A Baseline to Measure my Riding

Tuesday I needed to get a break in. Andrea was sensitive to the fact that I have been running ragged lately, so she graciously let me go mountain biking with my racer buddies Eddie and Andy, and my co-worker, Ed.

I was able to head over to the Novi Tree Farm to meet the guys. After about 20 minutes of setting up bikes and letting everyone get ready, the four of us were off.

Novi is a relatively flat trail. I would be surprised if there was 200' of climbing. That is not to say that it is an easy trail. Novi is twisty and tight with few sections that allow you to build good speed and momentum. The climbs always come after tough switchback turns. There are a lot of bumps and obstacles that throw off your flow, too. In its eleven miles a rider can get pretty surprised at how he can bomb and blow up if he is not careful.

Andy is the fastest singlespeed rider I know. He is young, light, and full of energy. He has some of the best, well rounded skills of any rider in any discipline to boot. Eddie is a muscle, health freak. He is a former downhill racer and rides everything like it was his last ride. Ed is 55 and a former open heart surgery survivor. Don't let that fool you. He is an accomplished road rider and has calves the size of bowling balls. Then there is me. I am fat, and look like Andre the Giant compared to the three of them side by side. Tell me how you think this ride is going to turn out???

Well, we got going. In the first two minutes I was in front of the group so Andy could see how the big bike moves. Not long into this I hear "crack kills", and check my shorts. They were pulled up all the way. Man, I must be so big that my rear end reaches to my shoulder blades... It was about then that I let them pass.
After each section of the trail the guys waited for me to catch up. The sections were all about 2 miles or so. The order of riders would always be Andy, Eddie,.. Ed,....... Me. They would stop and wait, but I would just catch up make some small clothing adjustments and continue to ride. I made it my goal not to stop for more than thirty seconds at a time.

Overall, Andy and Eddie turned in a 57 minute run. This was expected for them. Ed turned in a 1 hour and 3 minute run. I came in at 1:15. I was very excited with this baseline. It was slow for many riders, but for a fat guy on a big bike to be within 18 minutes of two state champion endurance racers, I was really stoked! I think the guys were really happy about this as well. They have been really good friends to me through a long time and know that riding like this is a real challenge for me.

This baseline gives me something to shoot to beat over the coming months.