Penticton Gran Fondo Axel Mercx

[jennygayfer]

This past Sunday, July.10th, a few of us completed the Penticton Gran Fondo.
It was a spectacular ride of 160 kms of vineyards and orchards from Penticton to Summerland, and then we turned around and headed to Osoyoos, and then back to Penticton.

This was my longest ride ever on a bike.

Distance:     160 kms
Time:         4:43 hours
Avg Speed: 33.8 kms/hr
Avg HR:      BP-3 (156)
Avr RPM:     86 RPM
Max Speed: 66 kms/hr
Standings:     11th Woman Overall

Here are my thoughts on what went right, and what I would do differently.

What I Did Right…
     -   I rode aggressively and went with every break, so I made my way up the different packs smoothly and efficiently.
     -   I stayed alert near the front of each pack so I could respond to any breaks.
     -   I climbed well.
     -   My nutrition went well. Two bottles with Fly and salt tabs, and a fruit & nut bar, and an Elevate protein bar. I scarfed half a banana at an aid station.

What I’d do Differently:
     -   Get to the front on the Start Line. I had to make my way through too many people to get to the fast groups.
     -   I was too conservative on the descents, and I would fall off the back of the pack. I would have to red line to get back on. This was the Biggest. Glaring. Problem. 

Thanks for reading... 

[Peter O'Brien]

Quinn and I did the Mediofondo, having fun bridging between groups. There were always people behind and ahead of us for the first 50 km, which was certainly a unique experience. Going out from Penticton along Skaha Lake we ramped up the pace which left me pushing LBP + 10, averaging 45 km/h into a cross-breeze. SOOO MUCH FUN! There were then scattered groups of 3 or 4 riders, which we would rest behind before pulling again. Quinn rode strongly the whole way, and did quite a few pulls himself. We never did catch Eddy Merckx, as he finished twenty minutes ahead of us. Pretty good for a 66 year-old!

I was probably most excited when I got to meet Svein Tuft, Axel Merckx, Eddy Merckx, Jodi Merckx and Trevor Linden. They autographed my BPR jersey, and Quinn and I even got a picture with the Mercks'. It is truly inspiring to know such legends can be so close to home.

Distance: 93km
Time: 2:56:00
Avg. Speed: 33.6 km/h
Avg HR: LBP - 32
Avg RPM: ~105
Standings: 2nd Overall U18

What I did right...
    - Didn't fall off my bike due to inexperienced riders (though I had to break hard at 55 km/h to barely avoid hitting the guy ahead of me, on a flat four lane highway! Also, some idiot cut me and another person off around a tight corner on the descent in Summerland)
    - Recovered properly between pulls to bridge between groups
    - Fueled well
    - Stayed with Quinn to finish with a high-five over the finish line!

What I did wrong...
    - Almost turned onto the Granfondo route. Thankfully Quinn spotted my error and started shouting at me to turn around. That would have made for a long detour (70 km)!

[Quinn Middleton]

This was a truly epic ride! With just over 2000 riders in attendance at this event and no selected starting corrals it was jam packed at the start of the ride and didn't clear up until 70 km when the Granfondo participants and the Mediofondo participants split. The day before the race I did a easy step test with Chris just to get the blood pumping and then hung out at the expo and helped Chris run the booth. I got to the start line early so I could place myself accordingly within the massive group.It took us five minutes to reach the actual start line and we still passed about 60 riders.  Peter and I rode together the entire ride taking turns pulling at the front. We were supposed to be ride ambassadors and help out people with flats but only saw a few people on the side that had already patched everything up. We took our time at the aid stations but then destroyed the flats and averaging 33.6km\h for the entire ride. My goal was to work on keeping my breathing under control and my cadence high. My final time for the 93km ride was 2:56 which I was fairly pleased with considering I predicted myself to finish around 3:30. Congrats to all the other BPR members in attendance and to everyone who shred it up at BCBR!

[GinnySellars]

Thanks for the race reports crew!

Sounds like you all rode REALLY well. Quinn...93km in under 3 hours at 15 yrs old is pretty impressive. The photo of you and Peter at the finish line was pretty cool. Peter, glad you felt inspired. It's a reminder that greatness is possible through passion and commitment.

Jenny, it's tough to negotiate a 'fondo' vs. a race. People are not seeded correctly, you can't predict cycling skills, and the intention to race is variable between people and even during the race a group will just change their focus and decide not to work. I'm glad you had some fun group dynamics with breaks to chase etc. Nice to have the fitness to do that!