East Coast Boy Gets Educated in TIv7
Brad
I got punted at checkpoint #1, rolling in about 15 minutes late. I
can't say I was disappointed at the time, as I felt like I'd brought a
knife to a gun fight. That said, I started plotting how I'd change my
approach next year, and in so doing, was curious about the terrain
beyond CP #1 - were the frequency/size of the hills in leg 1 similar
to leg 2 and leg 3 - is it bad form to ask?
I know the course varies each year, but I'm trying to gauge the hills
to tailor training for TIv8. Finding similar terrain near me will be
a challenge, but the search is on.
Other items I'll look to address:
- Use cyclocross bike
- Minimize what I carry
- Map case is a MUST, follow the leader is dangerous (e.g., leg 1
didn't have a B road, but I traveled one)
- B road mud is like an STD - avoidable / nasty / hard to get rid of
- Ride into the start so legs are ready to roll from the start
- Get to front 1/3 - 1/2 of starting pack and team up
- Nail down the nutrition to liquid / powder format - eating was a
chore with the mud/wind combination in leg 1
17 hour drive home really stoked what could become an obsession - a
DNF is a strong motivator for the next year.
It was a pleasure meeting the handful of persons that I did. I now
thank / curse Ted and company for the introduction to gravel
grinders. LOL
Ciao,
Brad
Dan Buettner
The subject line could also be, from my perspective, "road rider gets schooled"
Don't know if it's bad form, but - for 45 miles, the terrain after CP1 was about the same, but mostly with the wind, thankfully! After that I dropped out so I can't speak past that. We went back through Baxter and Montour ... I called it in a few miles north of Montour, an hour behind the pace and looking at a nasty B road that would put me 1.5 hours behind was discouraging at best.
I too must minimize what I carry ... subsisting on liquid and powder for 32-34 hours might be a challenge, but that is a good possibility to investigate.
I agree on the navigation, I trusted who and what I saw ahead of me too much and wound up traversing the same B road we didn't need to, as well as the C road he warned us about. Lost a lot of time on both.
I didn't feel like a slow start was a bad thing, given the length of the event, but I suppose 3-4 miles in from the hotels by the interstate wouldn't have hurt at all (I was staying a block from the starting line).
I too am hooked and will be back if the is a v8 !
-Dan