Tour of Alberta Challenge – I made it!

Today, I successfully rode the “short” course of the Tour of Alberta Challenge.

It’s been a long time coming: I registered for this ride on July 27th when I found out about it. At the time, I’d just started with the Bow Cyclists, and I wondered if I’d bit off more than I could chew. But it gave me a goal, and with the exception of the week lost due to throwing my back out, I worked to improve my endurance to the point where the 87 km wouldn’t seem ridiculous.

Here is a map of the route (and a link to the recorded workout):

I was on my own this morning, because Tammy was obviously not well enough to (A) get up at 4:30 or (B) look after the kids in Okotoks for four hourse while I was riding. That was a bit disappointing, but there was nothing to be done about it. I’m just thankful I managed to fight off the illness long enough to do the ride. 🙂 Miranda made me a lovely card and gave it to me when I got home. (Shown here with my commemorative jersey)

The parking was over 2 km away from the starting point, so the first order of business was to get all my stuff together and then lock the car and ride down to the starting area. There were lots of people already there:

As you can see, it was dark. The sun didn’t rise until we were outside Okotoks and climbing the first hill. We got to start in the chute for the Tour of Alberta. I didn’t plan to be, but I ended up near the front of the crowd (probably about the first 1/4 of riders). One of my worries for the day was a crash at the start with hundreds of riders jockeying for position. That didn’t happen, thank goodness.

The weather was clear, but with banks of fog that wreaked havoc on my glasses. All things being equal, I’d rather the fog than a stiff headwind, but it was still annoying. The ride went well, and I’d say I ended up closer to the frontrunners than the back markers, so that’s something. I guess they will post the results soon, and I’ll add a link. There were three check points, which had water, food and portajohns. The fork in the road for doing the “long” or the “short” course (127 km vs. 87 km) was right after the first checkpoint, about 25 km in. At the time, a part of me was saying “Hey, I’m feeling pretty good! I bet I could do the long course!”, but cooler heads prevailed, and I took the right fork.

My sense of well-being lasted until the climbs. I knew they were coming, since Tammy and the kids and I had already reconnoitred the course in the car a few weeks ago. I knew they would be tough, but they did me in. I did well on them, but it took me almost all the way back to Okotoks to really recover my legs. Good thing the last 10 km or so were gradual downhill. 🙂

I checked my timer as I passed the finishing station, and it was 3:08. Average speed of 26 km/h. Not bad for a 40 year old!

Updated

They have posted the results. Not bad at all: 12th in my age category for the short course, 42 minutes behind the winner. (My results are in 40-49 Men, 87km)
Overall results
King of the Mountain Results