HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA
An annual event that I look forward to attending is the Alpine Loop Gran Fondo in Harrisonburg. But with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in full force, the Gran Fondo was canceled as an outdoor event but it was still run as a virtual event.
The event itself would normally feature a ride, some friendly climbing competition, and food. The outdoor ride was off. The food was out. But the friendly competition was on.
Unfortunately (for me), it was a Zwift competition. If you had an indoor trainer and the Zwift app, you could compete on certain courses and post your time versus others. The problem for me is I do not have a trainer. I ride outdoors – period. Outdoors is free.
But they also introduced a quasi-outdoor competition. It involved Strava and local KOMs or PRs. And I was on a roll. I had snagged some KOMs in northern Va. after going years with none. And, not to be underestimated, I had changed age groups. Moving on up.
September was a good riding month. I had snagged a couple of KOMs and lots of PRs. And to be sure, I was certainly aided by weak participation. While I embraced the outdoor competition, I am sure many did not and some may have participated only in the Zwift competition.
Former had been 5:23 and I smoked it in 4:56. No one has been close since.
One thing going in my favor is that Strava KOMs including climbing and sprinting or sprint/climbing. I will never be a great climber. I am built more like a sprinter. But this competition fit my strengths whereas being first up Shenahdoah Mountain or Reddish Knob never will.
At the end of the competition, I was announced as the KOM for the 65-69 age group. And that earned me a polka-dot jersey. A virtual polka-dot jersey. Wait, the jersey is real.
The Awards Ceremony. I am recognized at 21:40 in this video.
