Hour of Power and then some

I rolled out of bed early Saturday morning and slid into my cycling gear. My plan was to get as many miles as I could before heading over to Sunshine Cycle Shop for the Hour of Power. Once I finished the group ride, my plan was to finish up enough miles to complete my July century.

As soon as I got my bike out and on the concrete of my driveway the rain started to fall. My first thought was, "Oh great!" However, the more I thought about it the happier I became. The rain was a soft one and I would much rather ride in a cool gentle rain than hot muggy air.

I picked up about 15 miles by riding down to Cleveland Park and then heading over to Pleasantburg Drive. I arrived at the shop right before the group headed out for the normal Hour of Power. I might be able to finish the ride with around 40 miles on my 100.

There was no plan to do any of the sprinting. I knew how I would be feeling around 80 miles so I've matured in that aspect of my riding! I just hung around the back conserving my energy.

About halfway through the ride the rain came back. At that point the group split in two with one half heading back to the shop and the other half (the one I was in) continuing on to the quarry road. Even if it was raining, I needed the miles so I was determined to do the entire course.

On the quarry road there were no heavy hitters. I was feeling really good! Maybe I'll do some warm up riding before the next HOP I go on. Halfway up the climb I passed Billy and just kept the rhythm. As I neared the top I glanced back and saw Billy right on my wheel.

I motioned for him to come on around me because I wasn't going to contest the sprint. Billy came up beside me and stayed there. We both rolled across the sprint line together.

That is pretty much how it progressed through the rest of the ride. When I rolled into the the shop my computer showed 46 miles. Now it was time to go collect the next 54.

I started back toward my house and then down to Cleveland Park. The thought of doing more laps there didn't appeal to me, but I did two anyway so that I could safely keep my climbs over Paris Mountain to a minimum.

The next adjustment to my route was to go up McDaniel to Augusta Road. I continued to downtown and turned onto Main Street. After a left on Board Street, I headed out on the old USA Cycling Professional Championship course. Next stop... Paris Mountain.

Once past the KOM on Altamont Road I was sitting on 70 miles. I figured if I picked up a few miles here and a few miles there, I could avoid having to climb the mountain again. I started taking some of the side roads off of Altamont in order to pick up more miles.

By the time I reached my house I only had 18 miles left. I started back toward Cleveland Park. Once I hit the 95 mile mark, I started up to downtown. Then I headed toward home on East North Street. By making a couple more side street turns, I rolled into home with 100 miles.

I'm very happy with the way I managed the ride. I kept hydrated and fueled. Utilizing the Hour of Power was a good move. It was a structured ride, but more importantly I was able to enjoy some fellowship along the way. What a difference it makes when you're not all alone out there.

The Bike Doctor

Here is a video with some short clips of the ride I took on Hilton Head Island.



It was lots of fun. A big thank you to the guys at The Bike Doctor.