100k on the ElliptiGo

Kancamagus double traverse 100k

I got up at 3am on Saturday and hit the road for the 2 hour drive to Conway.  A large regular from Dunkin’s and satellite radio helped pass the time.  I arrived at the Eastern end of the Kancamagus Highway (route 112) just before sunrise.  http://www.kancamagushighway.com/

 

I had planned on parking at the Saco River Ranger station but was surprised to find that parking was limited to 30 minutes.  I ended up driving up 112 for .7 miles to the Albany town forest parking area.  It took me a few minutes to get my gear together and get the ElliptiGo prepared for the ride.  My goal was a double-travers of the highway, up over the pass then down to the Lincoln Woods parking lot then returning.  The 100 kilometers (62.1 miles) would double my longest ride and this was no flat ride with over 4,000’ of climb/descent.  I’d done part of the Kanc on bike (last year) but never a traverse.  There is a bike race that does the first 21 miles of my ride and riding the Kanc is considered New England gem.  

 

I got my gear together (2 liters of water, 4 gels, 2 energy bars, emergency cell phone) and was off just after sunrise.  I started out wearing a long sleeve t-shirt, it was almost a bit chilly with the breeze on the ElliptiGo.  Earlier I had written up some splits along the way to help break up the ride and give me some milestones.  The going was a bit slower than I expected as the road climbed at a gentle grade (less than 100’ per mile) for the first 10 miles.  I chugged along at about 13 mph trying to keep an even effort but not over-exert this early on.  Ten to fifteen miles were a mostly flat section that included a ½ mile that was under construction and slowed me way down on the rocks and dirt (not good for the Go).  The real climbing started at 15 with a tough stretch up to the Sugar hill scenic overlook at about 17 miles.

Sugar hill seemed like a good place to take a quick break.  I jumped off, got a couple of pictures, got out of my long sleeve, and was back on the Go in four minutes.  That would be my longest break of the day.  The remaining climb to the pass was slow but steady I was cranking out 7-8 MPH as the grade increased from 5-6% with a couple of 8-9% stretches.  Having driven it many times was helpful and knowing that there would be an 8 mile downhill to Lincoln Woods kept it from being too tough.  I hit the top (21 miles) in a bit under 2 hours and took a 2 minute break to get pictures at the pass.

 

Zoom!  What a blast coming down the road.  There were very few cars as it was still only 7:30am, so I zipped along down the 5-7% grades.  I thought I’d be going faster based on some of the mountain rides I’d done but I guess the grade wasn’t quite steep enough to really get rolling.  I hit 31 mph a few times but mostly just cruised about 25 mph.  I was still working and very rarely coasted. 

I hit the Lincoln Wood turnaround in 2:12 (2:18 total time) and grabbed a gel and some water before getting going.  A couple of bikers had gone by right before I stopped and I was kind of hoping to follow them.  The climb back up to the pass was shorter going in this direction (8 miles instead of 21) and there wasn’t quite as much climb.  But at this point I was now on my longest ride ever, so I was a bit nervous about going too hard.  I did keep pushing anyway, figuring the last 21 miles would be downhill.  About ½ mile before the pass I saw the bikers who had ascended and were heading past me back down to Lincoln.  It was great to see the pass come into sight again.  I reached it at 3:13 into the ride and 37.6 total miles.

I thought the next part would be “easy” but I was wrong.  The first few miles weren’t’ bad with some fun descents.  After 45 miles I started to get tired and I was worrying about the 17 miles that were left, part of it may have been just not fueling enough.  One gel and 1 liter of water probably is a little less than need for 4+ hours of riding.  I took a quick 1 minute break with 10 miles to go, just enough time to take another gel and drink some water.  Next time I’ll have to set up the gels so they are more accessible and I won’t have to stop (I had a camelback for the water so I was able to drink any time I wanted).  After the break the miles breezed by, I guess I really did need that gel, and before I knew it I was back at the Albany town forest.  I was pleased with the time 4:13 (moving time) or just one hour from the top and 2:01 from Lincoln.  The final add-on 3.3 miles was not the greatest most scenic part (out/back on Route 16) but I wanted to bring it in at exactly 100 kilometers, finishing in a total time of 4:35 and a moving time of 4:26.  I was happy with how it went, no major issues (thank you Paul Bazanchuk for being on standby in the event I needed roadside assistance) and at the fast end of what I thought I could do this in. 

Here is the data on the ride: http://www.strava.com/activities/167976510

I’m not sure what adventure is next but maybe a 100 mile ride is in my future.

Personal bests set:

Longest ride – 62.1

Mile – 2:03

5k – 6:45

10k – 15:25

½ marathon – 40:13

Marathon – 1:23:25

 

Splits:

Location	O'all dist	Section dist	Climb	Climb per mile	Grade	Splits	Rolling time	MPH
Albany town forest
Passaconaway Rd	5.7	5.7	420	73.7	1.40%	26:34	0:26:34	12.9
Bear Notch	11.4	5.7	-20	-3.5	-0.07%	26:27	0:53:01	12.9
Downes Brook	13.7	2.3	20	8.7	0.16%	09:17	1:02:18	14.9
Sugar Hill lot	16.5	2.8	420	150.0	2.84%	13:55	1:16:13	12.1
Break						04:00	1:20:13
Sawyer River Tr	17.7	1.2	320	266.7	5.05%	08:17	1:28:30	8.7
Kanc Pass lot	21	3.3	1010	306.1	5.80%	26:26	1:54:56	7.5
Break						01:55	1:56:51
Hancock lot	23.2	2.2	-610	-277.3	-5.25%	05:40	2:02:31	23.3
Big Rock camp	27.1	3.9	-700	-179.5	-3.40%	09:29	2:12:00	24.7
Lincoln Woods	29.3	2.2	-450	-204.5	-3.87%	06:00	2:18:00	22.0
Break						01:54	2:19:54
Big Rock camp	31.5	2.2	450	204.5	3.87%	13:26	2:33:20	9.8
Hancock lot	35.4	3.9	700	179.5	3.40%	22:13	2:55:33	10.5
Kanc Pass lot	37.6	2.2	610	277.3	5.25%	18:21	3:13:54	7.2
Sawyer River Tr	40.8	3.2	-1010	-315.6	-5.98%	08:07	3:22:01	23.7
Sugar Hill lot	42.1	1.3	-320	-246.2	-4.66%	02:41	3:24:42	29.1
Bear Notch	47.2	5.1	-400	-78.4	-1.49%	18:13	3:42:55	16.8
Passaconaway Rd	53.1	5.9	-355	-60.2	-1.14%	20:05	4:03:00	17.6
Break						01:13	4:04:13
Albany town forest	58.8	5.7	-420	-73.7	-1.40%	18:26	4:22:39	18.5
Out/back	62.1	3.3	50	15.2	0.29%	12:37	4:35:16	15.7