Ventured back home once again to get in one more organized ride for the year. I’ve heard of the Apple Affiar ride put on in Galesville since I was a kid, so hey, why not do it? Sara went home to put up with the joys of being the center of attention at a baby shower. I was much happier riding in the cold than opening gifts.
The morning was chilly; about 42 degrees when I left my parents’ house. Forecast didn’t call for it getting much warmer although the forecasted 51 degrees sounded much nicer than 42. Sadly, it only reached 47 during the ride. Wind was firm, but not horrible – 5-15 mph depending on where you were. Didn’t help that it was cool though. Left the house and it wasn’t raining. Forecast said scattered showers and 50% chance of them. Jeez, they were wrong again. Didn’t take long and a light drizzle started that eventually turned into a light rain for most all the ride. Progressively got worse throughout the day.
Started out right at 9am, hooked up with 3 guys from the Twin Cities that were stronger riders (not many there due to the weather). Our group of 4 quickly turned into a group of 2 (myself and one other guy) at the first climb. Rode with him the whole route (except the last 5 miles, he really laid the hammer down!).
All in all, the ride and route was great! Even with the crappy weather, the roads were good. The scenery was nice, especially atop the bluffs, and the support was great. I’ll definitely do this one again.
The ride in Whitehall earlier in the year was a good deal of climbing, right around 3000′ according to actual GPS data. The online site ridewithgps.com said only 2000′, so when the site said 3533′ for this ride, I’m guessing 5000′ was much closer to what it was. There were some serious climbs on this ride. Great workout :) The descents and the views made the climbs worth it.
Total distance logged by the Cateye V3 was 67.53 miles in 3h49m of saddle time. Here’s some other numbers.
17.7 mph average
45.3 MPH max speed (in the rain, this was fun!!!)
185 BPM – max HR
161 BPM – avg HR
90 RPM – average cadence
3533′ of climbing via ridewithgps (well below actual)
13.8% max grade
approx 2300 calories burned
The great route:
And a pic from atop the climb on Cty D, around Mile 35.
