TUC report - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

bluegoose · 05-14-2007, 05:10 PM

Question: Why was it so windy on the Northern California coast this weekend?

Answer: Because my day SUCKED!

I was in Fortuna, CA this weekend for the Tour of the Unknown Coast. Our little group had 5 of us from Redding that went over. One of our guys is new to cycling and had never ridden more than 62 miles. Another is just getting back into riding after taking a 20 year break from the sport. The other 3 of us are hacks at various levels of fitness.

The weather forecast for the weekend said it was supposed to be 62 and sunny. It said nothing of the wind. So we arrived at 6:30am on Saturday to wet roads, but no actual rain. The first 60 miles went well, as I felt great heading into the lunch stop. I didn't go out very hard as I had no intention of staying with the lead pack as in years past, as I wanted to ride at least part of the ride with my buddies. Tinker Juarez of mountain biking and RAAM fame came out to the ride this year.

After lunch is when we headed toward the coast. From that point to the finish we had a consistent head wind or cross wind of 20-30 mph. A road sign along the highway whan we were finished had a wind advisory of 55 mph gusts. Add the ~6,000 feet of climbing in the last 40 miles and I had a misreable 3-4 hours to finish my day. The wall (1-2 miles at 18-22%) was brutal but manageable. The endless hills, which start at mile 84 were brutal. Some sections approach 16-18% and with the head wind, we were lucky to stay upright going 2-3 mph. I saw my average plummet from 17mph to a final count of 12.1 mph.

Oh, and did I mention that the roads were crappier than usual this year. The roads are never good along the coast, but this year they especially beat up on the descents. I was just as tired at the bottom after a descent than I was at the top after an ascent.

I tell myself every year that this is the last. I figure its a little like childbirth. If you could remember the vivid details of the pain and suffering that you went through the last time, then there is no way you ever willingly do it again. Time has a way of erasing some of these unpleasant memories.

SteelBlue · 05-14-2007, 11:36 PM

Sounds brutal! Are you going to do it again next year? FWIW, my bike was involved in a triathlon on Saturday. Sadly, I was not the rider. I loaned it to Dr. S, who was going to do the 12 mile road bike portion on a mountain bike.

Archaea · 05-14-2007, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteelBlue

Sounds brutal! Are you going to do it again next year? FWIW, my bike was involved in a triathlon on Saturday. Sadly, I was not the rider. I loaned it to Dr. S, who was going to do the 12 mile road bike portion on a mountain bike.

How did he fare?

SteelBlue · 05-14-2007, 11:43 PM

I feel guilty answering this question as it is a blatant hijack of goose's thread but... my guess is that he improved over his last time, but as a resident he has very little time to train.

bluegoose · 05-15-2007, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteelBlue

Sounds brutal! Are you going to do it again next year? FWIW, my bike was involved in a triathlon on Saturday. Sadly, I was not the rider. I loaned it to Dr. S, who was going to do the 12 mile road bike portion on a mountain bike.

I don't know if I am going to do it next year. My initial response is no way in hades. But my wife reminds me that I said the same thing last year. We'll see in a few weeks how I feel. Best not to make hasty decisions when one is still unable to sit on hard surfaces or get up from kneeling down.

05-14-2007, 05:10 PM	#1
bluegoose Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,919	TUC report Question: Why was it so windy on the Northern California coast this weekend? Answer: Because my day SUCKED! I was in Fortuna, CA this weekend for the Tour of the Unknown Coast. Our little group had 5 of us from Redding that went over. One of our guys is new to cycling and had never ridden more than 62 miles. Another is just getting back into riding after taking a 20 year break from the sport. The other 3 of us are hacks at various levels of fitness. The weather forecast for the weekend said it was supposed to be 62 and sunny. It said nothing of the wind. So we arrived at 6:30am on Saturday to wet roads, but no actual rain. The first 60 miles went well, as I felt great heading into the lunch stop. I didn't go out very hard as I had no intention of staying with the lead pack as in years past, as I wanted to ride at least part of the ride with my buddies. Tinker Juarez of mountain biking and RAAM fame came out to the ride this year. After lunch is when we headed toward the coast. From that point to the finish we had a consistent head wind or cross wind of 20-30 mph. A road sign along the highway whan we were finished had a wind advisory of 55 mph gusts. Add the ~6,000 feet of climbing in the last 40 miles and I had a misreable 3-4 hours to finish my day. The wall (1-2 miles at 18-22%) was brutal but manageable. The endless hills, which start at mile 84 were brutal. Some sections approach 16-18% and with the head wind, we were lucky to stay upright going 2-3 mph. I saw my average plummet from 17mph to a final count of 12.1 mph. Oh, and did I mention that the roads were crappier than usual this year. The roads are never good along the coast, but this year they especially beat up on the descents. I was just as tired at the bottom after a descent than I was at the top after an ascent. I tell myself every year that this is the last. I figure its a little like childbirth. If you could remember the vivid details of the pain and suffering that you went through the last time, then there is no way you ever willingly do it again. Time has a way of erasing some of these unpleasant memories.

05-14-2007, 11:36 PM	#2
SteelBlue Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Norcal Posts: 5,821	Sounds brutal! Are you going to do it again next year? FWIW, my bike was involved in a triathlon on Saturday. Sadly, I was not the rider. I loaned it to Dr. S, who was going to do the 12 mile road bike portion on a mountain bike.

05-14-2007, 11:43 PM	#4
SteelBlue Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Norcal Posts: 5,821	I feel guilty answering this question as it is a blatant hijack of goose's thread but... my guess is that he improved over his last time, but as a resident he has very little time to train.