2016 Cafe Velo Gran Fondo Event Report

I’ve been involved with the Cafe Velo Gran Fondo since its inception four years ago. I rode in the very first one when it took place in early May. I won’t forget that one – temperatures were in the upper 30s, and it was a damp, windy, and chilly day on a challenging course!

Due to my hip injuries the last couple years I just volunteered for the Gran Fondo, but this year I could ride again, and I needed to log some more miles as I prepare for the Syracuse 70.3. I opted to ride my TT bike, even though I knew it wasn’t an ideal course for that bike, since I needed more time in that saddle.

This year the Gran Fondo was pushed back to the end of May, where hopefully the weather would be better.

Indeed it was!

An Interesting Warm Up for Gran Fondo

My preparation the night before was pretty similar to any long ride, other than I had a bib number to pin on my jersey. My plan was to use the fuel and hydration that I will be using in Syracuse.

I was on schedule getting ready in the morning when I realized my dog, who was out back so she could take care of her business before I left, decided to jump the fence. Yikes!! I haven’t been in my place very long and knew she could jump it if she wanted to, but was really, really hoping she wouldn’t figure that out. But she did. So before I could leave I needed to find her!

I went outside to call for her and checked around the creek, but didn’t see or hear her.  About 10 minutes after she “flew” I decided to head out in the car to drive around. I wasn’t but a few houses down the alley, and there she was in a neighbor’s yard. She was of course super happy to be exploring! Their fence was broken, and she was good and came over to the car. All I had to do was open the driver door and she hopped in across my lap to the passenger seat.

I brought her back to our yard but made the mistake of just letting her go, and of course she ran right to the fence and bounded right back over it. Impressive, but now I had to go get her again! This time she went the other way and found a neighbor’s chicken coop. I was able to snag her after a few rounds of “let’s run around the coop and run away from you” and get her back in the car and take her home.

Inside we went, and by now it was clear I was going to be late to the ride.

At one time I would have stressed out about being late. But realizing this was an unforeseen incident on event morning, there wasn’t much I could do. Assessing the situation while looking for Kimber was that the worst case would be I missed the ride completely. The best case I’m perhaps a little late. Priority one was to find my dog. Once I found her and made sure she was safe, I headed to the event.

I knew I was going to miss the mass start but it really didn’t matter. It was a gorgeous day and I needed to ride. I got to the parking area around 8, right in time to watch the mass start go by. About 20 minutes later I was on my way. I wasn’t the only late person, so I had a little company to start!

Quick Tip: If you can’t control it, don’t let it stress you.

I made my way around the course, sometimes wishing I had the gearing of my road bike, but enjoying the views. After the first 22 mile lap, I stopped at the aid station, made a pit stop, had a couple cookies, and got the one photo I took all day.

The gearing on the TT bike was a bit of a challenge on some of the hills, but I made steady progress. I wasn’t in a hurry to try to catch people, I just went out to enjoy the ride. My hydration and nutrition worked well, and it gave me a nice confidence boost for Syracuse.

I had signed up for 3 laps (66 miles) but my right hip was getting a little tight and sore, so I figured it best to call it a day. It was time to get my BBQ and beer!

After some good food, beer, and conversation at Pikes Peak Brewing after the ride, I headed home to take my dog for a walk and figure out how I was going to make the fence taller…

What do you do when your morning of the race doesn’t go as planned? Share in the comments below!