Yes I did.
I’ve been asked that question quite a few times since the Deer Creek Challenge. 107 miles and almost 13,000 feet of climbing. I talked the talk in our 9News promo and I biked the bike on August 30th.
My partner in crime for just about every cycling event is my younger brother Ted. We decided we weren’t real keen on riding in the dark when the course opened at 5:45am (plus he wanted the extra few winks of sleep – didn’t really matter to me because waking up anytime after 1:45am is sleeping in for me!).
So I picked him up at 5:45 and as we pulled into the Botanic Garden’s parking lot, it was impossible not to notice the hundreds of vehicles already there – maybe we should have started earlier.We got on the road by 6:35 and started climbing Deer Creek Canyon. It was a little chilly but we warmed up quickly with all the vertical miles. At aid station #1, we stopped, enjoyed some food and chatted a bit with amazing volunteers and other riders. This theme continued at every aid station… more on that later.
Next was the climb up City View which has some breathtaking scenery enjoyable from a car, but on a bike all you notice are the endless false summits. Just after finishing one steep climb, lo and behold another one stares you in the face. That was tough. We had a two word saying throughout the ride starting with “Really” and ending in another word not suitable for family reading. We found ourselves saying it quite often.
From there we cruised down Foxton Road. Wow, that was a chilly decent. I hadn’t been down this road before and kept debating on whether or not to stop and put on my wind jacket. I never did and by the time we hit the bottom turn around, I was frozen. Thankfully my brain was working well enough to get my first stamp of the day to verify we had made it to a checkpoint on the century route.
Turning around and climbing back out on Foxton warmed us back up and we stopped at another aid station. The aid stations are so important for fueling the body but we later realized that we spend WAY too much time at them – mostly my fault because I get to chatting with people… whoops.
The rest of the route took us down High Grade, back up Deer Creek Canyon and then around the Evergreen/Conifer area before re-hooking up to City View for a SECOND trek on that fun road. This portion of the ride was by far the toughest biking I’ve ever done. My quads were toast and I had to stop a couple times just to try and breathe some life into my legs before the next climb.
Along the route we had a few more “stamp stops” to prove we were there. When we finally rolled back into the Botanic Gardens for our final stamp, Ted and I headed straight to the jersey tent for our official Deer Creek Challenge Century jerseys. I wear it very proud.
Ready for the staggering stats from our day on the inaugural Deer Creek Challenge?
I was on my bike seat for 7 hours and 50 minutes.
We were on the course for almost 10 ½ hours.
Yeah, we didn’t cross the finish until 5pm. Ted’s wife and my nieces had been waiting to surprise us since 3:30 - we thought we would be done much sooner.
Regardless of the time, it was an amazing event – very well organized, fun and there’s no question we will be back next year.
With two lessons learned of course:
1. If you do the math, we spent a combined 2 1/2 hours between nine aid station stops. Granted, we ran into old friends and met new ones, which is half the fun with these events. But next time, we’re putting a time limit on stops.
2. Maybe we should have started earlier. :)
I’ve been asked that question quite a few times since the Deer Creek Challenge. 107 miles and almost 13,000 feet of climbing. I talked the talk in our 9News promo and I biked the bike on August 30th.
My partner in crime for just about every cycling event is my younger brother Ted. We decided we weren’t real keen on riding in the dark when the course opened at 5:45am (plus he wanted the extra few winks of sleep – didn’t really matter to me because waking up anytime after 1:45am is sleeping in for me!).
So I picked him up at 5:45 and as we pulled into the Botanic Garden’s parking lot, it was impossible not to notice the hundreds of vehicles already there – maybe we should have started earlier.We got on the road by 6:35 and started climbing Deer Creek Canyon. It was a little chilly but we warmed up quickly with all the vertical miles. At aid station #1, we stopped, enjoyed some food and chatted a bit with amazing volunteers and other riders. This theme continued at every aid station… more on that later.
Next was the climb up City View which has some breathtaking scenery enjoyable from a car, but on a bike all you notice are the endless false summits. Just after finishing one steep climb, lo and behold another one stares you in the face. That was tough. We had a two word saying throughout the ride starting with “Really” and ending in another word not suitable for family reading. We found ourselves saying it quite often.
From there we cruised down Foxton Road. Wow, that was a chilly decent. I hadn’t been down this road before and kept debating on whether or not to stop and put on my wind jacket. I never did and by the time we hit the bottom turn around, I was frozen. Thankfully my brain was working well enough to get my first stamp of the day to verify we had made it to a checkpoint on the century route.
Turning around and climbing back out on Foxton warmed us back up and we stopped at another aid station. The aid stations are so important for fueling the body but we later realized that we spend WAY too much time at them – mostly my fault because I get to chatting with people… whoops.
The rest of the route took us down High Grade, back up Deer Creek Canyon and then around the Evergreen/Conifer area before re-hooking up to City View for a SECOND trek on that fun road. This portion of the ride was by far the toughest biking I’ve ever done. My quads were toast and I had to stop a couple times just to try and breathe some life into my legs before the next climb.
Along the route we had a few more “stamp stops” to prove we were there. When we finally rolled back into the Botanic Gardens for our final stamp, Ted and I headed straight to the jersey tent for our official Deer Creek Challenge Century jerseys. I wear it very proud.
Ready for the staggering stats from our day on the inaugural Deer Creek Challenge?
I was on my bike seat for 7 hours and 50 minutes.
We were on the course for almost 10 ½ hours.
Yeah, we didn’t cross the finish until 5pm. Ted’s wife and my nieces had been waiting to surprise us since 3:30 - we thought we would be done much sooner.
Regardless of the time, it was an amazing event – very well organized, fun and there’s no question we will be back next year.
With two lessons learned of course:
1. If you do the math, we spent a combined 2 1/2 hours between nine aid station stops. Granted, we ran into old friends and met new ones, which is half the fun with these events. But next time, we’re putting a time limit on stops.
2. Maybe we should have started earlier. :)
Getting my final stamp at the finish line to show that I indeed rode the Century (+7!)
Nice write-up dude! And damn fine job on this ride. My legs suffered a bit from mile 35-50, but then suddenly came alive. Maybe I finally thawed by this point? You are an awesome biking partner, great competitor, and even better sister. Thanks for yet another great season of cycling. Looking forward to seeing what 2011 has in store for us.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Susie! That is a serious ride!! I have ridden all those roads many times and some of those climbs are epic!! Awesome work!! If I dont get into the Triple Bypass next year, I will definitely be doing the Deer Creek Challenge..
ReplyDeleteI love your passion for cycling and all things athletic! Both you and Ted are an inspiration to me and cannot wait to enjoy some rides with the Wargins next year. Glad to hear your hip is recovering and wish you continued success in your recovery and your future events. Thanks for taking the time to tell us about your loooooooongggg day and ride!
ReplyDelete