Largest Group Ride Ever in Mobile?

Saturday's ride was the biggest group ride I have ever seen in Mobile and possibly the biggest ever. The Mobile Bay Bicycle Club's 1st Annual Over-Under Ride attracted 132 riders.

This is terrific considering the short notice to the public as well as the bad weather. The short notice was due to the fact that this weekend was originally going to be the National Senior Games Championships in Mobile. Several weeks ago, the national committee pulled the plug on the event, mailed all of the entry fees back and told all registrants the event was cancelled.

Since the Club had already worked with the City and the Alabama Department of Transportation to gain access to the Bankhead Tunnel, they decided to figure out what to do. The Club decided to host a group ride to promote cycling awareness and got the word out less that two weeks prior.

Now the weather...can you spell W.I.N.D.Y.? The ride started at Battleship Park at 8:00. I decided to ride the 17 miles from my house to the ride. A quick check of the weather when I awoke at 5:45am revealed that the temperature was 58 degrees, not too bad. I rolled out of my house around 6:30 and started my northeasterly trip to downtown Mobile. One thing I did not check were the wind forecasts. It was a pretty stiff cross wind all of the way to town. Once downtown, I turned north and went through the State Docks. When I hit the rail yard, which is wide open landscape, I couldn't believe the wind that I encountered. I checked the weather when I got home and the wind was steady at 21 miles per hour for most of the ride, not including gusts. I was riding as hard as I could, heart rate at 178 bpm, and only moving at 11 miles per hour. Once I climbed the Cochran/Africatown bridge and headed south on the causeway, it was much easier.

I couldn't believe the number of riders, and all from Mobile and Baldwin Counties at that. The West Florida Wheelman didn't make it and we still had that good of a turn-out.

For the ride, you could choose to do 20k or 40k. I wanted the miles so I can get ready for my LAMB ride in two weeks, so I chose the 40k. It was easy cruising across the causeway and even up Spanish Fort hill, due to the tail-wind and the draft of so many riders. Once you rounded the scenic overlook and headed back down HWY 90/98 to the causeway the wind was back in your face.

It was tough going all the way back to the battleship. The cross wind off of Mobile Bay was really severe. It was difficult to keep your bike in a straight line. It seemed as if you were actually steering to the right to stay straight. Every now and then there would be a break in the wind from the growth along the shore and you would actually end up steering to the right because of the posturing you were doing to stay straight in the wind. Even the little bridge just before the battleship was very difficult. The causeway turns a little more north-west just before this bridge. I was only able to achieve about 6 miles per hour up this small bridge.

Once at the top of the Cochran Bridge, I usually like to coast down and try to achieve the most aerodynamic position I can to see how fast I can go without propelling myself. I can typically break 40 miles per hour doing this. Today, only 13 miles per hour. I couldn't even shove off like normal, I actually had to pedal to get going.

The trip back to downtown through the rail yard and the docks was a pleasure with the tail-wind. The best part of the ride, completely sheltered from the elements, was through the tunnel. In a car, you do not realize how long and how steep the tunnel is. It is about 3,000 feet long, and the grade is pretty steep. I achieved over 40 miles per hour going down to the bottom, even with its bumpy, uneven surface.

I had originally planned on riding back to my house, but I did not want to fight the wind again, so I took David up on his offer to give me a ride and I helped him pick up all of the "Bicycle Event, Share the Road" signs.

43.47 miles - 14.4 avg speed - avg hr 150 bpm - max hr 179 bpm - 3,063 calories burned