Last week Tom and I rode the Lake Placid course of IM USA, which Team IRONTOM will be racing this July. I woke up at 3AM, met Tom in Lebanon at 4:30AM and after a 3+ hour trip we arrived at our destination. The day was promising to be perfect - and indeed, it was. For Tom it was the first time riding this particular course. I have done it several times before - last time with Tomahawk in October 2006. I am sure he remembers it (particularly downtown Jay).
I am happy to report that the steep descents and long and challenging ascents were still there. Since Tom did not know the course, we agreed that, if one of us rides off, he will wait for the other at a specific point. The ride started smoothly by climbing out of town, riding along the spring-fed lakes, and finally descending to Keene, riding at times 40-50 m/h. Next there was a flat 10-mile stretch of road to Jay, and there it was where I caught my first flat tire, ever (excluding computrainer). Fortunately, Tom was right behind me and in about 10 minutes we were spinning again. While it was my first flat, it was also a good-one. The piece of glass slashed a nice-size hole in the tire itself.
After Jay, we were back on our way to Lake Placid. At the next waiting point (Haselton Road) we missed seeing one another and Tom continued riding up the wrong hill. When we reconnected, he said he hopped this hill would not be a part of the course. TGF for cell phones and good cellular service there. I caught Tom on his cell phone as he was climbing that monster hill. Tom, being the Trooper that he is did not even stop when he picked up the phone. It did not matter to him that his heart rate must have been racing then at about 250 bpm.
Next we started our final 10-mile ascent to Lake Placid. While the climb was not steep it was relentless and provided a lot of time to look forward to the second loop, which we will have to ride on the race day. That day, it was not in our plans.
Back in town, I combined the ride with a 25-minute run along the Mirror Lake. It felt really good. Next, we took an improvised semi-shower in a fine public facility and began navigating between the construction barrels in an attempt to find a place to eat. There was/is a lot of major street construction going on downtown Lake Placid. Before too long, it became apparent that every other (if, not every) restaurant was closed (not yet opened for the season). Eventually, we ended up having a quick bite to eat in a small bagel shop on Main Street, where T2 and I had a 3AM breakfast before IM USA in 2005
Happy to achieve our objectives and admiring our tans we arrived home in the late afternoon.