CLERMONT, FLORIDA
I came here for one thing only. A PR on Sugarloaf Mountain. Having ridden the Horrible Hundred event three times I thought I would be able to set a PR because I am down 40 pounds plus since I last rode it (and set a PR that day).
But first there was some unfinished business. I had a new tire (Continental 5000) with me and decided I would replace the one that flatted yesterday on the Seven Mile Bridge.
I had mapped the route of the Sugarloaf climb and uploaded it to my Wahoo. I took off into the wind. I hadn’t gone far before I was off exploring some new roads. And then I came back to familiar roads.
I was following the route when I came to Sugarloaf Road. I remembered a left hand turn but the road did not look familiar. Oh well, I rode anyhow. But it just didn’t feel right.
No Strava-Live segments were coming up on Wahoo and then I realized I had come up the backside of Sugarloaf. I have ridden down this way three times. But never up it. Damn. I mapped this out in the wrong direction.
I was very conscious of the wind today. It was strong. I came to the top of Sugarloaf and was amazed looking ahead at my descent. This should have been my climb. But I remember standing at the top of the 90-meter hill (ski jump) in Lahti, Finland, in 1995, and thinking what a hill. And I get to ride down it. Of course, I was riding at speed while processing this and just kept riding.
My speed crept up. I saw 48 mph on the computer and I always felt on the edge of control. As the road started to flatten out I saw a cyclist riding up the hill. I nodded because I could not take my hands off the handlebars to wave.
At the bottom of the hill, instead of turning right and following what I had mapped, I turned around. I had to try Sugarloaf the right way.
I saw the rider up ahead of me on the hill. And I was gaining. Wahoo started with a GO! But did it twice. I had marked two segments and I really was interested in one. I briefly saw I was ahead of my PR time but then didn’t see that anymore. I need to unstar one of those.
I had a speaker on my bike and was blasting 50s music from SiriusXM. I could see the rider was a woman and I was gaining quickly. As I got close I said “there’s no sneaking up on you.” She looked at me and said “You make it look easy.” If she only knew.
At the top I went another quarter mile to a house which offered free water. I thought she would come over the top but she didn’t. I would learn that she turned around and went to ride it again. Hill repeats. Ugh.
Turning around and going back down, I wanted to hit 50 mph. But that cross wind was a serious problem. A safety problem. I pedaled and then got into a tuck. Again, I saw 49 mph and then had a serious wheel wobble. With the winds this was too fast. I looked to slow down.
At the end of the hill a truck pulled up and some cyclists got out. I thought it was strange they drove out to ride the hill but I don’t know their stories. From there I followed Wahoo and for the next 10 miles followed the Route of the Horrible Hundred – backwards.
I finished the ride and then checked my results. I set a large number of PRs but the one I wanted – Sugarloaf, I lowered by 28 seconds. I was happy. I was now #4000 instead of #6000. I jumped 2000 places. But for context, that’s out of 10,000 athletes. So I’m in the top 40% instead of the bottom 40%. I still suck.
Maybe if I hadn’t climbed Sugarloaf from the backside first I would have been better. And maybe if there was no wind (I’m not asking for a tailwind) I would have shaved more time off. But the wind, even a crosswind, was formidable today.
Looking at other segments, Up the Ridge Westbound – horrible pave and I was second age group – missed age group#1 by :02. If I had known I would have gone for it. On Sugarloaf-Downhill I was #1 age group. I can still go downhill fast.
There are thousands of cyclists who ride these roads. I never came for a #1 in any group. I just wanted to see what I could do on Sugarloaf. I’m not done here. Next time I will ride in the right direction. And hopefully without the wind.
Distance: 31.1 miles
Average Speed: 14.7 miles
Weight: 172
