znfdl
04-15-2008, 08:17 AM
The ride4melanoma team had its first team training ride, with the RV and two support vehicles last Friday night. We decided to conduct this ride with a true RAAM feel. Friday schedule, get up at 5am and go to work. Meet the team and drive out to West Virginia and start riding at 11 PM.
The team rode from time station 45: Smithburg WV to time station 52: Mt Airy MD. The climbing chart is located at the following hyperlink.
http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/route/2008/08CSFChart.pdf
These 8 time stations contain almost 25% of the total climbing for the race in only 355 miles or about 12% of the race. The 4 of us averaged about 17mph for this section.
The schedule was that two riders would slit a 6 hour shift by riding every other hour. The terrain of this section is what I describe as East Coast Climbing at its best.
Here is the description of this section from the RAAM Book:
RAAM crosses the Ohio River and enters West Virginia on US highway 50, through busy Parkersburg, and starts a series of climbs through the Appalachian Mountains. As the road narrows, it climbs over the Eastern Divide at 3,000 feet above sea level, and then climbs again to the ominously named Mt. Storm before dropping into Maryland. Some of the most intense grades of the entire race are found on scenic US 40 in the forty miles between Cumberland and Hancock. The fourth of these climbs, Sideling Hill, subjects Racers to a 1,000-foot ascent in two miles.
Each of my teammates was going full out for each of our legs. I personally was pedaling in the high 300 watt area for each of the climbs. When I got off the bike after approximately an hour I was spent. After my leg, I would eat and drink something in the car and get a 30 minute cat nap, until my next leg.
After the 6 hour shift, we would get some blissful sleep in the RV and a good meal.
It was a great training ride and we learned a lot about the team and the support crew during this training session. After being up for almost 48 hours with about 4 hours of sleep, it was a good simulation.
More stories to come.
The team rode from time station 45: Smithburg WV to time station 52: Mt Airy MD. The climbing chart is located at the following hyperlink.
http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/route/2008/08CSFChart.pdf
These 8 time stations contain almost 25% of the total climbing for the race in only 355 miles or about 12% of the race. The 4 of us averaged about 17mph for this section.
The schedule was that two riders would slit a 6 hour shift by riding every other hour. The terrain of this section is what I describe as East Coast Climbing at its best.
Here is the description of this section from the RAAM Book:
RAAM crosses the Ohio River and enters West Virginia on US highway 50, through busy Parkersburg, and starts a series of climbs through the Appalachian Mountains. As the road narrows, it climbs over the Eastern Divide at 3,000 feet above sea level, and then climbs again to the ominously named Mt. Storm before dropping into Maryland. Some of the most intense grades of the entire race are found on scenic US 40 in the forty miles between Cumberland and Hancock. The fourth of these climbs, Sideling Hill, subjects Racers to a 1,000-foot ascent in two miles.
Each of my teammates was going full out for each of our legs. I personally was pedaling in the high 300 watt area for each of the climbs. When I got off the bike after approximately an hour I was spent. After my leg, I would eat and drink something in the car and get a 30 minute cat nap, until my next leg.
After the 6 hour shift, we would get some blissful sleep in the RV and a good meal.
It was a great training ride and we learned a lot about the team and the support crew during this training session. After being up for almost 48 hours with about 4 hours of sleep, it was a good simulation.
More stories to come.