Tim, Unbelievable! Congratulations on what sounds like a really grueling ride...what with the wind, rain and lightning and lack of sleep. How you can do this is beyond my comprehension. You are da man. Way to go! James
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.
