Five days to D2R2

Aug 19, 02:16 PM

With five days to go, there’s not much more I can do to prepare for D2R2. I’ll do one or two more short fast rides this week, and maybe one long hill climb, but my main goal is not to tire myself out too much. That’s what Saturday’s ride is for!

The last two weekends I did a couple longish (around 50 mile) rides in the hills northwest of here as part of my training. Each had at least one long hill climb and some other short, steep hills. On August 10 I rode up to Williamsburg and Conway, then followed back roads up to Bardwells Ferry (which now has a bridge) and the tail end of the D2R2 route on Hawks Road. (Strava map here.) The descent on Hawks Road was, as the D2R2 cue sheet puts it, gnarly: not too steep, but in many places part of the dirt has been washed out, and there are a number of big stones. It wasn’t too bad to descend by myself, but with a number of other cyclists around, finding a comfortable line might be challenging.

Yesterday I went in the same general direction but a little further west, to Ashfield. (Strava map here.) I hit a few back roads that are less traveled, by car and bike, and had a blast. There were some nasty hills, but nothing I couldn’t handle. D2R2 will involve a lot more climbing, but I’m hoping that if I pace myself, I’ll do OK. I’m not out to set any records.

I did each ride after a light lunch, and during each I ate one pastry and drank 2-3 bottles of diluted Gatorade. I’ll need to eat a little more at D2R2, but I figure breakfast before the start, a snack at the Little Big House and Apex Orchards, and a sandwich at the Green River lunch stop, along with a couple bottles of Gatorade, should suffice. I’ll bring some Clif bars, shot blocks, and Gatorade powder with me, just in case. One consequence of dieting for over seven months is that I seem to have become an efficient fat burner! I’m now down 35 lbs. since January.

My bike is now set, except for cutting the steerer (and installing dynamo lights, but I won’t need them for D2R2). I plan to get the steerer cut tomorrow or Wednesday. I can ride with it in its current state, as long as I don’t mind being ridiculed, but the bike will look so much better when it’s cut. During a couple of my recent rides, fellow cyclists were admiring the bike; I’m happy with the way it turned out.

Brian W. Ogilvie

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