Beaumont Texas – 6/2/2012

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/688789

The Spindletop ride gave me a great opportunity to achieve one of my cycling goals, completing a 100-mile ride in less than five hours. I fell short, but was close.

My riding partner Robert Parker suggested the challenge several months before by attempting to do the Fiesta Wildflower 100-mile ride in less than five hours. We failed because of the nearly 3000+ feet of hills. One hundred miles in that amount of time is not easy, especially with hills. It means you must ride the whole distance averaging at least 20mph without stopping. I’ve been told by runners that it’s similar to running a marathon in less than three hours and 30 minutes. Not a lot of people can do it, but really good runners or elite runners can easily do it.

The Spindletop ride is completely flat, only 361 feet of climb for the entire route. This is the flattest of any event I have participated. The Katy Flatland 100 has 590ft of climb and the Hotter than Hell 100 has more than 1300ft of climb, both of which are considered flat rides. The Spindletop ride also has few turns and goes through heavily wooded countryside, thus minimizing the wind. In some places the route has several legs with 20 miles of straight riding. This minimizes the need to slow down for turns and waste energy accelerating. Spindletop appeared to be the perfect ride for speed and possibly achieving the “under 5 hour or 20mph average goal.”  It also became a good excuse to go back to where I spent time in college.

Preparing for the Ride

As soon as I finished the Real Ale ride (5/19/2012) with its abundance of hills, I had two weeks to train on flat ground. That’s hard to do in San Antonio. The only place I know to be flat is nowhere close. A small town southwest of San Antonio called Castroville offers a 15-mile stretch of road that has 300 feet of climb, still sufficiently more that Spindletop, but no real hills on the route.

The week before Spindeltop, I rode the Castroville route on Saturday (60 miles) and Sunday (50 miles). Due to the 15-20mph wind, I had trouble with the 20mph pace, but it did give a feeling of how to ride a steady pace over long distances. Plus, it allowed me to test a four-bottle hydration system with hoses attached to each bottle.

I made the road trip to Beaumont with Robert Parker, his girlfriend Krista and son Ben.  We left Friday afternoon and arrived at the hotel a bit late. We got delayed at a Houston restaurant which put is in a little before midnight. I only got 4 hours of sleep. Not good, but I don’t think it affected me much.

As a pre-ride warm-up we chose to ride our bikes from the hotel to the start of the ride, about 2.5 miles down Calder Ave. About halfway down, we encountered a stopped train. We had to wait about 15 minutes before we could cross the tracks — very frustrating. We arrived just minutes before the start and Robert still had to register and I still had to pick up my race number. Robert and I got to the start about 30 seconds before they said, “Go.”

The Ride

The plan: Hold a steady pace (around 21 mph) throughout the ride, while drafting behind packs of other riders and tag team between the two of us to the finish. For the first 10 miles we headed west down Calder and Phelan Blvd on super flat and smooth concrete. Compared to the hills and chip seal asphalt roads around San Antonio, this was heaven. During this time, my heart rate averaged no more than 136bpm, many time staying below 130bpm. That is very low for me, which made it an easy section of the ride. When I’m riding the hills around San Antonio, my heart has gone above 200bpm.

Somewhere before we got to the 15-mile mark, Robert had a flat. This is the second event in a row that he’s been burdened with a flat. I felt guilty but kept going, feeling I should have stopped. I knew he could easily fix it on his own, but not stopping caused me to regret that throughout the ride.

At roughly the 15-mile mark we headed south for the next five miles, averaging 20.5 mph. I eased into this section and engaged in conversation with a lady named Lee; also a very good rider.

As we got to China (the city, not the country!), we passed the first rest stop, complete with a group of dancing girls dressed in cowboy style burlesque dresses. That definitely got my attention, but I still kept on riding.

We went though China and then turned west on Old Highway 90 for about four miles, averaging 22.3 mph with my heart rate averaging 127bpm. Still easy riding as we hit Highway 326 at the 23-mile mark, then turned and headed north for the next 21 miles.

Seven miles up 326 came the town of Sour Lake and at that point, we averaged 22.5 mph, with an average heart rate of 134bpm. Again, easy riding as we hit Sour Lake and the next rest stop (30 mile mark). Everybody in the lead pack stopped to rest. It caught me by surprise, but I kept going.

Based on my best knowledge, I now rode alone and became the lead rider for the 100- mile ride. Fighting the wind alone, I slowed my pace to around 20mph. Even with reduced speed, my heart rate average quickly went up to 153bpm.

Then three other guys caught up to me a few miles outside of Sour Lake. They asked to team up to rotate buffering the wind. For the next 28 miles (13 miles going north on 326 and 15 miles going west on 770), we rode as a small pack. Of the four of us, one guy liked to push the pace up to 22 mph.  When I lead, I stayed between 20 and 21mph and the other two guys struggled a bit leading the pack at 18 to 20 mph. As I led the pack, my heart rate went up to the mid 170s bpm and when I followed the pack, my heart rate dropped to the mid 140s bpm. That shows the advantage of riding with a pack versus going against the wind alone. Over the entire 28-mile distance, we averaged 20.6 mph.

As we hit the 60-mile mark, we came to the next rest stop. To that point my average speed for the entire ride held at a very good 21.1 mph. The group turned off to stop and rest while I kept going, turning left on 105. As I past the rest stop, another guy came out and up beside me. That surprised me because I thought I had become the leader, but I remembered back before we hit the 30-mile rest stop that I’d seen one person jump out in front and pull away from the pack. Minutes later, I remember looking up again and I didn’t see him. I assumed he had dropped back with the pack. I assumed wrong because he apparently sped up and went out of sight as the true lead rider. I told the rider I’d not stopped yet which surprised him.

This guy looked like a triathlete – a very strong rider, but small and thin. He also had a PowerTap power meter on his bike. Only serious riders have those because they are very expensive, ranging from $1000 to $3000.

Typical with many triathlon riders he wanted to lead, although I offered to switch the lead with him. Because we were now heading southeast, we headed into a tough wind. Due to his size, he wasn’t that much help in drafting the wind, but I still took advantage of it.

He frequently tired against the wind and waved me forward, so he could rest behind me. As soon as he rested, he went back to the lead. We did this type of lead switching for the next 24 miles.

Somewhere between the 70 and 75-mile mark, he told me he was starting to get cramps in his legs and said he wanted to slow down. I, too, felt the fatigue and welcomed the slower pace. Although we really didn’t slow down, we did considerably more switching for the lead, as he tired more quickly. For the total 24 miles we averaged 20.7 mph and my average heart rate went up to 152bpm, indicating even more fatigue. For the total ride up to that point (84 miles), I held an average speed of 21 mph (excellent). Although tired, I felt confident of achieving my goal of at least 20 mph average for the total ride.

After 24 miles of straight riding down Highway 105, just past the 84-mile mark, we hit a sudden right turn. My new partner cleanly made the turn but I missed it while not paying attention and had to stop my bike and restart. That messed up my rhythm and I lost my partner.

With the turn, I then headed directly into a strong southerly wind that left me with no energy to catch up to my partner that rode about 100 yards ahead. My average speed slowed to 15 mph and my average heart rate jumped up to 175bpm. The wind drained me. My partner slowly gained distance from me even though he rode not much faster than me.

Only three miles long, this leg of the route felt like 50 miles. It took everything I had to ride against the wind. Finally the route made a left turn toward the east at the 87-mile mark.

Despite being exhausted, I remained determined to make the whole trip without stopping (my average speed at that point 20.6 mph, still a good pace). However, one last rest stop stood at the 87.5-mile mark and when I came to it, I stopped. I was too tempted to pass it by. I sat down in the shade, drank two cups of cold water and put an ice cold towel over my head, not realizing how hot and tired I was until I sat down. Although the official temperature climbed into the 80s at that time, the direct sun bearing down on my Garmin bike computer showed 102 degrees.

To my surprise, the lead rider that I previously rode with for 24 miles also stopped, as I saw him get back on his bike and take off. I wanted to ride with him, but I just didn’t have the energy to get up. I stayed at the rest stop a total of 12 minutes, then got back on my bike and headed east. Because of the time at the rest stop my average speed dropped to 19.6 mph (averaging in 0 mph for 12 minutes). Disappointment set in as I knew at that point I couldn’t go fast enough for the rest of the trip to get my average speed back up to 20 mph.

Knowing that the actual ride would be less than 100 miles (somewhere between 95 and 97 miles), I focused on still trying to complete the ride less than five hours (giving up on averaging at least 20 mph). I picked up my pace to near 20 mph again, going from Dishman Rd to Delaware St, but then I hit the N. Maple intersection where I had to wait on a red light for more than a minute. This happened to me several more times as I entered the heart of the city, turning on W. Lucas and then Laurel St. to get to the downtown finish. The intersection lights became my only frustration with the ride; it slowed my average speed down to a measly 16.5 mph for the last seven miles.

Finished

I crossed the finish going under the Crockett Street arch and then set the bike down to get a cold Gatorade drink. Then I saw Margaret Golias (Broeder). I haven’t seen her since college, 30 years ago. Relishing in a chance to catch up, we sat in the shade under a tree for about 30 minutes talking about the past years.

Then Robert Parker rode through the finish. The flat tire caused him to turn the event into a pure pleasure ride, hitting every rest stop along the way and eating everything they offered. After taking a shower back at the hotel we went to Pappadeaux’s Restaurant. Margaret picked up Teri Tiner Gautreaux and met us at the restaurant. We all ate and talked for the next hour. I really enjoyed seeing Margaret and Teri after the race.

As for the ride, I did finish the 95.4 miles in less than five hours (4 hours and 57 minutes to be exact), averaging 19.2 mph. If you take out the one 12-minute rest stop and the stop at the intersections, my average moving speed was 20.3 mph, not bad. I’m guessing, but I think there were only three to four people making the trip faster than me, but it’s difficult to say since the race had no official timing.

If the ride distance had been a true 100 miles, I would not have finished in less than five hours. I ask myself, what will it take to achieve that ultimate goal of 100 miles in five hours (20mph average). If I didn’t hit that three mile stretch starting at the 84 mile mark going against the wind, I would have easily finished in less than five hours. Remember, at the 84-mile mark my average speed stood at 21 mph. If I continued at 21 mph, I would have finished 100 miles in four hours and 45 minutes with 15 minutes to spare.

Even with the three-mile stretch into the wind, I could have made it in less than five hours, if I had not taken the last rest stop. I thought no more rest stops remained at that point and my mind was set on finishing the ride without stopping. It would have been painful (very painful) but I could have gutted it out. My average speed after all that wind was still 20.6 mph, plenty of room to finish over 20 mph.

Even with the three-mile stretch and the rest stop, I (we) could have finished in less than five hours, if my riding partner (Robert Parker) did not have a flat tire. Robert is such a strong rider; we could have easily tag teamed through the wind with plenty of energy and time to finish under our original plan — under five hours.

With all that said, I am still very pleased with achieving 95.4 miles in four hours and 57 minutes, plus going non-stop for 88 miles.

Maybe someday I’ll do a true 100 miles in less five hours total time. Someday.

Final Note

The Spindeltop Spin is an extremely well organized ride. No questions ever existed about whether I was headed in the right direction. At every turn, people and signs pointed the way. It’s easy to get lost when you are dead tired, but not on this ride. Also the rest stops had super friendly faces, food, drinks and cold towels (love those iced towels). And the final rest stop (the finish) overflowed with free food, drinks, snow cones and beer (yes even free beer). Can’t beat that.