I had planned on borrowing Mark?s GPS and testing out a course in my neighborhood that I thought would be perfect for a lobster qualifier ride on my KH-29. I have a Nimbus 36 on order but I?m in a race between Jan 1st for team registration and the VT weather.
The furthest I have ever ridden a unicycle so far is 14 miles, just 2 days ago. I?m still hurting!
But, the weather looked good for the today and tomorrow (I repeat, ?for today AND tomorrow?), so after picking up the GPS I figured today was good for a first attempt. It was chilly, with a high around 40, but really not too bad.
I had a carefully planned route that I thought was ideal for the 29? and my (lack of) ability. I wanted to avoid busy streets, unnecessary stops and be close to home for anything needed. It was a loop around my neighborhood of 2.17 miles with 141 feet gain/drop.
I had already played around with the ratings calculator, so I knew I needed 18 laps. I knew if I did one extra, 19, I would only need 18 tomorrow to make 150 points with the carryover.
I started around 9:30, and just started pedaling away. I decided to rest every few laps at the house for a circulation break, refuel, and anything else I needed.
After lap 7, my awesome wife, Kelly, stopped by from work and took some photos.
After that everything fell into an almost endless rhythm of riding and quick breaks every few laps. There were a couple hail storms on laps 14 and 15, but nothing too bad.
Laps 16 and 17 sucked. I was getting tired but after a quick break I had renewed energy and finished up the 19 laps as planned in 5 hours 15 minutes (about 4:45 riding time).
I was sore and tired, but not as bad as I expected, since I didn?t think I could ride that far at all!
Total distance: 66.7 km (41.45 miles)
Elevation gain/drop: 817 meters (2680 feet)
Rating for Day 1 : 140 (nothing subjective)
11/28/2007
278
200 hundred days until the Lobster!
Had a restless night sleep. Looked out the window to see 4 inches of fresh snow. WHAT!!! This WAS NOT in the forecast. Yikes!
I checked out at the road. It was worse than I thought. On the road it had melted as it fell, then froze before more snow fell. They had plowed the snow off the top leaving a ¼ inch layer of ice you could barely stand on. No salt at all. Crap!
I didn?t want to waste yesterday?s ride. I felt relatively good, I just needed a solution.
Since I didn?t start yesterday until 9:30 and still had some daylight left at the end of the day I decided to give it till 10 am for the sun to break through the ice.
10 am and still a sheet of ice. No change at all. I needed a new plan!
I received an email from a friend that said the roads were in good shape outside of Williston (my town) so I packed up the car with the every piece of winter clothing I could fins and some sports drink and hot chocolate and went searching.
I eventually found a great loop in a development of townhouses. I did a loop in the car with the GPS and found it to be 0.81 miles with around 100 feet gain/drop per loop. Basically it was all a hill except for a flat area at the bottom where I parked. Plenty of elevation per mile, perfect for a 29? attempt.
It was 11:00 am. Not a moment to waste.
Lap 1 : I guessed I would need to do about 40 laps, I guessed that the extra elevation per mile would balance out less distance. I figured I would rest every 5 laps for a circulation and fuel break. This worked out well and I did it right through the ride.
Lap 6 : Photo lap. I took a bunch of photos as best I could while riding. Doing the lap without gloves wasn?t smart! Big relief to get my hands warmed up once I was back to the car.
Lap 17 : I realized the GPS had been stopped somehow, maybe a lap or 2 earlier. It must have been the cuff on my glove. I restarted it.
Lap 20 : Even though I?m wearing the same hiking boots I use for snow shoeing, my feet are freezing. I take a break and sit in the car with the heater running and drink hot chocolate for a few minutes.
Lap 30 : Another break. Because of the tangle up with the GPS around lap 17 I decide to stop the GPS timer and start it fresh from Lap 31 to 40 so I can work out the elevation later to apply it to the whole ride. I try to call Kelly to tell her how I?m doing but the cell phone dies mid-call. Maybe it?s cold too?
Lap 40 : Another warm up break. I?m very worried this won?t be enough. I don?t know exactly what the elevation will turn out to be. I don?t want to come out in the dark and do more. I?m tired, and very sore, but I decide to do 5 more laps?
Lap 45 : I realize I?m not sure I can dismount. It?s as if I?m on autopilot. All I seem to know how to do is keep riding. I come up to the car, the unicycle clatters to the ground and I fall on the car. It?s not graceful but it worked.
I?m done.
I?m worried the whole way home that I haven?t done enough. I download the data, plug the numbers into the Rating Calculator . . . .
YES YES YES I?ve done it!
I?m so relieved! I call Kelly at work. I call Mark. I send out email. I can?t sit down, I?m so relieved and excited!
Total Distance: 58.7 km (36.5 miles)
Elevation gain/drop: 1138 meters (3733 feet)
Rating for Day 2 : 278 (listing all 58.7 km as Extreme Temp)
Note: Without counting this as an extreme temp ride (no subjective rating) it would have been a rating of 193. So, I did it either way, but I?m sticking to the 278 because the temperature, wind chill, and being soaked from sweat all day in the cold were probably more of a factor than the endless hill riding and the distance.