This was my first time riding the CAAM 200K. The CAAM 200K is a 200km/128 mile course that starts and ends in Sanford FL, about 15 minutes from my house. Of course, I was going to ride it. 🙂

The day started with a delicious breakfast before I gathered my gear, put my bike on the rack, and headed off to Sanford. I arrived a little after 7 am and the ride was scheduled to roll out starting at 7:30 am. This particular ride is separated into 4 pace groups. At 7:30, the open group rolled out, comprised of teams and individuals who intended to ride faster than any of the pace limited groups. At 7:32, the 22 mph group rolled, followed by the 20 mph group at 7:34 and the 18mph group at 7:36. I haven’t been training as I should have for the ride so I rolled with the 18mph group. In a relatively large group, I was confident in my ability to keep up.

It was a beautiful day for riding. The temperature was in the low 80s but it was overcast for most of the day. I ended up in a smaller group of about 15 or so and just as we crossed the St. John’s River bridge on 17-92 the group leader got a flat. As we were waiting for him to change it (a process that was extended when another tube blew while it was being inflated) I realized that most of the people around me were planning on only riding the metric century. It was at this point that I made my first foolish decision of the day. While on the side of the road, we were passed by a group of about 7 riders in a well-organized peloton and I decided to catch them and ride with them so I took off and chased them. I held a pace of about 20 – 22 miles an hour for about 7 miles before I acknowledged that I was going to catch them. I let my pace fall of to 18 mph and I was able to cruise along at that pace to the first rest stop at 30 miles along. It was there that I was caught by the group that I had originally left and I stayed with them for the rest of the ride, which ended up working out really well for me.

We rode through, stopping at the next rest stop, all the way to the New Smyrna Beach boardwalk, where we stopped and took some group photos, before getting back on our bikes and heading south towards the Canaveral National Seashore. As we crossed 3rd Ave in New Smyrna, a number of our groups peeled off to the south to head back on the century route. I ended up with 4 other riders who were all going to do the 200km. Jaz, Mike, Denise, and Angel are all great riders who were extremely generous to me later on. Our next rest station was at the 64-mile mark in the visitor center in the park. We stopped and had lunch, refilled our bottles, and grabbed nutrition before heading south again to get to the end of the park road. We had a wonderful tailwind and we were holding an impressive 19 – 20mph pace.

At the end of the park, we went around the circle and right into a vicious headwind. Our pace dropped to about 15 – 16 mph even with Angel, Denise, and Mike pulling (all 3 of them are very strong riders). I was only able to pull for about half a mile before I had to call it quits. We spent 10 miles in this wind before we got back to 3rd Ave and headed west. We crossed our highest climb, the bridge over the intercoastal, and at the bottom headed in a quick circle to get on Riverside Dr heading south. As soon as we had that tailwind, our pace picked up to an average of 20mph, which we held until we got back to the next rest stop, a gas station at about 90 miles. Again we refueled our hydration and it was here that I made a terrible mistake.

I was already flagging, keeping up with these amazingly strong riders, and I completely neglected to get food. I wasn’t hungry (as one tends not to be on a ride) and it didn’t even occur to me to grab food to go. This was a huge mistake as properly fueling your body, as well as hydrating it, is incredibly important on these longer rides.

We pulled out of the gas station and our pace picked back up to about 20mph. I was struggling but managing to hold it until we reached Maytown Road. Maytown Road (known by other names in other towns) was a 21 mile stretch of road. We would only have 10 miles to go when we got to the end of it. At this point, was really flagging. Angel shared his cycling gummies with me in an effort to pick up my energy but it wasn’t enough. At mile 108 I bonked and had to stop. My legs were so full of lactic acid that I needed a rest. I stopped and fully expected the rest of the group to keep going, especially considering how close we were. However, I was completely wrong.

When I remounted my bike, just a few hundred feet down the road, Angel was waiting for me. He shared more food with me (cycling gels are my new favorite thing. The caramel macchiato gel was a lifesaver) and then proceeded to pull me the remaining 20 miles, talking and helping me keep my spirits up the rest of the way. He even insisted on rolling into the finish together, where we found the rest of our group waiting for us. It was a humbling and amazing experience all around and I’m so grateful for how generous the members of our cycling community are.

In the end, I rode 200km (128.94 miles) in 9 and a half hours. It’s my longest distance by about 27 miles. 🙂

Photos

Thanks!
Shawn