I don't even know where to begin...that is just incredible! Much respect! On Wed, May 18, 2011 at 12:13 PM, Tim Lucas <[email protected]>wrote:
> Here goes! > > > ------------------------------ > > *From:* Tim Lucas > *Sent:* Wednesday, May 18, 2011 11:12 AM > *To:* '[email protected]' > *Subject:* !!!!!Texas 1200K Ride Report!!!!! > > > > Wow, where to begin. This is by far the most epic thing I’ve ever done. I > was on the last 5 mile stretch with Kevin and I looked over and said “I’ll > never be more of a man than I was over the last 4 days”. He laughed and > said he’d use the quote to title his blog. > > Susan, her mom and I drive to Texas in Susan’s new car. They have family > in Granbury near the event. I visit and they spend the week there. They > escort me to Waxahachie Tuesday afternoon for registration and inspections. > I meet my buddy Geof from Cary there and we tag along with others to some > Italian cuisine for carbo loading. I sit beside Dave and Judith from > England as we have a bloody good time discussing past events. This is like > their 18th 1200K event but their first in the states. > > > > (Waxahachie to Marble Falls) (Mile 0 to 225) > > > > We gather Wednesday morning at 5am. 56 riders will start the event. 50 > are doing the 1200K while 6 are riding a 1000K. The flags are already at > full salute. We are traveling 225 miles to Marble Falls. Our heading is > southwest. The first day forecast is for 20 mph SW winds gusting to 30+. > They are also throwing in heavy rains, severe thunderstorms and large hail > for the afternoon. The gun fires, the clock starts and I’m rolling along > nervously second guessing my being here. A while later Geof coaxes me to > the front of the pack while he and I lead the herd for several miles as > we’re proudly sporting our NC rando jerseys. I eventually get wise, go to > the back and stay there for the rest of the day/night. They have intentions > of keeping us all together to the first control at mile 73 but the headwinds > are shredding us all apart. The peloton containing +/-30 riders is where I > spend most of the day. Around mile 100 or so some riders start leaving the > peloton as the big group takes an extended unscheduled rest stop. I stay > conservative and stay with the herd. The big guys, including myself are > struggling a bit more in the winds. Clouds are getting angry now. People > start peeling off the back of the peloton and finally it’s my turn to sit up > and ride solo a bit. I roll in to the next control at mile 141 and everyone > in front of me is there except for one dude who is just way out there. As I > roll in they point behind me and I turn to see black clouds. The organizer > is attempting to hold everyone there while this super cell blows past. Lots > of heavy rain, winds, lightning for about 30 min. We leave out as the worst > is over. Some minor flooding on the roads as one cyclist goes down crossing > water. I’m cruising along with the peloton to the next control in > Jonestown mile 194. Rainy and getting dark now as we have long climbs and a > fast decent into town on a big 4 lane road. The local police are not happy > with us on this road and when we stop they relay their concerns. They > finally realize we have no choice and decide to just escort us out of town. > They also relay to us that Marble Falls is currently getting severe > lightning, large hail and 60 mph winds. We’re just idiots on a bike. Party > on! I have a mechanical leaving town and loose the group. A few more miles > and boom! The lightning becomes frequent enough that I don’t need a > headlight. Winds are gusting fairly hard now and the rain begins as I see a > church ahead on the right. I see a fellow cyclist under a side porch and I > also here him calling out. This is where I first spend time with my new > friend Kevin from Southern California. We wait out the storm on picnic > tables under the porch. One other rider joins us briefly. It also hails > for about 5 minutes before things start to quiet down. After a few we mount > the bikes and continue on. We reach Marble Falls at 12:40am. Dinner is > waiting, lasagna and spaghetti. They take our bikes and our drop bags to > the room while we eat. The volunteers here are second to none! A quick > shower and to bed at 2:00am. > > > > (Marble Falls to Sealy) (Mile 225 to 466) > > > > Alarm goes off at 4:00am. Oh good, 2 hours sleep! Breakfast > in the lobby as I whip up a big’ol waffle! Our heading today is mostly East > towards Houston after a tad bit more south. Weather board is giving us 10 > to 20 mph East winds today, not to mention severe storms, torrential rains, > large hail and damaging winds. There are some very long faces this morning > as we are in for another long day of headwinds. I head out before 5:00am, a > few minutes before the peloton as I’m hoping for a few miles of soft > pedaling. A nice 2 mile section of gravel road this morning, doesn’t ride > much different than their asphalt. I ride with Spencer from Missouri a bit > this morning. He is riding a fixed gear bike. There’s a show-off in every > crowd. Spencer road with some NC randos a few weeks ago so I chatted with > him about the ride. He and Branson are my new heroes. These guys are bad > a$$. We hit some 15% climbs this morning with switchbacks and he has to > walk a couple of the elbow turns but still beats me to the top. By the next > control mile 262, Dripping Springs, I’m hanging out with the peloton. There > we are told another super cell weather system is bearing down on us. We are > also given a two hour buffer on our control times today, BUT the 90 hour > ride limit will NOT be extended. We continue on under darkening skies. > Sometime late morning the crap hits the fan. The winds are swirling and > there is a sudden 15 degree temperature drop. Lightning bolt on the right > as I slide over a few feet left, then a bolt on the left as I slide back to > the right, then bolts all around, raining sideways. I keep looking up > watching for something worse. The storm is relentless; riders are confused > about what to do. A few see a house with a back porch. I don’t see another > refuge. It's raining harder as I can barely make out a half dozen riders > still in front of me. Someone up front yells “stay on the bike”. I > actually feel safer on the bike as to putting my foot down so I mosey on. > Lightning is so close my skin crawls. Finally the worst passes on and we > breathe a sigh of relief. I’m wondering if there is an extra fee for all > this. After all that the remainder of the day seems a void. The temps stay > in the 50’s and I barely have enough cloths. At one control the C store > owner is emptying trash cans and I steal one of his new trash bags and stuff > it in my pocket for later on. At a control in Lockhart, mile 353, I have my > first “Whataburger”. I’m late getting there so I eat hurriedly as the group > is about to leave. I cruise some more with the group. There is a little > café at mile 383 that is known by the local randos so one of the local > riders’ phones in an order for us and it’s all waiting for us when we get > there. It’s dark now and sleep deprivation sets in. The group is getting a > little uneasy, cranky and a little short tempered with each other. A couple > of flat tires later and the tension in the group worsen. Judith from > England caps it all with “I’m getting bloody bored with this” I chuckle, but > keep to myself for the rest of the evening. I’m really struggling to stay > awake as we tool into La Grange. I see a Hampton Inn a couple blocks away > and seriously consider a couple hours of sleep on a bed, but too much money > for a short nap. We stop at a C store. There are some very long faces now > as it’s now 11:00pm and we still have 55 miles left to the overnight > control. I tell the group that I plan to grab some sleep at the next > convenient place I see. I stay with them another 20 miles but then peel off > in a town named New Ulm. I stop and walk around a bit. It’s getting cold > now and I start getting the shakes. I remember the trash bag and I make me > a makeshift vest. I continue riding, 25 miles to the motel. 5 miles later > sleep has taken over. There is no traffic so I lay my bike down in an > intersection with my lights on. I lie down on the asphalt and set my alarm > for 30 min. 20 min later a car pulls up and a girl whom is part of the sag > support gets out thinking that there has been an accident but I explain that > I just couldn’t ride any farther and had to sleep. They offer water and > food but I’m good on supplies and just need to pedal another 20 miles. I > ask about riders behind me but they say I’m at least an hour ahead of anyone > behind me so I continue on by myself. I finally arrive in Sealy at 4:56am, > an hour behind the herd. Food, shower. To bed at 6:00am. > > > > (Sealy to Crockett) (Mile 466 to 622) > > > > Up at 8:00am, another wonderful 2 hour sleep. Slow getting > ready this morning. I finally get downstairs. We’re heading north today, > weather board, let me guess, north winds 10 to 15 mph, 90 degrees. Third > day in a row of continuous headwinds. The herd is still there and Dan calls > out to me that they are rolling in 2 minutes. I skip breakfast in order to > catch a ride pending another long day fighting the wind. To the first > control is flat terrain. I’m feeling great not having to climb hills so I > venture out front, drop down on the aero bars and proceed to pick the pace > up a bit. After a few minutes I get the Texas version of STFD and I smile > and ease up a bit. About 5 miles from the control I flat for the second > time on the ride. A quick fix and I regroup at the control in Magnolia, > mile 520. I’m hungry having skipped breakfast and there is a Mexican > serving up some Mexican cuisine in one of those carnival food trucks beside > the C store. I have him make me a breakfast burrito. This guy has talent. > It starts getting hot and I have another flat just a few miles later. I’m > now riding solo with a headwind, hot and I’m getting sleepy again. I find a > church and check in with Susan. I can tell that today will be my getting > over the hump day. For now I take a 30 minute nap. I ride another 30 > miles, stop at another church and take another 30 min. nap. I’m running on > fumes now. I need lots of food. In Huntsville, mile 570 I stop at a subway > for major fueling. I’m just about finished when 4 riders approach. It’s > Kevin riding with 3 recumbent cyclists. I chat with Kevin a bit and he > encourages me to ride with them as they are having an enjoyable day on the > bikes. I head back inside while they eat. Peggy, Sara Kay and Daniel round > out the group. They become my pals for the rest of the ride. They are > chipper and joking around a bit and this festiveness was something I hadn’t > seen riding with the herd. Sara Kay rolls out a manly burp that quiets the > restaurant and we bust out laughing. Party on! We head out for Crockett > together. 52 miles to the motel. They are rolling a good pace and I enjoy > their company. We reach the motel at 12:45am. I’m starting to have some > serious butt issues. The roads in Texas are much worse than North Carolina > roads. My 700x23 tires and narrow seat combined with a very rough > chip-n-seal surface have done me in. Maybe I can sleep this off. The girls > vote for leaving at 4:00am. Do what? OMG, I’ll be lucky to get 1 hour > sleep. I room with Daniel. I shower as he starts on dinner that we kinda > have to prepare ourselves. We have set our alarms for 3:00am. It’s now > 1:30 as Daniel gives up on the food and heads for the shower. I eat half of > my food but trash the rest as I need sleep foremost. > > > > (Crockett to Waxahachie) (622 miles to 770 miles) > > > > Up at 3:00am after just over an hour of sleep. Oh this is > ridicules. I can’t function all day after just an hour of sleep. We are > all a little nervous about finishing on time. We’ve battled headwinds for 3 > days and today we travel northwest with, you guessed it, northwest winds. > Another long day is in store without much time in the bank. We’ll really > have to watch our down time early on to make sure we can finish on time. I > never thought I’d be anywhere close to 90 hours finishing but this is > reality. No time for crying about it. Speaking of crying, my bottom really > hurts today. We gather in the lobby around 3:45 but no Kevin. Finally we > send a volunteer to wake him up. Daniel naps, I lay my head down but no > sleep. We finally roll around 4:30am. Around 150 miles left to get this > finished. We have some fun rollers this morning and I venture out ahead of > the group for a while. They eventually run me down and we do our best at > making time against the wind. We are in front of the herd (peloton) so that > keeps us in a comfort zone. Though there is nothing comfortable with my > saddle today. I’ve never felt this much pain on a bike ride. At one time I > let my pals go as I’m struggling just to stay on the saddle. They are long > gone now and I finally have to decide my fate. If I let this get to me I’ll > never finish on time, so I get a little attitude, ignore the pain and hammer > on until I reel them back in. I try to put on my happy face because this > group likes happy! Mile 662, Palestine, we stop at McDonalds for > breakfast. Breakfast burrito, pancakes, coffee, great comrades and my mood > improves. We continue on, still no peloton yet so we must be making decent > time. Open fields now on busy sections of highway, but we have large > shoulders of road. I wished they were a little smoother. I’d pay extra! > Last control before the end, Corsicana, mile 725, We arrive with others and > a few minutes later the peloton arrives as well as we take over the town. > Only 44 miles to go with some time in the bank. Everyone here will have no > problem finishing on time. There are still a few behind us though. The > peloton leaves and we leave a few minutes later. A few miles later there is > smoke up ahead, Then 6 Japanese zeros are in formation heading our way. > They have just attacked a local airstrip and I’m looking for cover. Here > come the stars and stripes to chase them away. A b-52 and a b-17 cruising > around as well. How cool is this. At one point we stop on top of a bridge > to watch the action. No I wasn’t dreaming in my sleep. It was just an air > show at a local airport. We mosey on. Kevin and I are battling sleep > again. Kevin pulls off to regroup. I’m weaving and drop back a bit. About > 30 miles from the end Kevin and I decide we need a nap. We watch the group > ride away as we look for a nice shady spot to lie down. A little park > beside a post office a couple blocks off course is our choice. We set our > alarms for 30 min. I make a call to Susan asking also for a wake up call > for backup. Local pup gets us up after a 25 min. nap. We roll, Kevin drops > the hammer for the first 5 miles, and I’m barely hanging on. STFD! But I > keep it to myself. We make a turn and we have some short rollers, my > favorite hammer terrain. I throw down a bit for the next 5 miles. We take > out a quick 10 miles in 30 min. 20 miles left and we call a truce and > decide to relish the last 20. 17 miles left we stop at a little Mexican > store for cold drinks and conversation. I call Susan giving her our > estimated arrival time and begging for a cooler full of recovery drinks at > the finish. We soft pedal the last 17 miles. It’s a beautiful sunset as > we’re pedaling into the sun. The wind, after 4 days has subsided and things > are very pleasant. We even have a smooth road. We roll in around 8:30 just > a few minutes after sunset. Susan, Geof and others cheer us in. Our other > pals are still there as well. We present our signed cards, and then we get > medals, pose for pictures. Then Kevin and I take a seat and start on those > recovery drinks. We pose for more pictures with our pals. 770 miles in 87 > hours, 30 min. Just for perspective it’s 780 miles from home (Wilson, N.C) > to Portland Maine. 6 riders attempt the 1000K, and all finish. 50 riders > start the 1200K, only 35 finish. With the 4 days of headwinds and severe > weather this will go down as one of the most epic 1200K’s in the US. I had > about 8 hours of sleep over a 4 day period. It took everything I had. > > > > tim > > > > -- > 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.
