Ring of Fire, 12-hour Time Trial

QUICK STATS	This Ride	2010 Cumulative
Distance	158.33 miles	4352 miles
Elevation Gain	10,913 feet	47.49 miles
Average Moving Speed	14.18 mph	15.04 mph
Dog Bites	0	1

Where to begin...

I guess at the beginning.

We got a fairly good night's rest at the Imperial Lodge in Maupin. The folks above us were a bit noisy starting about an hour before we got up, but the bed was reasonably comfy so a reasonable tradeoff. At first I thought I got up too early but as I kept doing things to get ready it ended up being about right.

After my 4-mile warm-up my iBike was reading 43 degrees -- quite chilly. 7:06 a.m. came soon thereafter and I was off. At the 2.8 mile mark my iBike lost wireless connectivity. It has a speed sensor and a cadence sensor on the bike, and of course my heart rate monitor, all 3 of which talk wirelessly to the main unit. Sometimes the unit does this for no apparent reason, but later in the day I discovered that there is a very apparent reason: high voltage transmission lines. All 4 times I went underneath them I lost wireless. Kinda makes one think you really don't want to hang out long anywhere near those things!

I did a good job staying in my planned heart rate zones all morning long. I was feeling great, and never really needed a break off the bike. A very quick stop here and there (natural break, remove jacket or arm/leg warmers, etc.) and I had only been off the bike for about 15 minutes (if that) for the entirety of the first two laps (139 official miles). I was aiming for 30 minutes for the whole race, so I was very pleased with this.

Aim provided support on the big loop and she did a spectacular job. I was never in need of anything. The radios made it super easy, for me anyway. When I was running low on a water bottle I would place an order via radio. Then she would leap-frog ahead of me to the next good pull-out spot and we'd make the exchange. I thought about ordering a Whopper and fries but decided not to push my luck.

Amy learned a few things that are less than ideal for a support vehicle. The Jetta was a bit small, loaded with all our junk, and so every time she needed to get me something she had to open multiple doors for access. A minivan or the back of an SUV would work much better.

In fact, I did wonderful while I had her support, and as soon as I lost it things started falling apart. You only get to have vehicle support while on the big loop. As soon as you start the small loops you only get support from the start/stop location there at the lodge.

Well, that second lap, 26 or 27 miles, was a problem. I had two insulated water bottles with me. One with Gatorade and the other with Perpetuem. The initial climb out of Maupin was hot. So I basically finished off my Gatorade not long after it. So then I am left with most of the miles remaining and all I have is Perpetuem, but what I needed was Gatorade to deal with the heat and electrolyte replenishment.

In short, the heat got me again. And I suffered most on that same stretch I suffered on last year: between Tygh Valley and Sherars Falls. There are a few minor climbs and a headwind that really took it out of me. At least this year I was able to keep chugging along, albeit considerably slower than the big loop pace I'd set. I was extremely grateful for the tailwind along river (most of the time) for the 9-mile stretch back to Maupin.

However, I was spent. I thought I was done for the day. Amy suggested I simply take a load off and recover for a while (with some Coke!). It was a great idea. After a while (about 45 minutes, in fact) her suggestions of getting back out there didn't seem so insane. I tried to eat but absolutely nothing sounded good and what I did try didn't taste good.

So at 6:17 p.m., with a little less than an hour to work with, I went out to see how it went. The plan was to attempt the 4-mile climb out of Maupin, and if I made it, go the next 3 miles of flat (but into the wind, assuming the wind pattern was unchanged) and then before descending to Tygh Valley just turn right around and head back with nothing but tail wind and descending between me and getting off the bike for good. That would add 7 official miles to my total.

I felt so good on the climb that I started to consider not turning around and attempting as many miles as I could before the clock struck 7:06. However, when I reach the 7-mile mark, it was already 6:54 p.m., so I only had 12 minutes to work with. I figured I would get 3 to 5 miles more. The only problem is, I would then have to either finish the 27-mile loop or turn around and climb out of Tygh Valley. Oh, and the sun was setting, so it would have been fairly dark by the time I got done. It probably would have been safe as I do have a tail light. But I simply didn't want to mess with it.

So I turned around and had a blast returning those 7 miles. The tail wind had dwindled dramatically while I was up there. The wind often dies down at dusk. The downhill didn't dwindle at all. It was great. I even broke the speed limit a couple times in Maupin. Even if just barely.

I thanked the race organizers and they asked how it went. I told them "It was brutal, but it ended well." They seemed to liked the description. They gave me my "Ring of Fire Finisher" cap and we were on our way.

I was one of the very few who had troubles. Most enjoyed the milder-than-usual weather for the Ring of Fire. In fact, there were many records. From the web site:

Wow, the 12 and 6 hour races have finished. It’s a wonderful night – gorgeous. Chris Ragsdale created a new record for solo male 12 hour. Karen Armstrong set a new record for Women’s solo 12 hour.
Adam Kennedy set a record for the 6 hour. Kate Shea won the women’s 6 hour. Team Bicycle Center Collision 1 probably set a new record in the 4 man team 12 hour. They averaged just over 20 mph.

The 24-hour racers are doing well too, but the results aren't up yet as I write this post. I guess all three of the 24-hour teams were on record pace at one point.

EDIT: All the official results are in and of the 10 different race categories there were eight different course records set this year! Clearly most folks thrived in the relatively cooler weather this year. Easier to list the categories that weren't a course record: 6-hour Solo Women and 24-hour Solo Men.

My overall average moving speed was 14.2 mph. On the first lap it was 14.4 mph and on the second lap it was 13.4 mph. On the final lap, including the unofficial return portion, it was 14.6 mph. The problem was obviously that second lap, and of course the 45-minutes recovering off-the-bike after it.

Had I kept the same pace on the whole 12 hours as I did on the big loop I would have completed around the same mileage as the 3rd and 4th place racers did. Woulda, shoulda, coulda...

I officially completed 146 miles. When adding my warm-up ride and the miles riding back on the last lap I ended up at a total of 158 miles for the day. And climbed 10,913 feet. Both of which are my best for the year.

Maps showing all rides: 2010 Rides • 2009 Rides • All Rides