Long loop thoughts
I feel like I dodged a bullet doing the long loop this past weekend. A lot of the fast riders were out of town at a race. I also benefitted from a higher than average number of red lights, or so I was told. Nonetheless, I put the date as a goal in my calendar at the start of the year, trained pretty hard on the bike to prepare, and achieved the goal on the date I had set.
The ride over was uneventful. I have done the short loop many times, and I have never needed to go before a ride. Maybe it was the nerves, or maybe it was all of the fluid I took in in anticipation of the ride, but I was in dire need of a restroom. I found a secluded spot behind the shopping center and felt much better. The group left the parking lot and began the warm-up. Unbelievably, I found myself needing to urinate again right before the hard part of the ride began. Nothing I could do but ignore it.
As the group turns off of San Jose onto Beauclerc, there is a quick acceleration. Nothing major, but you do have to put it in the big ring and get out of the saddle. Then it is a steady tempo ride down Beauclerc until we turn left on Scott Mill. Another acceleration, but again, nothing remarkable. Shortly before the 295 overpass there was a massive surge. I had to shift up a couple of gears and get on the rivet when I saw Mike take off. I was on the edge of the road and I had to get over to the far left and pass the folks in front of me because they weren't going. I caught the breakaway and rode a couple of wheels behind Mike. Because of construction on Scott Mill, we had to take the detour right after the overpass to San Jose and then resume the course at Mandarin Road. Riding along San Jose was a steady tempo, not much faster than the warm-up. But the minute we turned onto Mandarin Road, it was hammer time.
The pace was brisk, but the group had to slow down for a pick-up pulling a trailer down the narrow part of Mandarin Road. Seeing a pack of rabid cyclists in his rearview, the driver was kind enough to pull over onto the shoulder and let us pass. The pace had dropped to 10-15 MPH at that point, and after the pass it was another acceleration. Around Mandarin Road was a hard, steady effort. I maintained my position in the middle of the pack.
We approached Flynn Road. This is where the long loop and short loop diverge. Time to put up or shut up. I made the right turn with the long loopers, and the pace eased up a bit as we headed for San Jose again. I knew after we turned right onto San Jose there would be another massive acceleration over the bridge into Fruit Cove. No problems getting across the bridge, and I worked my way forward as we approached the right turn onto Fruit Cove Road. Again, another acceleration, but I stayed with the pack. There seemed to be a bit of yoyo-ing in this stretch, and I found myself feathering the brakes a couple of times. I hate doing that. We worked our way through a neighborhood, and it was back onto SR 13.
Here is a tricky part, because we have to turn left into the Julington Creek subdivision. We didn't get the green arrow and a couple of cars going in the opposite direction went through the intersection. There was a gap, and a couple of guys hit it and made it through. Then the cars coming at us stopped, even though they had green, and allowed us to go. Through the Julington Creek subdivision, there were some good accelerations and I think we lost a fair number of folks. I'm not sure because I didn't want any part of hanging around the tail. We crossed Racetrack Road and began hammering on Bishop Estates. At this point, I must have become complacent, because Mike pulled up next to me and told me to look back. There wasn't anyone there! Crickey! I started working a little harder and worked my way up the group. Then I heard the group groan.
Yikes! Someone hit a squirrel. His twitching body lay in the middle of the road as I zoomed by. There is a quick right-right combination that the ride makes to get back to SR 13 and head back to the start. The second right is challenging because it is at a high rate of speed, and if you swing too far, you might end up like the squirrel. I swung a little too far, and almost ended up smacking a white minivan in the lane next to the bike lane. I can remember looking in the passenger window at the driver and the passenger. Not sure who was freaking out more. The good news is I didn't get killed and was in position for the next acceleration over the bridge. Once over the bridge, the group needed to cross traffic again. Again, this was a very risky proposition, and despite all of my griping about cars in Jacksonville, I was amazed at the courtesy we were given. I think it is the bait fish mentality. When you are in a pack, you are much safer. Cars stopped in both directions and let us cross.
At this point, we pretty much retraced our path out. On Mandarin Road, I stayed near the front of the pack, and found myself pulling through on a couple of occasions. On Plummer Cove Road, the fellow referred to as Canada tried to roll off the front. James was going to let him go, but then a Velobrew rider chased and James chased after him. I jumped as well, and we reeled in the runaway. James rode Canada's wheel and apparently made him give up trying to get away. The final sprint happened on Beauclerc and then the hard part was over. From that point home, it is more or less a social event. I was at the front again and didn't pay attention and started riding 21-23 MPH back to the bike shop. I looked over my shoulder and there was no one. I waited for a little while just past the shop and a pack of 3 came through. Then came Mike followed by James. The 6 of us rode back to Avondale together.
Once home, I grabbed my running shoes and did a 2 mile run. I felt like I was slow as molasses, but I was running at a 7:30 or 7:45 pace. I tried to slow down, but I finished the 2 miles averaging 7:48. In the race, if I run 9:00/miles I will be estatic.
Overall, it was a good training day, and I was happy not to get dropped. I will ride the long loop again, but I know the chances I will get dropped are still high. The interesting thing is it took 15 minutes less to complete the same distance in the TDForts the Sunday before, so I know I can hang on for steady riding. It's the jumps and wild accelerations that many of riders that were missing contribute that will make the ride tougher in the future. Then again, I will maintain my training, to minimize the chance that I can't hang on.