Hell of Hunterdon RR
A one-day Belgian-styled classic in Hunterdon County, NJ, the Hell of Hunterdon did not disappoint. I drove down on friday to Tucker's house, did a great 27-mile ride in his hood, then had beers and dinner with many EN peeps: Dominick, Peter, JT, Evan, Tucker to name a few.
After a late night, we got up early to head out to the ride with Tucker's neighbor. The weather looked awful the night before, but it was only cold and misty all day. Temps were about 40-degrees; combined with the wet was pretty rough. Combined with the 15+ gravel / dirt road sections across the 78 miles and, well, it was really, really ugly (see pic here). It was great to meet up with Attila and to see Brad Loescher there too...EN was everywhere!!!
I opted to start with the first wave, and quickly found out that there were a lot of doodes who couldn't ride in the first 75 folks (about 4 waves of 75 folks for the day). I spent the better part of the first hour chasing the leaders, catching them at about the 60-minute / 18-mile mark. My IF was .897 for this hour... a great way to start a 4+ hour day!!! 
The rest of the ride was just me riding really well on the roads, but getting dropped on the gravel descents....some of them were really sketchy and the doodes who could ride just flew. After about mile 50 I was just praying that I wouldn't flat b/c my hands were too numb to really even operate my gears.
I lost the A group at the 2nd aid station (mile 62?) when 1/2 of them stopped and 1/2 of them jumped like it was an attack? Whatever, I had to pee so badly it wasn't funny. I also determined I had no rear brake at this time...which was aweome...only 15 more miles and a few more climbs/descents/dirt roads to go.
I latched on to two guys and we worked together to the finish. The winds had picked up and I was pretty damn shelled by this point. I was really happy to have made it in a good time, and pumped to see the power data for the ride (file image here). Pretty cool to see I can sit on 271 for 4+ hours...makes me feel a bit more optimistic about being able to see 250 for 5-ish hours in Texas.
Duration: 4:24:06 (4:42:16)
Work: 3324 kJ
TSS: 277 (intensity factor 0.798)
Norm Power: 271
VI: 1.29
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 78.887 mi
Time to recover now and mentally figure out how I can possibly run long tomorrow...I think I'll be dreaming about being dry! 
Comments
Good work... D
LOL...just noticed the EN scribbled in your shins!....In addition to dressing properly...I had another painful education about having a Nutrition plan...even when its not a race.
I took a look at the power file; you did a great job capping watts early on. Given your record of superb execution during IM bike legs, holding 250 at Texas should feel like a piece o cake and should set up a reasonable run. Well done, sir.
Also: descending on gravel: fatter tires at slightly lower pressures are key. I highly recommend the Grand Bois series; you can probably squeeze in the 26mm version; I'd run 'em at 90-95 psi.
Also: brakes: you may need race-specific pads for this event. The CX crew can help you out here.
Coach P,
Nice race under tough conditions. I'd agree with just under the .8 IF for the almost 4.5 hour ride the 250 looks very doable. Add another 35 minutes and subtract 20 watts and you are right in the IM wheel house for IF and TSS.
Gordon
Had no power on the road bike so I rode blind which was probably better. But I was surprised the legs never really faltered given the longest ride this year was 35 miles as I'm still in latter stages of my OS. Afterwards, I did hit the whirlpool for 30 minutes just to get the chill out of my bones.
Did a very hilly 15k the next morning and was very happy to maintain close to an 8 min pace for the run. Of course that lead to a 3 hour nap after a hearty brunch.
Enjoyed seeing the local EN Gang Friday nite and, yes, a very skinny, lean Coach P who rocked the ride and looks ready to kick ass in Texas. So glad he came out unscathed - or else Tucker would've never heard the end of it.....
I'm sure you would have smoked a bunch of those guys had it been a 79 mile TT. Bike racing is a whole different animal.
Perhaps after IMTX you can give bike racing a shot, it'd be interesting to see how you progress from a starter Cat 5 and move up the ranks.
If you liked the vibe of HoH, perhaps consider putting Tour of the Battenkill on your schedule next year, it's April 14-15th tis year. It's an actual race in a similar setting (lots of unpaved roads/climbs) it gets quite competitive. It's a _very_ popular event and most of the categories sell out in the first 10 minutes. Registration for 2013 should open on Dec 21.
www.tourofthebattenkill.com/
I suppose just to add-in/pile-on/share; I will note that this had to be one of the most difficult days I have ever had riding; reminiscent of my first very hilly HIM (Mooseman) but over twice as much climbing, colder, wetter...and of course the tortuous gravel (which I had never really ridden before)
I was okay with the climbing (stayed in the saddle the entrie day) but totally unprepared for the descents on gravel...made even more treacherous by my two other (primary) blunders of the day....poor planning on ride attire (shorts, no booties, no warm cap..thank god I remembered gloves for what little warm they provided)...and no nutrition plan ( I didn't have anything to eat until the mile 40-ish feed stop...by that time it was too late)...
RR- felt okay physically through the midway...cold, wet, but in control...burnt a few matches by getting dropped out groups on the downhills through the gravel - was fine on the road section...but losing contact on cold wet windy day...made for alot of work to try and regap the group....
After some food at the midway feed station (pb&j + banana) I seemed okay...my garmin died at mile 43...so no longer had a clue as to how far along I was...climbs and descents started to take a mental toll...but my primary issue/concern was the cold...I couldn't shift properly with out crossing over and using my other hand..and I had lost the group so was riding alot into the wind unprotected...made a long descent into the next rest/feed stop and was starting to feel hypothermic, shaking and really lacking control ....made it into the rest stop (mile 63) and thank goodness it was at a state park hq which had restrooms with handdryers ( now hand,head,feet warmers!)...A real but necessary timekiller- I took a fair amount of time there to regain my body heat and dried my gloves as much as possible....scarfed 6 fig newtons and committed to the finish....the final 17 miles were steady and solid as I found some folks to ride with and generally (mentally and physically) felt much better.
Made the finish smiling...slammed one free beer and two slices of pizza then chatted up the ride with everyone...unfortunately the outside celebration didn't last long as most folks (myself included) wanted to beeline it to the nearest hot anything...shower/tub...
Was supposed to run a half marathon on Sunday but decided 4 hourse of driving for a less the max effort wasn't worth it...and todays effort was not going to allow a max effort....I did get out for 12 miles (6 very difficult slow 8-8:15 miles after which I loosened up and was able to quick it back home @ 7:15 avg...so generally pleased) and an afternoon of old movies and more pizza.
It was great to see/meet/greet the EN'ers who where there - all strongly representing- albeit for only a short time at the beginning...live learn ride again!