Kerr Lake Loop 208K Ride Report!
15 people started the ride this morning from the Falls Lake area. I think that was a record for a Perm Ride thrown together just a few days prior. The first 28 miles was a leisure/social event that kept all the riders together in one big double pace line group, but there were too many top dogs in there for that to continue. A few hills after that and the group separated. I struggled a bit to keep the front group in sight. About 15 miles from the Kerr Lake dam the route flattened and I was able to catch up. 10 miles from the dam I move to the front and set a 20+ pace to the dam, also taking the Va. Line sprint. Yoo-hoo. I'm feeling good today. My friend Ian takes over from there and he's keeping the pace 20+. Our group is down to 3 people. Mile 65, at the halfway point we calm down a bit and regroup with 5 or 6 riders behind us. We stay together to Clarksville, Va. where we grab some lunch at mile 80. Leaving there we're in hills again and I drop 5 riders off the front. I try to catch up for the North Carolina line sprint but Brian R. is feeling good now and he takes it solo uncontested. I hate losing the state line sprints. The course flattens out again and there are now 6 of us hanging out at the front. I go back to the front and give another 20+mph pull for several miles until another long hill pops up. If I could only climb. Again I'm swearing off beer and ice cream. The 6 are still together at mile 100 when we reach the mountain on Mountain Road. DC knows the place. It was ugly but I kept everyone in sight. Last control at mile 105. I'm still feeling good. I'm eating ice cream after just swearing it off. And for the record I'm having recovery drinks now. Flat course for a while and I throw down one of my 20+ mph pulls for a few miles and Ian again keeps the heat on after I bail. Mile 125 and we hit another long hill and Ian and I both get dropped and the others show no love. Ian finishes pulling me up the hill and hands it over and I slowly reel the 3 out front back in. Mile 127, 3 miles left we're still cruising 20mph and Ian slides back to the front, tells me to grab his wheel. We're now cruising 23mph and this is really gonna hurt tomorrow. 1.5 miles left and Brian R. makes a sprint for the county line and I'm too late to catch him. He takes the green jersey for his efforts, but he is toast now and fades and I look back and everyone else is a couple hundred feet behind me. 1.3 miles left and I now give it everything I have left, which isn't much. I know I have one more hill so I need to keep the gap. Up the hill the gap closes a bit but the last quarter mile is flat and I bring it home. 130 miles! Once in a while they let me win. Builds my self confidence! J 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.
