More Cycling

Last Sunday ( Sept 16) I "competed" in the Josh Billings Runaground. It's a weird team triathlon which consists of a 27 mile bike leg, a 5 mile kayak or canoe leg, and a 6 mile run. It's a fundraiser for the local United Way and draws over four hundred teams. Some people do all three legs. Some teams have two, three, or even four members ( two paddlers).


I did the bike leg in just over two hours, very near the last. This was a few minutes faster than my practice run of a week earlier.  I was one of the oldest riders. The fastest bike times are just over an hour. This is near professional level performance, not too short of Tour de France time trial speeds. The course is moderately hilly with just a few steep sections, overall about 1800 feet of ascent, and very pretty. I plan to ride on some of these roads again soon.

My partner, whom I met for the first time that day did the other two legs. She  races in memory of her sister who died of breast cancer. She usually does all three legs, but her training for a marathon sometime this fall reduced her energy for biking to the point where she needed a partner.

After the race I had to ride back eleven miles to get my car, but it was mostly flat or downhill so it wasn't bad.

When I checked my bike at home I discovered the bike repairs I had made last Tuesday left something to be desired. The brakes were rubbing a bit and the rear derallieur cable was too short to allow me to get into top gear. I might try the course again and see how much time I can knock off with the bike in proper shape. Probably not much.