2007 Assault on Mount Mitchell
Ever since entering this event last year, I have been preparing for the 2007 Assault on Mount Mitchell. I won't rehash the details of the event, but let's just say it's a truly epic ride with an extremely painful final 20 miles.
This year's weather was fantastic: overcast and relatively cool (especially as we got closer and closer to the Mount Mitchell summit) with no rain during the ride. I could not have asked for better conditions. Unlike last year when the rain made group riding uncomfortable, I had planned to stay with the lead pack this year and was able to do so without incident. At times it seemed like we were taking it pretty easy, but even so we averaged 22mph for the first 82 miles of the ride.
That left just 20 miles of pure hill left to conquer, for which my training had not fully prepared me. Yes, I had done plenty of long rides leading up to Mitchell but NO NO NO I had not done any sustained climbing like this. Still, I plodded along and only had to stop one time (a two-minute break to drain and refill fluids) during the entire event.
In the end, I made my time goal with several minutes to spare (chip time: 5:42) and finished somewhere in the top 20 out of a reported field of 800 riders. I'm happy with that, but I'm already scheming for next year.
This year's weather was fantastic: overcast and relatively cool (especially as we got closer and closer to the Mount Mitchell summit) with no rain during the ride. I could not have asked for better conditions. Unlike last year when the rain made group riding uncomfortable, I had planned to stay with the lead pack this year and was able to do so without incident. At times it seemed like we were taking it pretty easy, but even so we averaged 22mph for the first 82 miles of the ride.
That left just 20 miles of pure hill left to conquer, for which my training had not fully prepared me. Yes, I had done plenty of long rides leading up to Mitchell but NO NO NO I had not done any sustained climbing like this. Still, I plodded along and only had to stop one time (a two-minute break to drain and refill fluids) during the entire event.
In the end, I made my time goal with several minutes to spare (chip time: 5:42) and finished somewhere in the top 20 out of a reported field of 800 riders. I'm happy with that, but I'm already scheming for next year.
2 Comments:
Next year, you need to spend a month in Utah leading up to the assult. The altitude and the mountain rides will prepare you for a top 10 finish!
I'm holding my breath waiting for your next post with all the gory details of your last ride.
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