No, no, I'm just riding my bike and I don't know when to stop. I really just need my head examined.
Sent from Tim's iPod On Sep 9, 2011, at 11:32 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: > Tim, congratulations on a very demanding ride and a very interesting report. > You are indeed a rare and amazing person to be one of only two NC riders to > ever complete two 1200Ks inthe same year, and just the 5'th tar heel to ride > 10,000 Ks in RUSA events in a single year! You deserve more recognition for > your accomplishments! > Pete > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Tim & Susan > To: [email protected] > Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2011 11:51 PM > Subject: [COWs] TC 1200K Ride Report !!! > > A bit long, but so was the ride! > > > Alright, this time I’m going to write about a fun and enjoyable event. We > had a pre-ride dinner in Greensboro Friday evening from the parking lot of > our base hotel. Teriyaki chicken, stir-fry veggies, rice and noodles, etc. > It was all excellent! We listened to tales from the PBP 1200K (Paris) as we > prepared to begin our own adventure. I was again too anxious to sleep well > Friday evening. I still need work on rest and sleep. > We have a rather large group at the start. 21 riders for the main event > (1200K) A couple doing the 1000K event and 7 or so just doing the 200K > warm-up ride, including some of the volunteers that will see us through the > weekend and beyond. 4:00am and the clock starts. 90 hours to get this done. > We’re riding 752 miles, including 25,000 feet of ascent. First 40 miles is > rather flat and we mostly stay together at a sane pace. After that John o. > and I ride with a more conservative paced group. I resist the urge to ride > up front. > All is well at the 100K control at Salem Fork at the base of the mountains. > We say farewell and 10 miles later at Low Gap, we start the 3 mile steady 8% > climb up the mountain towards Sparta. I drop nearly every one off the > front. Up to the Parkway where it levels off then another 1 mile climb to > the Eastern Continental Divide. On to Sparta, then lunch at Twin Oaks, from > there we cruise deeper into the mountains all the way to Warrensville, which > is only 15 miles from the Tennessee border. From there we loop back through > Jefferson and Laurel Springs then returning to Sparta for dinner. I’m > hanging out with John o. and Bryan R. We also maintain contact with others > just ahead of us and some behind us. I had made a master plan on what I > needed to do to get this done in 85 hours. It became a useless sheet of > paper. I was thinking 22 hours for the first 400K, but it was becoming > evident that it’d take every bit of 24 hours. I was starting out in the > hole, but I wasn’t too worried yet. I was riding a pace that allowed me to > enjoy some of the great scenery around us. It was truly a beautiful course > with lots of expanded views as well as a few river and valley roads which > offered more subtle grades. Most of the roads were also in great shape. The > first 400K was a showpiece. We cruise back down the mountain and back to > Greensboro. 24 hours of riding with no sleep. I lay down for an hour maybe > getting a 30 min. nap then its back on the bike. > We are now headed for Troy nestled in the Uwharrie Mountains. Again a > showpiece area for North Carolina though a bit tough for the gravity > challenged folks like myself. I’m riding mostly solo but keeping tabs on > John o., Bryan, John P., Vance, and Gator. The hardest climb was on Flint > Hill Road though not the same Flint Hill I was familiar with. Lots of paint > writing on the road expressing how much pain you must be enduring with smiley > faces. Seems to be a popular bike route! From there on to Ellerbe where > Tony claimed the hills tapered, but still to go was Rockingham, by the race > track, then on to Laurinburg. I’ve ridden this route a few times. They are > called the sand hills of North Carolina for a reason. John o. and I stop in > Ellerbe for some lunch. Shortly after eating we stop again at a church and > take a 20 min. nap on the porch. We are battling a headwind today for almost > the entire route which is keeping our average speed well below what it needs > to be in order to get some real sleep. > Rockingham to Laurinburg, 350 miles into the event will be my low point for > the ride. Average speed is going down. No sleep, the heat, continued hills > and headwinds have taken their toll on the big guy. John is not feeling well > either. We even sit up the last 20 miles to Laurinburg knowing we were > throwing in the towel. I had absolutely nothing left and I needed sleep with > only two very short naps and time now for only 1 hour of down time. I’m > done. John hasn’t had a lot of seat time because of work schedule combined > with still not finding a saddle that would allow him to go the distance had > more serious issues than I. I told Tony my intentions to abandon and headed > off to my room in Laurinburg. Two days now on 1 hour of sleep, I was > frustrated. Coach Tony comes into my room a couple minutes later and sits me > down. The next 200 miles to the beach and back to Laurinburg is completely > flat. This is your turf he explains, and I can make back plenty of time and > still get some power naps along the way. John p. ads “crash and burn” but > don’t give up. I give thumbs up and head for the shower. I then lay in bed > for about 45 minutes. Dang, I can’t sleep. My legs/feet are trying to cramp. > I drink more Heed. I may have dozed for 10 or 20 minutes after that settled > down. I get my stuff ready to go. > As I’m walking out, Joan, from S.C. is leaving out, we wave and I head for > supplies. I try to nudge John p. from Boone, N.C. awake as leaving now we’re > already 1 hour behind the clock. He wants more sleep. I realize now that I > was the last one leaving Laurinburg that would actually finish the ride. I > rode a brisk pace to catch Joan. We chatted a bit then I stopped to plug in > some tunes to help pace me and keep me awake. It’s like 11:00 pm Sunday > evening. The wind has died down. I think Joan has stopped for more sleep. > I’m cruising 17/18mph. I throw in some 20mph intervals to bump the average > and fight off the sleep. And yes Virginia, you can fall asleep while > pedaling a bicycle. Right off the dang road. Time for a power nap. I > find another church and take down a 30 min. nap on the side porch. I ride > some more at a good pace stopping one more time for a power nap. 100 miles > later I reach Ocean Isle right at sunrise Monday morning. I slow down and > savor the ride over the causeway and along the strip. We have a 6 bedroom > cottage there and I stop to check in and socialize but have no intentions of > sleep. I chat with Jerry, Geof, Mike, Mary and Chuck while I’m there but > some of the others are still asleep. My turn for real sleep will have to > wait until back in Laurinburg. I’m there for about an hour then I start > cruising again. > 475 miles into the ride I/we finally catch a break and have a tailwind back > to Laurinburg. The wind gust and I’m cruising 20mph at times with a big > smile on my face. There are now only 5 riders in front of me, whom I’ll > never see again. The rest I left at the beach but 3 were getting ready to > leave soon. I stop at McDonalds to fill up the tank then sail on. There are > storm clouds a couple hours into the return. It’s time for another church > break, a picnic shelter with a metal roof and lots of rain. Dreamland! Upon > leaving I put on my left cycle glove and I’m bitten/stung on the bridge > between pinky & ring finger. At the time I’m thinking fire ant. Even now > the whole left side of my hand is still swollen and numb 2.5 days later. Two > insertion points about 2 mm’s apart can be seen. Was maybe some kind of > spider? I’m going to doctor tomorrow if no better. I stop one more time > before Laurinburg for another power nap. There is lots of traffic today as > people are returning from the beach. It’s a little hairy at times with > their excess speed and their big boats. I’m back in Laurinburg shortly after > 5:00 pm. Monday afternoon. Control closes at 1:00 am Tuesday morning so I > finally have time for real sleep. Food, shower and 3.5 hours of much needed > sleep. 578 miles in the bag, only 175 more miles to go. > At 10:00 pm I’m ready to cruise some more. Everyone has left me except the > Olsen brothers. I rode with Bill Olsen some in Texas back in May. They are > watching the grim weather forecast for our last leg of the journey. Storm > from the gulf threatens to cut off our path back to Greensboro. Thunderstorm > and tornado watches in effect along with expected 4 to 6 inches of rain. > They wait another hour or so to leave, but I head out into the misty rain for > Pinehurst. Just another nice pleasant ride with me, myself and I. I’m > conversing with Geof via phone as they are up ahead and planning to get a > couple rooms there to get out of the expected weather. I stop a couple times > for power naps. The last stop I make was at another church just a few miles > outside Pinehurst. Getting back into a few hills now and I’m exhausted. I > get up in time to still meet them at the motel but the skies let loose with a > hard rain and I hit the snooze button. Rain stops and I finally cruise > through Pinehurst around 8:00 am. Rush hour, so I keep heading away from > town to ditch the traffic. Again I leap frog the other riders. Only 85 > miles left but we’re back into some serious hills today between Pinehurst and > Asheboro. Geof phones and we determine I’m like 7 miles ahead of he and > Mike. I scope out a subway restaurant and they join me for lunch. I ride > with them for a few miles, but they want a good finish time and I just want > to enjoy the day and finish, period. Ominous storm clouds keep brushing us > as we inch closer west. Finally one opens up and I park my bike under a big > tree and rest my head on the handlebars listening to the rain. Before I can > nod off and make an embarrassing splat to the ground, 3 more riding buddies > cruise by waking me up. They seem to be enjoying the rain and I gather my > senses and give chase. I will ride out the rest of the event with friends > Joel Lawrence, Mary Florian and new friend Curt from Florida. Riding into > Asheboro was like climbing the mountain all over again. The final control > there as we take a much needed extended break. 33 miles to go and we’re all > smiles. Chuck and the Olsen’s join us before we take off. Joan is the > only one left and not far behind. We leave and Joel smells the barn. He > throws down a bit as we give chase. He checks up and now it’s my turn. We > give it a couple hard runs but we stay together as storm clouds are brewing > again as we near Greensboro. > The ride wouldn’t be complete without an epic finish so here goes. Ominous > clouds are rolling swiftly across the landscape. They appear to be attacking > from all sides. At one point the temperature drops like 20 degrees. A heavy > rain lands a few minutes later. I’m heading for shelter but the rain stops > and maybe the bulk of it is going around us. We keep riding trying to out > run it I guess. Ten miles from the finish and we’re hammered with a very > cold hard rain. 8 miles left and we’re on city streets now. There is lots > of flooding on the road. Traffic is picking up as rush hour nears. A > hundred feet up ahead of us a van smashes hard into a car. Joel pulls us > over to the side thinking this wreck may not be over yet. We approach slowly > and both drivers are out talking on their cell phones. We pass within a few > feet of a little girl standing outside the car crying but appears ok other > than her blood stained dress. Her dad then ushers her away for cover from > the rain. We want to help but there is not much we can offer. We mosey on > still under a hard rain. A mile later we climb, and Mary stands up to pedal. > Her foot leaves the pedal and then her rear wheel slides out from under her. > She goes down hard. Curt is behind her and runs over her bike and goes down > hard as well. I go farther into the lane to stay up and we’re in 4 lanes of > heavy traffic and I brace for impact but I make it by without incident. They > are scrambling out of the road. I grab leftover stuff, water bottles, pumps, > etc. Mary is holding her shoulder, arm is limp. Later I find out she > dislocated her shoulder and she replaced it. Ouch! I attempt to replace her > chain but the wheel is locked. Then I realize her wheel is a pretzel. > Joel tries standing on the wheel to bend it back enough to get her home. We > both stand on it but no luck. I call Tony and order up a rear wheel so we > can get this finished. Nobody’s gonna bail now! We stand in the cold rain > for about 40 minutes then Bob B. and Tony arrive with a fresh wheel and we > ride out this last 6 miles. The rain finally stops as we roll in for the > finish. The rest of the field rolls in a few minutes later. 15 of the 21 > riders finish the ride. We shower up and head across the street to Ruby > Tuesdays for victory dinner. We’ll sleep later. > It was cool to be apart of the first ever North Carolina 1200K Brevet. > Anyone even attempting this ride is bad a$$. Also Geof and I became the > first two North Carolina riders to earn the “American Randoneur Challenge” > award, completing two or more domestic 1200K’s in the same year. I also just > became the 5th tar-heel to get a k-hound trophy. 10,000 km’s in RUSA events > in a single season. Yoo-hoo! All I had to do was ride a bike! J > > > As this report may circulate, I’d like to thank all the volunteers that > helped out! Tony not having the resources of a big outfit such as the Lone > Star crew made up for it by staying on top of things around the clock. > Thanks to the others as well. John M., Steven B., Jerry P., Beth, Lee Ann, > Bob B., and others I may not have come in contact with. It was a blast! > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "CyclistsOfWilson-COWs" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cyclistsofwilson-cows?hl=en. > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "CyclistsOfWilson-COWs" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cyclistsofwilson-cows?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "CyclistsOfWilson-COWs" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. 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