Bikefest?

[Pugslyyy]

So how was it?

[NealH]

Bikefest was outstanding today. The route, the support, the atmosphere, everything went really well. I rode the metric and the roads were all in excellent shape. It was a bit flatter than I thought it would be, even flatter than the RRR. But the route was marked well, traffic was mostly light, the temperature was cool and there were a lot of riders. In fact after we started I noticed riders coming off side streets to join us. It would have been difficult to ride alone today as small groups were strung out all along the route.

Staffing was excellent at the rest stops. Excellent at home base too (the Courthouse). Lots and lots of volunteers (Red Cross and others) and, they had more food than any ride I've participated in to date. The rest stops looked more like a feast. Lots of different varieties of food and homemade goodies. It was obviously a well organized event.

I did not take too many pictures due to knocking the function setting off where it should be. I have a bad habit of doing this when pulling the camera out of my Bento bag.

Here are a couple shots:

Riders mingling before the start.
http://rnhood.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p84916713-4.jpg

About 10 miles outside Hillsborough. It was very nice riding.
http://rnhood.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p114041474-4.jpg

Cruising the countryside.
http://rnhood.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p424915797-4.jpg

Heading back in to Hillsborough. Most all roads were in excellent shape.
http://rnhood.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p250713695-4.jpg

The profile.
http://rnhood.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p53459951-4.jpg

I ran into Cathy after the ride. Haven't seen her in a while. A group of Gyros were there but, except for Cathy I didn't see any other Slow Spokes. There were a bunch of teams participating in this event. Quite a few of the the groups riding together all wore the same charity focused jerseys.

What a difference the temperature made this morning. It felt really good.

[KarenG]

dang Neal! you're becoming quite the monster cyclist! look-it that avg speed! no way will i be able to hang with you & andy at TdT.

[TomG]

You only got ~2200 of climbing? That seems a bit low.

I did the 100 and one of the riders I pulled in with said he got ~4600 feet. That seems like a huge difference for just 40 miles. It definitely did not seem like another 2000+ feet of climbing.

[JimP]

I did the 100 as well ... the cue sheet / map they handed out for the 100 showed 5,258 feet of 'climb elevation'. It looks like the data is from DeLorme, so not sure how accurate it is. My legs this morning say is was a good bit of climbing over the 100 miles.

The weather was great for early August. The departure from Hillsborough was almost too chilly on the descents.

[TomG]

5200 feet is quite a bit even over 100 miles. I mapped out a 98 mile ride on Bikely.com which includes Lystra, Bynum, HWY 42 West to East, and comes back Woods Creek/Tingen into Apex. That route was only 3200 feet of climbing. That ride yesterday just do not seem like 5200 feet of climbing. At least not until mile mark 80. :)

It makes me afraid of what a route like this would be like - 37 miles / 5200+ feet of climbing on the Parkway:

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Julian-Price-to-Little-Switzerland

[NealH]

Based on my Garmin and my legs, I think the 2200' is pretty accurate for the 62 mile route. The website did not mention the elevation gain on the 62 mile route but, it did mention that the 100 mile route had considerably more - like a total of 5K or so. But, I thought the metric was a pretty flat route overall.

My average was high (for me) because there were always groups to ride in. When I fell off a group there would just be another coming up. That, the cooler temperature and flat roads I think probably led to speeds being on high side on the metric route. Also my heart was beating properly which always helps :) . I've been fighting an arrythmia issue lately.

I just got back from today's Gyro touring ride and, we got drenched. And I mean drenched. 15 minutes into our ride the sky fell out. North Raleigh was hammered with rain.

[KarenG]

It makes me afraid of what a route like this would be like - 37 miles / 5200+ feet of climbing on the Parkway:

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Julian-Price-to-Little-Switzerland

ummm, 5200+ for 37mi is an a$$ kicker. trust me (my Mt Baldy ride in SoCal was 33mi & 5500-6000' climbing). but if you've done that, then you already know it is.

[KarenG]

I just got back from today's Gyro touring ride and, we got drenched. And I mean drenched. 15 minutes into our ride the sky fell out. North Raleigh was hammered with rain.

glad i slept in today - had my share of wet rides. i was supposed to do the CBC ride, but i've been really tired this week and after yesterday's metric, i was just beat. totally beat. felt like i'd been rode hard and put up dead. :eek: hopefully 9.5hr sleep and an easy ride this afternoon will help me feel better.

[Erica]

bikefest was awesome. waking up at 4am was not awesome. lol the weather was perfect, the hills were reasonable (i was expecting it to be more hilly than the CSH rides but it really wasnt) The rest stops were adequately stocked with a mix of fresh fruit and home cooked nom nom's. They even had jugs of HEED for those of us who prefer it over gatorade :) saw a questionable statue of jesus at one of the rest stops. going to have to go back just to take a pic. LOL had my own personal knave out there, but he was so easy to drop that he didnt exactly present himself as a challenge. it was just funny to see him try SO hard to not let me pass (to the point of blowing thru a stop sign with oncoming traffic to the left), and i just repeatedly crushed him.

it was a nice ride with perfect weather. i do believe ill go again next year :)

[TomG]

ummm, 5200+ for 37mi is an a$$ kicker. trust me (my Mt Baldy ride in SoCal was 33mi & 5500-6000' climbing). but if you've done that, then you already know it is.

I have never done that one but that sounds nice.

[apxrider]

I rode the 35. I agree HILLSborough lived up to the name. More elevation changes than I'm used to riding in the Jordan Lake area. Well, it wasn't really long steep climbs. Just repetitive ups and downs. The guy I work with that rode with me was a monster on the hills, so I spent a lot of time playing catchup. I must have averaged 17-18 despite all of the above. I usually ride 16-17. Maybe I'll do the longer route next year.