Peach Pedal 100K Bike Race Report...

Hey Guys,

    My mom sent me $50 for my birthday gift a couple days ago, and I thought about what I could do with that money that would be really cool... So, instead of buying something that will eventually break or not be of value in a short period of time, I thought I would do something that  would allow me to have a memory that will not fade or decay with time. So, I registered for the 2009 Peach Pedal. This was a 100K (62 mile) bike ride through the city of Weatherford, TX. I heard the course was tough, but after living through Buffalo Springs Half Ironman a couple weeks ago, I was sure I was up for the challenge! I have never been in a bicycle race, so this was pretty cool. It turned out that over 2500 people raced this morning, and after getting stuck in the Pelaton or SEA of Bicycles for 15 minutes, I believed it! The morning was gorgeous. It started out at 80 degrees and the course setting was through farm land and beautiful Texas rolling hills, it could not have been better! A few of my friends from our Tri Club and I went for an 11 mile warm up and when we got back, it was time to roll...

     The sun was shinning, road runners were out, 9-10 mph of wind was blowing, and we were off. It was so congested for the first 15 minutes or so, then I was able to break loose. A conclusion that I have come to is that so many "Cyclists" are not as good as they think they are. Here is why I say that. I DO NOT DRAFT!!! WHY??? Because it is not legal in triathlon, and it does not show your true level of fitness!!! So with that being said, I wanted to go faster than any group / pelaton so I could say I did it on my own. Well, I didn't quite accomplish that, however I did average just over 20MPH for the 62 mile course. There were some solid rolling hills all the way through the ride, but I worked my way up them. There were people bonking left and right because they were not hydrating or replacing electrolytes... I have never seen that many casualties in Ironman!!! Anyways, the ride was gorgeous, the atmosphere was fun, and was pretty uneventful for me. I kept my head down, avoided aid station congestion by "Don'ing" the Camelbak, and was so glad I did this race.

     Some things I learned in this race... 1) I truly HATE eating on the bike!!! I do not like taking in nutrition, it sounds and tastes nasty to me no matter what it is, except Gatorade). 2) I have to learn to get past this because if I don't eat in Ironman next month, I know I will not finish. So, I have bought a variety of gels with the leftover money my mom gave me and am hoping I will find one that does not resemble "Toe Jam". I usually always take in nutrition, but probably not enough 3) Drafter's are  weak.... I love the "War" stories I heard from the guys who finished 1 minute ahead of me that were riding 100 men deep as a group... Whatever, it's all good... It's kind of like saying you bench pressed 350 pounds, but leave out the detail that the 2 guys 'Spotting" you helped a bunch. I earned my 2:56:12 time WITHOUT drafting  and am STOKED at my result. This again was a great race, well ran, great aid stations I think (I didnt  use any of them), and eveyone was very friendly. Good times...

     That's it, another cool race under my belt, a result that I am very happy with, and an awesome way to celebrate my birthday! Thanks Mom, and thanks everyone for ALWAYS supporting me in the things I choose to do. Take care and have a great weekend...Oh yeah.... I "Bricked" (ran) 2 miles after I was done with the ride.


    

Outstanding!  I'm glad it was a good day.

man that is hard-core, a 100K bike race (with no drafting), and then a brick afterwards... sounds like a good tune-up for your IM...

 Great race!!
Gonna play devils advocate here with the bike though:  I agree with what you're saying about drafting IF  you're going the same speed as is your typical workout.  I enjoy cranking it to keep up 23-24 mph on my road bike with the 'A' group at my local ride.  Going solo I'd be around 19.5-20 (some really brutal winds).  In addition to the overall speed they do sprints and for a sucker like me I find myself being abandoned at the front to pull for the last 1/4 mile and then pedaling my a$$ off trying to stay with them at 28-30 on the flats.  I think there's room for both kinds -- but if the group isn't pushing you I agree us triathletes probably shouldn't be group riding.

Yo Big daddy.... I have no prob with the people who enjoy road biking and enjoy group riding etc... but don't let me catch ANY of those dudes talking about how slow some people were riding that were'nt in a group, and bang their chest like they were the greatest cyclist that ever lived, when they were riding 80 deep, that's all. Group rides ain't my thing, to each his own, but I was just a little chapped when these 40 year old "Haughty" types were talking smack about people who weren't sucking on wheels, that's all. No biggie, just bent out of shape after what I heard them fools saying, and it gave me an even greater sense of accomplishment to know I was only 1 minute behind those "Great" cyclists (because I don't consider myself a great cyclist yet). Take care bro...

 Chad's had some of the same experience with roadies -- it's too bad.  Maybe I've just found a great local group of guys to ride with.  They push me and even when I've gotten dropped they ask how we did and are impressed with how close we were able to keep with them.  
That's the difference in tri -- it's just so about our race and our results that even for the leaders they're happy for everybody who crosses the line.  I'm not sure what it's like for the other ironman events but it seems like in Hawaii many of the early finishers come back for the 11 pm - midnight finishers.  How many of the guys you rode with would've done that?  
On a different note -- you do the ride on your road bike?  Thinking about some fall centuries and I'm thinking of doing them on my tri bike and doing no drafting during the ride but not sure how that'd be veiwed

Great b-day present!  Sounds like you had a really good ride.

I've had the same experience with some of the athletes here in my town.  Kind of an elitist group and not the best sportsmanship a lot of the time.  The running group is great, but the tri and cycling groups leave something to be desired.  That's the main reason I won't join the tri club even though I could get some really good training.

Anyway, great ride!

Linn 

Sounds like you had fun. What a great birthday present!

For the bike nutrition, have you considered making your own gels? My big problem is that I can't eat a whole gel at a time so I'm thinking about getting a gel flask. But, if I do that, I don't have to buy ready-made gels. Hmm.

Congrats on the ride today Dan.

I tried some different gels on my ride today.  I liked the mocha from Gu, did not like the orange from Hammer.  I have a baggie of gels in the cupboard.  I'm slowly going through them.
I have a couple gel flasks for the future.  When I confirm which one I like the best, I'm going to buy one of the large bottles of it and fill the flasks.

I also put together my own drink, because I don't care for the flavor of most of the electrolyte drinks.

For me it was 2 scoops of protein powerder berry flavored, 2 electrolyte tablets from Nunn, and then 2 packets of sugar free coolaid for the flavor.  I get all the electrolytes, some protein and the fluid in whatever flavor I want, with none of the sugar that most of the drinks have.

Scott

Great report.  Congrats on your time too.
You guys are gonna goat me into getting my bike out and try some jog/ride bricks it this keeps up!!!  I already have a friend from Church that has been bitten by the biking bug and has transformed herself and loves biking n the early evenings.
The temptation is building.