Around 25 cyclist left Wallace at 6:55am. 30 degrees but the sun rose quickly. Headwinds for the first 80 miles. 16 riders in the peloton so that seemed to help a bit. It was a while before I ever made it to the front as others seemed more enthusiastic in being out there. Fine with me! As we rotated around New Bern and headed south towards Minnesott Beach we finally caught a tailwind. Ferry leaves on the 15s and the 45s. We had a slight chance of catching the 1:15 ferry so I dropped the hammer and 4 other riders came along. We got there at 1:20. Dang! We did get a nice long break of laying out in the sun and Tony, the event organizer showed up with subway sandwiches so all was well. I think 10 rides made the 1:45 and we would all stay together for most of the remaining ride. Nick's buddy Mike D. spent a lot of time out front and controlled the pace. I did a few monster pulls but a lady named Lynn (I think) seemed to always one up me. I guess I have ego issues. We tagged Atlantic beach at 3:45, had dinner at a Chinese Restaurant near the Bogue Inlet pier. 150 miles down, only 100 to go. Topped the Emerald Isle bridge as the sun stood a couple degrees above the water. (Awesome!!!) Lights on in Swansboro. Heavy traffic all the way to Jacksonville. Stopped at a store mile 192. My jeep is 25 miles to the right but Surf City is 17 miles to the left. We go left! Traffic is very light. These guys/gals quicken the pace riding 20mph, pitch dark and cold but road is very nice. I'm very impressed with this very skilled group. Surf City is mile 207. The ladies find some bubble wrap in the back of the convenient store and start stuffing it under their cloths for warmth. It's currently about 35 degrees and still dropping. The men are laughing and making fun. On the way out I sneak to the back and shove some bubble wrap down my jersey. I am now tired, sleepy and cold and my reaction time has slowed and do not feel comfortable riding in the pack at this pace in the dark so I dangle off the back a few feet to keep it sane. I'm already into my longest ride ever. The pack is still smokin the asphalt and doesn't seem tired at all. With about 12 to 13 miles to go we approach the last crucial turn and the pack meanders a bit to make sure a couple of dropped riders make the turn. I'm getting very chilled just coasting and wish for this to be over so I drop the hammer one more time to get the blood flowing again and I see two other headlights have joined in. My heart rate is back up and I give up the lead to see I've been joined by Tom and Mary from Lumberton. Two very fast riders who both competed in a 24 hour race in Florida a few weeks ago and each turning in 370 miles with Mary beating out all the other women. Tom takes over and I grab hold. The three of us are the first ones back to the Holiday Inn in Wallace where the staff knowing of our return have fresh coffee waiting at 1:20am Sunday morning, 252 miles later. I socialize a few minutes with the others. Go to my jeep and crawl into my sleeping bag and sleep for 1 hour then drive home. My buddy John (smarter than I) also did this ride but opted for doing a 200k Saturday and the other 200k today along with 4 other riders.
Tim Garmin claims I burned 16,000 calories. Let's see! That's 3 cases of recovery drinks! & 35 Klondike ice cream sandwiches! And you ask why I'd do such a ride! -- 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.
