Steelhead Race Report: The Bike Leg

To read the previous part of the series please follow this link.

The Steelhead Triathlon bike leg is a 56-mile bike ride that takes triathletes through the scenic northern Berrien and eastern Van Buren counties in southwest Michigan. This area is part of the Michigan "fruit belt" and includes numerous blueberry, strawberry and raspberry farms as well as vineyards and orchards. The course roadways are mostly asphalt, in good condition with some rolling hills throughout.

As I jumped on my bike and headed out on the bike course my legs felt good. The wetsuit had done its job.

I rode away from T1 knowing that the bike course would take about 3 hours to complete and I was looking forward to this leg, as I knew that this is the leg that I've trained the most. Within the first couple of miles there was a decent hill to get the quads warmed up. As I rode the first few miles, I wanted to make sure that I hydrated myself and wanted to make sure that I ate something.

The road was nice and smooth and my ride was going as planned. I rode at right around 20 miles per hour and Christien's geartrain hummed as I pushed the pedals. The road had nice rolling hills which helped me catch up and pass a lot of riders. My hill training was paying off. I tried to eat a piece of Cliff bar that I had packed in my Bento Box. It was dry, and trying to eat it in a dry mouth was even more difficult. I gulped down some Gatorade and wished that I had water to drink instead.

I rode the first 10 miles in just under a half hour. Right about that time the road changed to rougher surface that slowed me down a bit but I tried to still push it. This took a tool on my legs.
You may remember that I blogged about a new helmet... The good thing about it is that it has really big vent holes in it. It sucks in air to keep your head cool. The bad thing about it is that it has really big vent holes in it and it sucks nearby bees in as well!

Talk about terror... I was ridding on a downhill portion and all of a sudden there is this huge buzzing sound right over my head. I was slamming my helmet with my left hand trying to remove the bug while trying not to fall of the bike. I was praying it wasn't a wasp or hornet. (Wasps and hornets are aggressive and can sting you repeatedly) I guess slamming my helmet with my hand wasn't such a smart idea as the bug stung me just above my forehead. I slowed down and removed the helmet and shook it out. It was a bee. I put my helmet back on and struggled to latch it back on. I slowed down even more and eventually I was able to latch my helmet with one hand. I guess I should have tried to ride a little more no handed, but I never do when I'm riding training runs.

As I rode on, my head hurt where the bee stung and had done its damage. At the halfway point I had lost some time. I was getting bored of the scenery and now my head hurt as well.

As the race progressed the racers had spaced out a lot more and the air was getting hot. Over the next few miles I kept hearing a rider behind me and eventually I heard behind a woman’s voice saying that she has been riding behind me for the last 8 miles and she was getting sick of looking at my rear. I told her that I was sorry that she was stuck having to look at such a bad view. She laughed and rode up next to me and said that she has seen worse.

I don't know her name, but we rode for the next ten or so miles together and talked about the race and the sport. She was a triathlon coach and we chatted about my aspirations to run a full Ironman. We talked about Ironman Florida or Wisconsin and she said that Wisconsin was better in her estimation because of the variety of the terrain. We kept exchanging leads to help each other out. Oddly enough she also rode a road bike. I told her that we might be two of about a dozen riders that didn't ride on a tri bike. She said that she has never gotten used to riding on a tri bike and said that even though she was due for a new bike, it was going to be another road bike. She said that you can get a lot more bike for the money in a road bike then a tri bike.

The divergence worked as my legs felt better and I was more motivated to finish the race. I wanted to pick up the pace but my riding partner wanted keep her pace. I told her good luck as I picked up my cadence. Over the next ten miles the only thing of note was that I rode up and passed one guy on a mountain bike. I was floored to see this guy huffing and puffing on a hardtail. I gave him a high five and complemented his ride so far and told him to keep it up.

I had read that there were going to be some good long and steep hills around the 48 mile mark. I kept riding strong knowing that the hills were looming ahead. At the last food and water aid station I was able to get a bottle of water and ate a banana and a shot of Gu so that I wouldn’t bonk during the last few miles.

Almost on cue, the hills hit right at mile 48. The rides started to bunch up as the hills slowed everyone down. During one the last few hills, I was at the low gear and was still only half way up the hill. By the end of the hill I was standing and doing a little over 8 mph. At the top of the hill crest I was glad to know that the hills were over and most of the rest of the ride was going to be flat.

I drank more of the water and Gatorade as I knew that I really didn’t do a great job of hydration during the bike. Over the last few miles, I rode in a low gear and made sure to spin at a high cadence to make sure that I would get rid of some of the lactic acid that had accumulated in my legs. With the last mile to go I could see some of the runners that were on the race course and the long run was looming ahead for me.