Tag: Pedal with Pete

This ride has always been one of my favorites.  This one is to raise money for cerebral palsy research.  I rode the 48 mile route the first few years, last year and this year, I rode the 64 mile (metric century) route.  When I hit the first rest stop averaging 17.5 mph, I set myself a goal of finishing with an average of 17.0 mph or better.  I didn’t quite make that due mostly to the hills in the middle 16 miles and head winds in the last 18 or so miles, my secondary goal was to finish in better time than last year (though the route was slightly different due to a bridge being out), that I managed to accomplish.  Unfortunately, last year, this was my next to last good ride before I started having symptoms due to my heart issues.  This year, I’m expecting to have a few more good rides 🙂 .  The ride started drizzle in the first 4 miles and fog and clouds for much of the first 15 or 20.  I wouldn’t have minded if the overcast had lasted a bit longer, but it turned into a beautiful day to ride.  Rode most of the first 24 with a group of 4 other guys who were doing the 80 mile route.  Temp (min/avg/max) – 66.2/75.2/84.2°F, wind from S @ 5, max grade – 5.8%, total climbing – 777 ft (237 m), cadence (avg/max) – 75.5/99, HR (avg/max) – 149.5/170, HR zones 3-5 3:15, power (avg/max) – 160/523W.  63.59 mi (102.34 km) in 3:45:24, avg – 16.93 mph (27.25 km/h), max – 28.7 mph (46.2 km/h).  Personal bests on 5 of the 9 RideWithGPS segments on the route.

For the 4th year in a row, I rode the Pedal with Pete Cerebral Palsy ride. This is one of my favorites, it is well organized and well run (though there was an issue with lack of arrows at one of the first turns 🙂 ).  There was also a sign at the finish stating that since Pete (who has CP) started his foundation in 1993, they have raised over $950,000.  This isn’t a ride I solicit donations for, I simply pay the registration fee, but they’ve done an amazing thing here. There were 1000 participants (I think that included the walkers, too) this year and they offered 7 routes ranging from 7 mi for the kids to a century (100 mi). Last year, rain kept me from riding the metric century, but this year the weather was perfect, so I went for it. It is actually slightly longer than a metric century (100 km), it was just over 64, so my “stretch goal” was 4 hours for the ride (which would have been right at 16.0 mph). I actually beat that comfortably. I also must have been channeling my brother-in-law Bill Devorick and became the “social butterfly” because I rode in several groups (especially on the way out) and talked to more people on this ride than I have probably since Tami King moved away. Temp (min/avg/max) – 62.6/74.6/82.4, wind from W @ 6, max grade – 3.6%, total climbing – 461ft, HRM zones 3-5 2:27, HR (min/avg/max) – 91/150.0/177. 64.49 mi (103.79 km) in 3:52:51, avg = 16.62 mph (26.75 km/h), max = 29.8 mph (48.0 km/h).