King's Tour of the Quabbin 2012

The heavens shined down on cyclist Sunday and blessed everyone with perfect weather. If I was a witch doctor with magical weather spells, it couldn't be better. At 7:00 the temperature was around 65, but once we got going, things warmed up. Around noon time, it was in the low 70's, but going at a 20 mph it felt awesome. Around 2, it was starting to get hot, but the wind picked up. Not sure if that's good, cuz the head wind made the last 20 miles feel tougher. Then again, I'm not sure if the "feeling" of wind was really a breeze or my legs giving out.

This year, I rode with the 7HW wednesday nite A group. Old fast Don, Eric D and Peter kept a steady fast pace the whole way. I managed to stay with them for the first 98 miles. At the last rest stop we regrouped. After 105 miles, I simply couldn't keep their pace, so I rode the remaining 10 with Peter Howard and a few other 7HW cyclist.

Thanks to the A group for pulling me along for 98 miles. According to my bike computer, here is the stats:
Miles: 121.74
Average speed: 18.3 mph
Ride time: 6:39:07
Max Speed: 43.5 mph
Average Cadence: 90
Max Cadence: 156
Zone 1 (102-130): 14%
Zone 2 (130-148): 41%
Zone 3(148-185):  43%
Uphill trip distance: 37.28 miles
uphill Avg speed: 13.56
uphill Avg incline: 3%
uphill trip time: 2:45
uphill altitude: 7217
uphill max incline: 10%
downhill distance: 38.9 miles
downhill avg speed: 26.11
downhill avg incline: 3%
downhill trip time: 1:29
downhill altitude: 7273