A view up-canyon:
The route for the Lefthand and St. Vrain 400k's are similar - the difference is the climb. Lefthand Canyon climbs 4,000 feet in about 15 miles and then you immediately come back down. St. Vrain climbs 3,500 feet in about 15 miles, and then climbs the remaining 500 feet over the next 20 miles in a series of steep rollers that are made tougher by the fact that you're at 9,250 feet which is almost 2 miles above sea level - the air is noticeably thinner, even for those of us who live in Denver and are use to altitude.
To summarize the difference: Lefthand is short and very painful, while St. Vrain is less painful, but the pain goes on and on. Either way there is a lot of pain, but the nice thing about hills is that what goes up must come down, and there are two ways to come down: you can shift to your big ring and your 11T cog and push it, or you can sit back and admire the miracle of gravity. Mostly I sit, conserve my energy and enjoy the view.
At the top of one of the rollers:
Now, the good and bad points of the ride:
The bad (I like to deal with the bad first - I don't want to dwell on it so let's get it out of the way): the squeak from hell was back. Not as bad as before, and not constant, but noticeable and embarrassing none-the-less. Of course it was loudest and most noticeable when someone was around. With 250 miles to think about it, I noticed that it always does it in the same spot of my pedal rotation and it most definitely is coming from the bottom bracket; I tried bouncing in my saddle while coasting and can not make it squeak.
I spent about 2/3's of this event riding by myself. This is actually a good thing/bad thing. I like other people and riding with others makes the time and the miles go by faster, but by myself I have quiet time to think my thoughts. I also notice things that I wouldn't notice if I'm with others. I don't have a preference either way - alone or with someone - and am comfortable accepting "what ever is".
The old stone church at the top of Wind River Pass (9,100'):
Now the Good: my plan to go back to basics and just drink water and eat mostly road kill and gels worked great. Only problem I had was at the Meeker check point - they didn't have any real food, so I bought a bag of chips and a Gatorade. The Gatorade upset my stomach - too sugary. I'll try Powerade next time and see what impact that has.
I had no problems going up St. Vrain Canyon. I left the Lyons check point with 3 riders from California and one RMCC rider I'd not met before. We dropped the RMCC rider after awhile, and I never saw him again. The 3 Californian's were an older man about 10 years younger than me, and 2 college age kids. The kids went to school at sea level and they were struggling; the older guy lived at 6,000 feet and he was fine.
He and I nursed the kids up the mountain stopping frequently so they could catch their breath and let their heart rates return to normal. I made sure they drank during these stops - I didn't want them going through the same thing I went through on Lefthand Canyon. We got them to the Meeker check point in time, and when the kids started talking about abandoning I pushed on and never saw any of them again. As I write this, not all of the results are in so I don't know if they made it or not, but if they were going to abandon, that was the perfect place to do it - pushing on would have made it much more difficult to get back if they abandoned later.
The older guy was about my speed and ability and confirmed that he was far from the slowest person in his club, which confirms my belief that I'm a normal rider in a super fast club. That's OK - we'll see how fast they are when they get my age.
Another Good: I had swapped out the cog set and rear derailleur last week and kept my triple front chainring. My cog set is now a 9 spd. 11-36 and it worked great; in the small chain ring and 36T cog I was able to climb while mostly sitting. It wasn't fast, but nothing I do is.
We've got a 600K coming up in a month that climbs Lefthand Canyon, so the weekend of July 4th I plan to ride the Lefthand Lark Permanent. I want another shot at Lefthand so that I don't have to worry about it when I'm trying to plan the 400 mile ride. A Permanent is the perfect way to test every system without worrying about it screwing up the rest of the ride.
Best Part of the Ride: approaching Masonville I came across a young girl (maybe 19 or 20) on the side of the road in a bike that could have been an 3 wheeled recumbent, or it could of been some type of traveling wheel chair - the wheels were in the back where she could reach them with her hands. My initial impression is that it was some type of sleek wheelchair, but if she had a disability, it wasn't obvious. She was just sitting there on the side of the road staring off across the lake, so I slowed down almost to a stop to see if she were OK and she assured me that she was fine. I sensed that she was wasn't and pressed the issue, but she was firm that she was OK. Our encounter lasted 30 to 45 seconds at the most, yet I liked her vibe and she sticks out in my mind as the nicest person I met that day, so she gets the Best of the Ride Award, and I truly hope she was OK. I'd been on the road about 12 hours at that point and it was hot out, so I don't think I would have talked to me either if I were her, so I don't blame her.
Best Road Kill: Glen Haven Store - it's known for it's cinnamon rolls so I was looking forward to one of those for about 30 miles. Pulled up in front and there were two elderly (which means older than me) ladies sitting on the bench eating cherry cobbler and making little happy moaning sounds. When I chatted them up while I parked my bike, they said the cobbler was great, but that they'd taken the last two. When I got in the store the clerk was just pulling a new batch out of the oven, and for an extra $1 (bringing the total to whopping $3.90) she put a scoop of ice cream on it. Got outside and the ladies were gone so I sat on the bench next to my bike and made little happy moaning sounds while I ate it. Should have had another!
Time Bank: there were 6 check points plus the final stop on this ride, and my time bank was 1:08 (one hour and 8 minutes), 2:21, 0:58, 0:46, 2:39, 3:22 and 3:55 at the finish. The 58 minute bank was the Meeker check point at the top of the Canyon and indicates that I'd lost 1:23 on the climb up the Canyon - partly from the climb, but mostly from helping the kids, and the 46 minute bank was the Glen Haven check point which was mostly a descent from Meeker, indicating that I spend a lot of time with the kids at Meeker while they decided what to do. I could have added a lot of time to my bank if I would have let them be, but that's not my style, and it's not what Randonneuring is really about - the stronger ones help the weaker ones which makes them stronger so that they can help weaker ones. People have helped me, so I pay it forward.
Mistakes/Lessons Learned: none really on the ride, but had trouble staying awake on the way home. Next time I'll take a nap before I leave the finish parking lot. Also, for the first time ever I had saddle chafing issues on the upper inside of my thighs; probably due to dampness caused by the heat.
The sun sets on my first 400K:
Changes for the Next Ride: my next big ride will be the 600K in mid-July. I'm only going to make small adjustments to my food and hydration. Given my speed, I'm projecting a 35 or 36 hour finishing time, so I'll arrange to have Mrs. Rouge pick me up and take me home since I'll be asleep before we're out of the parking lot. And I'll have to apply lubrication frequently so that I don't chafe again.
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