Addendum to our crazy rides!
A must:
Ride of the immortals!
138 miles, 17,500' of Climbing
Epic
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Michigan Mountain Mayhem 2011
The first of our stupid rides was attempted on June 11. Michigan Mountain Mayhem (MMM)'s particular challenge is that the climbs are all relatively short, but comparatively steep. Therefore, throughout the ride the cyclist's tempo is continuously changing.
Our day began early, leaving the hotel at 6:30 a.m. to ride the the starting line. Torrential downpours caused the official start to get delayed, but our timing chips were able to be activated at 7:15 so we took off into the horrid weather. For the first hour, we kept up a particularly high pace simply trying to keep warm in the cold rain. The hills are mostly uniformly distributed throughout the ride, and there wasn't anything of particular note until we got past the 45 mile mark, where we hit one of the two notorious climbs of the ride - the optional "Super Hill" which, as it turns out, people were being ordered to not do because of the weather.
We of course didn't get this memo, and happily attempted this optional climb which tops out at 29%. All was well until about half way up, when Evan's rear hub self-destructed. Thinking he had simply dropped his chain and knowing I wouldn't be able to keep going on the bike if I stopped, I kept climbing. At the top I thought I had to wait an awfully long time for him to catch up... whoops. Not realizing what really had happened to his bike, we continued for another couple miles before another climb completely finished off his hub. Great sadness!
So I was left on my own with more than half the ride to complete on my own. For the next several hours, I attempted to find other riders who were interested in maintaining a moderately rapid pace like mine... and failed because the horrible weather made most of the folks near my fitness level drop down from the 200k route to the 160k. So, I was left trying to chase the legitimately crazy riders for the last 70 miles. Whee!
Fortunately, the rain stopped about half way through the ride. Nevertheless, my bike very emphatically informed me that it was unhappy with the abuse being heaped on it. None of my shifting was working properly after about the halfway point, and I had to periodically stop and tighten one of my crank arms which insisted on loosening. Despite that I was rather fortunate - a large number of riders had to drop out with technical failures on their fancy bikes / components.
Overall, it was a fairly epic adventure. The horrible weather certainly made life more interesting, and being able to complete it only a couple months after Oliver was born made it even more fulfilling. Because of the technical failure on Evan's bike, we of course feel that there must be a rematch some time in the future.
Our day began early, leaving the hotel at 6:30 a.m. to ride the the starting line. Torrential downpours caused the official start to get delayed, but our timing chips were able to be activated at 7:15 so we took off into the horrid weather. For the first hour, we kept up a particularly high pace simply trying to keep warm in the cold rain. The hills are mostly uniformly distributed throughout the ride, and there wasn't anything of particular note until we got past the 45 mile mark, where we hit one of the two notorious climbs of the ride - the optional "Super Hill" which, as it turns out, people were being ordered to not do because of the weather.
We of course didn't get this memo, and happily attempted this optional climb which tops out at 29%. All was well until about half way up, when Evan's rear hub self-destructed. Thinking he had simply dropped his chain and knowing I wouldn't be able to keep going on the bike if I stopped, I kept climbing. At the top I thought I had to wait an awfully long time for him to catch up... whoops. Not realizing what really had happened to his bike, we continued for another couple miles before another climb completely finished off his hub. Great sadness!
So I was left on my own with more than half the ride to complete on my own. For the next several hours, I attempted to find other riders who were interested in maintaining a moderately rapid pace like mine... and failed because the horrible weather made most of the folks near my fitness level drop down from the 200k route to the 160k. So, I was left trying to chase the legitimately crazy riders for the last 70 miles. Whee!
Fortunately, the rain stopped about half way through the ride. Nevertheless, my bike very emphatically informed me that it was unhappy with the abuse being heaped on it. None of my shifting was working properly after about the halfway point, and I had to periodically stop and tighten one of my crank arms which insisted on loosening. Despite that I was rather fortunate - a large number of riders had to drop out with technical failures on their fancy bikes / components.
Overall, it was a fairly epic adventure. The horrible weather certainly made life more interesting, and being able to complete it only a couple months after Oliver was born made it even more fulfilling. Because of the technical failure on Evan's bike, we of course feel that there must be a rematch some time in the future.
Hello, World!
So the point of this blog is to track the shenanigans of the two Brothers Mosby as they endeavor to complete a lifetime goal of participating in as many stupidly-hard cycling events as possible. A preliminary list of events under consideration:
California:
Death Ride
Davis Double
King of the Mountains Challenge
Solvang Double
Mulholland Double
Tour of the Unknown Coast
Heartbreak Double
Tour of Two Forests
Terrible Two
Solvang Autumn Double
Colorado:
Triple Bypass
The Grand Loop
Denver to Aspen Classic
CO Death Ride
Michigan:
Michigan Mountain Mayhem
Naturally, being a blog this will be a living document. The ride list will undoubtedly change, and the posts will cover training and other topics over the course of the next multiple years. It's going to be fun!
California:
Death Ride
Davis Double
King of the Mountains Challenge
Solvang Double
Mulholland Double
Tour of the Unknown Coast
Heartbreak Double
Tour of Two Forests
Terrible Two
Solvang Autumn Double
Colorado:
Triple Bypass
The Grand Loop
Denver to Aspen Classic
CO Death Ride
Michigan:
Michigan Mountain Mayhem
Naturally, being a blog this will be a living document. The ride list will undoubtedly change, and the posts will cover training and other topics over the course of the next multiple years. It's going to be fun!
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