FestiVELO de Charleston scouting report

pam_in_sc wrote:
|| I spend Thanksgiving on Seabrook Island, so I had the opportunity to
|| scout out routes for FestiVELO de Charleston (www.festivelo.com). I
|| did parts of the 100 mile route plus the 7 mile route my kids are
|| going to do (which goes in the opposite direction).
||
|| Coming from the foothills of the Blue Ridge, it was really weird to
|| ride on such flat terrain. I am going to have to be very careful to
|| vary my position--when it is so flat I tended to stay in the same
|| position and level of intensity for long periods, and the day I rode
|| 50 miles I felt it. The only significant hill is a large, tall
|| bridge--the 100 mile route if I understood it correctly, calls for
|| going over the bridge and making a u-turn and going over it again.
|| The bridge is on a busy road but unlike the other roads it has a
|| paved breakdown lane (that had a good bit of gravel on it when we
|| drove over it). I hope they will repaint the road markings before
|| the event--some sections of the route go for 10 miles on one road
|| but in other places (particularly on Seabrook and Kiawah Islands) I
|| found the directions posted on the web hard to follow.
||
|| The 100 mile route is almost entirely on less busy roads, though by
|| my standards I wouldn't call them quiet back roads. Some road
|| surfaces were rough--the blacktop had collapsed slightly creating
|| long cracks, often parallel to and about a foot from the white line
|| on the side of the road. The scenery is pretty, though it is more
|| live oaks, salt marsh, and farms than ocean views. Much of the
|| route is on John's Island, which used to be famous for the tomatoes
|| that were grown there. Johns Island doesn't face the ocean--it is
|| the route people take to
|| get to Kiawah and Seabrook Island--and much of it is still fairly
|| poor.

Thanks for the report. I heard that the bridge is a 45 ft climb.

Did riding the flat route feel easier than where you normally ride? Were
you able to maintain a higher average speed?

I assume you'll be there next weekend. I'm just doing the Saturday ride.

Roger Zoul said:

Thanks for the report. I heard that the bridge is a 45 ft climb.

Did riding the flat route feel easier than where you normally ride? Were
you able to maintain a higher average speed?

I assume you'll be there next weekend. I'm just doing the Saturday ride.

It felt much easier, but I think riding with so little change in effort
could cause muscles to get more tired. There was never enough of a hill
to coast down, which means I have to watch out that I keep hydrated
because I usually drink when coasting down hill. My heart rate stayed
steady at about 75 percent of max. I don't use a computer, but I was
perhaps one or two mph faster than at home--I timed one stretch of 10.1
miles and it was 43 minutes one way and 48 minutes the other way. That
was a very windy day and the wind is tricky--it seemed to be in my face
both ways. Much of the road is sheltered by trees; the wind was worse
in the occasional open stretches but I think the trees tend to channel
the wind.

We are staying in a hut at the campground but just doing the Saturday
ride. I'm thinking of getting an early start, as it will be pushing it
for me to finish in 8 hours. I will be riding my bike from the
campground to the school, as my husband and kids are doing the family
fun ride and won't get up so early.

Pam

"Roger Zoul" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

pam_in_sc wrote:
|| I spend Thanksgiving on Seabrook Island, so I had the opportunity to
|| scout out routes for FestiVELO de Charleston (www.festivelo.com). I
|| did parts of the 100 mile route plus the 7 mile route my kids are
|| going to do (which goes in the opposite direction).
||
|| Coming from the foothills of the Blue Ridge, it was really weird to
|| ride on such flat terrain. I am going to have to be very careful to
|| vary my position--when it is so flat I tended to stay in the same
|| position and level of intensity for long periods, and the day I rode
|| 50 miles I felt it. The only significant hill is a large, tall
|| bridge--the 100 mile route if I understood it correctly, calls for
|| going over the bridge and making a u-turn and going over it again.
|| The bridge is on a busy road but unlike the other roads it has a
|| paved breakdown lane (that had a good bit of gravel on it when we
|| drove over it). I hope they will repaint the road markings before
|| the event--some sections of the route go for 10 miles on one road
|| but in other places (particularly on Seabrook and Kiawah Islands) I
|| found the directions posted on the web hard to follow.
||
|| The 100 mile route is almost entirely on less busy roads, though by
|| my standards I wouldn't call them quiet back roads. Some road
|| surfaces were rough--the blacktop had collapsed slightly creating
|| long cracks, often parallel to and about a foot from the white line
|| on the side of the road. The scenery is pretty, though it is more
|| live oaks, salt marsh, and farms than ocean views. Much of the
|| route is on John's Island, which used to be famous for the tomatoes
|| that were grown there. Johns Island doesn't face the ocean--it is
|| the route people take to
|| get to Kiawah and Seabrook Island--and much of it is still fairly
|| poor.

Thanks for the report. I heard that the bridge is a 45 ft climb.

Did riding the flat route feel easier than where you normally ride? Were
you able to maintain a higher average speed?

I assume you'll be there next weekend. I'm just doing the Saturday ride.

Roger,

From what I've heard, the terrain down there lends itself to VERY fast
century rides ... if that's what you want to do. As Pam suggested, there
aren't many climbs, but you don't get to coast, either.

Bob C.

psycholist wrote:

|| "Roger Zoul" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
|| news:[email hidden]...
||| Thanks for the report. I heard that the bridge is a 45 ft climb.
|||
||| Did riding the flat route feel easier than where you normally ride?
||| Were you able to maintain a higher average speed?
|||
||| I assume you'll be there next weekend. I'm just doing the Saturday
||| ride.
|||
|||
|| Roger,
||
|| From what I've heard, the terrain down there lends itself to VERY
|| fast century rides ... if that's what you want to do. As Pam
|| suggested, there aren't many climbs, but you don't get to coast,
|| either.

I'd like to finish as fast as I can, but I'm planning on an 8 hour. Not
being able to coast will be a new variable in the mix. My - it seems like
I'll never completely get a grip on this cycling thing. No climbing, but
100 miles of all cranking. Hmm....

pam_in_sc wrote:
|| Roger Zoul wrote:
||
||| Thanks for the report. I heard that the bridge is a 45 ft climb.
|||
||| Did riding the flat route feel easier than where you normally ride?
||| Were you able to maintain a higher average speed?
|||
||| I assume you'll be there next weekend. I'm just doing the Saturday
||| ride.
||
|| It felt much easier, but I think riding with so little change in
|| effort could cause muscles to get more tired. There was never
|| enough of a hill to coast down, which means I have to watch out that
|| I keep hydrated because I usually drink when coasting down hill.

This causes me a bit of concern. Unless I'm wrong, the first rest stop on
the 100-mile course is at 35 miles. I generally don't drink while riding,
though. I just stop for a moment and restart.

My
|| heart rate stayed steady at about 75 percent of max. I don't use a
|| computer, but I was perhaps one or two mph faster than at home--I
|| timed one stretch of 10.1 miles and it was 43 minutes one way and 48
|| minutes the other way. That was a very windy day and the wind is
|| tricky--it seemed to be in my face both ways. Much of the road is
|| sheltered by trees; the wind was worse
|| in the occasional open stretches but I think the trees tend to
|| channel
|| the wind.

So we should expect strong headwinds.

||
|| We are staying in a hut at the campground but just doing the Saturday
|| ride. I'm thinking of getting an early start, as it will be pushing
|| it
|| for me to finish in 8 hours. I will be riding my bike from the
|| campground to the school, as my husband and kids are doing the family
|| fun ride and won't get up so early.

I'm staying in the Sleep Inn, which I hope is not far from where the ride
starts. I'd like to get out early too, provided it is not very cold.

pam_in_sc said:

I spend Thanksgiving on Seabrook Island, so I had the opportunity to
scout out routes for FestiVELO de Charleston (www.festivelo.com). I did
parts of the 100 mile route plus the 7 mile route my kids are going to
do (which goes in the opposite direction).

Coming from the foothills of the Blue Ridge, it was really weird to ride
on such flat terrain. I am going to have to be very careful to vary my
position--when it is so flat I tended to stay in the same position and
level of intensity for long periods, and the day I rode 50 miles I felt
it. The only significant hill is a large, tall bridge--the 100 mile
route if I understood it correctly, calls for going over the bridge and
making a u-turn and going over it again. The bridge is on a busy road
but unlike the other roads it has a paved breakdown lane (that had a
good bit of gravel on it when we drove over it). I hope they will
repaint the road markings before the event--some sections of the route
go for 10 miles on one road but in other places (particularly on
Seabrook and Kiawah Islands) I found the directions posted on the web
hard to follow.

The 100 mile route is almost entirely on less busy roads, though by my
standards I wouldn't call them quiet back roads. Some road surfaces
were rough--the blacktop had collapsed slightly creating long cracks,
often parallel to and about a foot from the white line on the side of
the road. The scenery is pretty, though it is more live oaks, salt
marsh, and farms than ocean views. Much of the route is on John's
Island, which used to be famous for the tomatoes that were grown there.
Johns Island doesn't face the ocean--it is the route people take to get
to Kiawah and Seabrook Island--and much of it is still fairly poor.

Pam

Pam-

I'm not able to make it this year, but rode the Saturday metric last
year. It included the bridge (although it may be only on the 100 this
year -- I understand they change the routes). The difficult thing for me
last year was the cold. Being from WNC and riding all the hills here and
in your area, I expected the flat terrain to be much easier. I actually
had a more difficult time in Charleston than I did on the Assault on
Marion earlier last year, because the cold and wind sapped me more than
I expected (and because I tried to keep up with a group going a little
faster than my usual pace).

As you mention, beware the rough road, especially near the camp. The
first few miles on the main road (not the one that leads to the dirt
road into camp -- but also beware that thick sand if you attempt it on
road tires) was quite bad, and the traffic was pretty heavy on Saturday
morning.

The rest stops were well stocked, but the in-camp meal arrangements left
something to be desired. They supposedly have improved that this year,
so it should be a good time.

mike

"Roger Zoul" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

psycholist wrote:

|| "Roger Zoul" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
|| news:[email hidden]...
||| Thanks for the report. I heard that the bridge is a 45 ft climb.
|||
||| Did riding the flat route feel easier than where you normally ride?
||| Were you able to maintain a higher average speed?
|||
||| I assume you'll be there next weekend. I'm just doing the Saturday
||| ride.
|||
|||
|| Roger,
||
|| From what I've heard, the terrain down there lends itself to VERY
|| fast century rides ... if that's what you want to do. As Pam
|| suggested, there aren't many climbs, but you don't get to coast,
|| either.

I'd like to finish as fast as I can, but I'm planning on an 8 hour. Not
being able to coast will be a new variable in the mix. My - it seems like
I'll never completely get a grip on this cycling thing. No climbing, but
100 miles of all cranking. Hmm....

Well, I'm sure you'll find some opportunity to coast from time to time.

Bob C.

Roger Zoul said:

This causes me a bit of concern. Unless I'm wrong, the first rest stop on
the 100-mile course is at 35 miles. I generally don't drink while riding,
though. I just stop for a moment and restart.

Yes, I just opened the packet and it looked that way to me too, though
there is a bathroom and drop clothing stop sooner. The route is
considerably reorganized from the one on the web I used. I think with
the less variety it is going to be important for me to stop and walk
around a minute at each rest stop.

I'm convinced that eating early and often helps me. I did 50 miles on
Thanksgiving, and thought then I could treat myself at dinner (after all
my monitor said I had burned 1800 calories), but my bg went and stayed
high. That further makes me think that on long rides (and after) my
body goes into stress mode and my bg tends to go up. So I'm better off
eating carbs early, when my body burns them without my bg going high. I
will probably put orange juice in one water bottle and carry some food.

The coldest day we had over Thanksgiving I didn't go out until it warmed
up in the afternoon, but I didn't have too much trouble with the cold.
I was happy early this morning (low 50s) with a wicking top and
windproof vest. I did wear liner gloves under my bike gloves and wrist
warmers (cut the tops off old socks) and wool socks and an earband. The
current forecast (for the little it is worth this far in advance) is for
warm and a few showers.

I've got a knee hurting now and a muscle in my thigh bothered me when I
did 50 miles, so one of those things could keep me from being able to do
the 100. If I don't have something like that go wrong I think I can do
it, not very fast. I didn't feel like I had pushed myself when I did
the metric century at Ride for the Raptors, so this time I'm willing to
try going beyond what I know I can do (all assuming I get the doctor's
ok Tuesday).

Pam

pam_in_sc wrote:
:: Roger Zoul wrote:
::: This causes me a bit of concern. Unless I'm wrong, the first rest
::: stop on the 100-mile course is at 35 miles. I generally don't
::: drink while riding, though. I just stop for a moment and restart.
::
:: Yes, I just opened the packet and it looked that way to me too,
:: though there is a bathroom and drop clothing stop sooner. The route
:: is considerably reorganized from the one on the web I used. I think
:: with the less variety it is going to be important for me to stop and
:: walk around a minute at each rest stop.

I think I'll stop for more than a minute, but likely not more than 7 or so.
I think it can be a big factor in body soreness if you don't stop and
stretch good. Getting off the bike for a while can help. Keep in mind that
riding with people should be more interesting than riding alone -- at least
I hope so.

::
:: I'm convinced that eating early and often helps me. I did 50 miles
:: on Thanksgiving, and thought then I could treat myself at dinner
:: (after all my monitor said I had burned 1800 calories),

I always half what my machine tells me I've burned.

but my bg
:: went and stayed high. That further makes me think that on long
:: rides (and after) my body goes into stress mode and my bg tends to
:: go up. So I'm better off eating carbs early, when my body burns
:: them without my bg going high. I will probably put orange juice in
:: one water bottle and carry some food.

That's a good idea...i'm not sure what the right formula is for me, but I do
know that I become ravenous after riding. A virtual eating machine....and I
want to drink a lot.
::
:: The coldest day we had over Thanksgiving I didn't go out until it
:: warmed up in the afternoon, but I didn't have too much trouble with
:: the cold. I was happy early this morning (low 50s) with a wicking
:: top and windproof vest. I did wear liner gloves under my bike
:: gloves and wrist warmers (cut the tops off old socks) and wool socks
:: and an earband. The current forecast (for the little it is worth
:: this far in advance) is for warm and a few showers.

I hope it doesn't rain, as I don't want to ride in the rain, cold, and wind.
If that happens, I'll take the sag wagon....dressing for the cold is a real
PITA. On Sunday I went out dressed as I was on Saturday but it was much
warmer. I ended up peeling something off every loop around donaldson until
I got things right.
::
:: I've got a knee hurting now and a muscle in my thigh bothered me
:: when I did 50 miles, so one of those things could keep me from being
:: able to do the 100.

I'm sore from head to toe right now. Quads are hurting...my hip, knee, and
top of right shoulder are hurting from the crash on Saturday. I feel as
though someone beat me up with a bat. But I'm going to the gym tonight to
pedal on a stationary. If I can endure enough pain ahead of time -- with a
little recovery before saturday -- hopefully I'll be able to withstand 100
miles on flats. I've lost some bike fitness due to over a month of not
riding (various reasons).

If I don't have something like that go wrong I
:: think I can do it, not very fast. I didn't feel like I had pushed
:: myself when I did the metric century at Ride for the Raptors, so
:: this time I'm willing to try going beyond what I know I can do (all
:: assuming I get the doctor's ok Tuesday).

I hope you get the okay from your doctor.

Roger Zoul said:

I think I'll stop for more than a minute, but likely not more than 7 or so.
I think it can be a big factor in body soreness if you don't stop and
stretch good. Getting off the bike for a while can help. Keep in mind that
riding with people should be more interesting than riding alone -- at least
I hope so.

I was exagerating about a minute--I don't incline to stand around but do
use the bathroom and eat something. I discovered at Ride for the
Raptors how good bananas taste now they aren't something I can normally eat.

Do you want to ride together, at least for a while? It sounds like we
are in somewhat similar shape of not having trained enough and just
wanting to finish.

Pam

pam_in_sc wrote:
|| Roger Zoul wrote:
||
||| I think I'll stop for more than a minute, but likely not more than
||| 7 or so. I think it can be a big factor in body soreness if you
||| don't stop and stretch good. Getting off the bike for a while can
||| help. Keep in mind that riding with people should be more
||| interesting than riding alone -- at least I hope so.
||
|| I was exagerating about a minute--I don't incline to stand around
|| but do
|| use the bathroom and eat something. I discovered at Ride for the
|| Raptors how good bananas taste now they aren't something I can
|| normally eat.

Oh....I'll might try the bananas if they have them at rest stops. I
generally stay clear of fruit on rides, though.

||
|| Do you want to ride together, at least for a while? It sounds like
|| we
|| are in somewhat similar shape of not having trained enough and just
|| wanting to finish.

Sure. My goal is only the finish in 8 hours or so. I don't have any
designs on going fast --- yet. We can practice drafting.

Roger Zoul said:

Oh....I'll might try the bananas if they have them at rest stops. I
generally stay clear of fruit on rides, though.

Don't take any specific advice from me on food--I have a cast iron stomach.

Quoted message said:

|| Do you want to ride together, at least for a while? It sounds like
|| we
|| are in somewhat similar shape of not having trained enough and just
|| wanting to finish.

Sure. My goal is only the finish in 8 hours or so. I don't have any
designs on going fast --- yet. We can practice drafting.

Eight hours is my goal. I don't even know how hard drafting is, but we
should be able to help each other at least a little if it is windy.

Aim for 7:20 at the school?

The good news is that my nuclear stress test was normal! So my heart is
officially checked out as good to go.

Pam

pam_in_sc wrote:
|| Roger Zoul wrote:
||
||| Oh....I'll might try the bananas if they have them at rest stops. I
||| generally stay clear of fruit on rides, though.
||
|| Don't take any specific advice from me on food--I have a cast iron
|| stomach.
||
||||| Do you want to ride together, at least for a while? It sounds
||||| like we
||||| are in somewhat similar shape of not having trained enough and
||||| just wanting to finish.
|||
||| Sure. My goal is only the finish in 8 hours or so. I don't have
||| any designs on going fast --- yet. We can practice drafting.
||
|| Eight hours is my goal. I don't even know how hard drafting is, but
|| we should be able to help each other at least a little if it is
|| windy.

Me either, but it's supposed to make riding easier.

||
|| Aim for 7:20 at the school?

Okay. I haven't been to the site yet. I'll have my cell phone with and will
send you the number back channel.

||
|| The good news is that my nuclear stress test was normal! So my
|| heart is officially checked out as good to go.

Great!

Roger Zoul said:

Okay. I haven't been to the site yet. I'll have my cell phone with and will
send you the number back channel.

The email address I use on usenet is supposed to be a working forwarding
address, but I see it isn't working at the moment. My username at work
is pammack--from that you should be able to figure out the whole address
(if I understood correctly you work for the same organization I do).

Pam

pam_in_sc wrote:
:: Roger Zoul wrote:
::
::: Okay. I haven't been to the site yet. I'll have my cell phone with
::: and will send you the number back channel.
::
:: The email address I use on usenet is supposed to be a working
:: forwarding address, but I see it isn't working at the moment. My
:: username at work is pammack--from that you should be able to figure
:: out the whole address (if I understood correctly you work for the
:: same organization I do).

Oh yes. I have at least 3 e-mails from you (to everyone) under that address
on my PC 🙂