE COMPUTER:
Average cadence: 62
Distance: 36.8 miles
Average speed: 11.5 MPH (very hilly)
**Maximum speed: 38.3 MPH (oh yes, I remember this hill)
Trip time: 3:10 hours
I rode with Team ETC (Energy Transfer Company) today. The route was tough, lots and lots of hills. We headed out from just northeast of Boerne, riding for 37 miles to and back from Kendalia. The curious thing was the new sensation of power in my pedal on the up stroke, given my new pedals and shoes. My struggle before on hills was my ability, with cages, to just “mash” the pedal down with my thigh muscle, with my up-hill speed languishing around 4-5 MPH. But today, I was very happy with speeds of above 8 MPH on equivalent hills.
TALE OF THE COMPUTER:
Average cadence: 62
Distance: 36.8 miles
Average speed: 11.5 MPH (very hilly)
**Maximum speed: 38.3 MPH (oh yes, I remember this hill)
Trip time: 3:10 hours
TEAM ETC
My thanks to the team for taking me up on my fundraising offer: I'll wear any team jersey for photographs, and join the team on a training ride. I'll post the photograph of the jersey on the event website, all for a donation of $50. The photograph was taken at the Hanse residence, where they put on a party for the team and their volunters. I'm waiting for a copy of the image so I can post on my website. Alas, I had another early-afternoon team comitment in Kerrville, so had to leave shortly after the end of the ride. Those I rode with were a lot of fun, when I saw them! There was a time when I was NOT the last person in the group, but the folks behind me sagged in, so I ended up being the back of the pack, as usual!
THE GLORIOUS HILL
The route was Highway 474 north to Highway 473 east to Kendalia. We turned south on Edge Falls Road until we hit Highway 3351, continued south again until we turned west back into the sub-division where we started, the home of one of ETC’s executives Lee hanse and his charming wife, Libby. Not sure now exactly where this hill was, but it went across Curry Creek, and while it was the most thrilling experience I’ve had on a bike so far, my hands had subconsciously covered the brake handles. But at those speeds (above 30MPH) I would have had little chance of correcting any poor judgment on my part using breaks, right?
THE CRASH
The street name says it all: Edge Falls Road! This was a mammoth hill. I had built up some reasonable speed, and even called out to a couple of my riding buddies “on your left, I don’t want to stop.” Within 5 feet I had lost my speed, and my forward momentum was quickly deteriorating. I was frantically shifting, looking for the Granny gear when the chain came off the front assembly. So you all know what happened next: no forward momentum, legs (clipped in) spinning frantically but with no gear resistance, and so over I went THUD on the road. I guess the good thing out of this was that the fall took place from a dead stop, since all forward motion had ended. Anyway, I quickly unclipped while laying on the road. Pulled myself up, brushed myself off, and began walking up this behemoth hill until I could find a flat spot to get back on my bike.
SCENERY
I rode over a diamond-back Rattle Snake today, a recent road kill and the closest I want to be, thank you very much! I swirved around several quite dead Armadillos, and ducked at one time when several Turkey Vultures descended across in front of me to join a dozen or more of their buddies tearing into a road-kill deer.
I rode up 3 hills today that I believe were a steeper grades than the Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge. You’ll remember, the bridge is the new route to the Finish Line of the Valero Bike to the Beach. So I’m very pleased with my performance.
Off to Cibolo on Sunday, for a 7 am start with a group from Velo Valero.
C ya on the road! Tony.
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