I met up with about 30 riders in Lumberton Sat. morning for more
insanity. 15 of the 30 were riding the 600, 6 were riding a 1000K,
the rest, on shorter rides. I didn’t know any of the other 600K
riders as they were all from out of state. Florida, Georgia, Jersey,
Pennsylvania, etc. I did have 4 friends riding the 1000K and we
shared the same route for the first 380 miles.
I pace the group for the first 12 miles at 18 mph keeping most of
the group together; then I socialize back in the pack for a while. As
the pace quickens there are now only 7 of us out front. My friends
Tom & Mary Florian and my buddy Ian are still there. Mary having
biked RAAM this year and Tom whom is also RAAM qualified is guaranteed
to keep the pace up. We stop for lunch in Wallace around mile 85.
The second group didn’t stop and passed us. Tom doesn’t like second
so we give chase as Tom and I keep rotating on the front keeping the
pace 20+. At the 200K control we’re back in front and everyone takes
a long break while Ian and I cruise out at an easy pace for a while.
One guy is ahead of us as he never stopped for food. Tom, Mary and 2
others finally run us down 50 miles later around mile 175. For the
next 75 miles our 6 pack stay together cruising between 18 and 20
mph. At mile 240 I’m getting sleepy so I drift off the back and do
some sprints to catch up. They slow the pace thinking I’m tired so I
try another strategy. I take the lead and pull the last 10 miles into
Shallotte at 20+. At 1:00 am, mile 255 in Shallotte Ian and I stop
for fuel at Waffle House as they are the only restaurant open rando
hours. The other 4 head for Sunset Beach for showers and sleep, and
we join them there 30 min. later.
Everyone aims for 2 to 4 hours of sleep, except I whom just sits back
on the couch for an hour dozing on and off while others arrive.
Finally I head out around 3:45 am by myself. I’m tired and slow. I
stop at a church with picnic tables for another 30 min. nap. I also
used this church for a nap on the 1200K. I am riding into the wind at
an embarrassing slow pace. If I stop pedaling I’ll fall over for
sure. I’m thinking I’m still in front of everyone else but arriving
in Tabor City there is a bike there. This dude Jim has gotten no
sleep and passed me while I was dozing. He is on a recumbent bike.
We head out together but now that we lost the headwind I’m riding a
little faster.
At mile 323 my Garmin battery is about gone so I pull over into a
church parking lot to get it changed. I have a stuff sac that I keep
everything in and cram that into my oversized saddle bag. I lay that
on the ground and dig out the batteries. Jim rides by, so I quickly
get those batteries in and give chase. 7 miles later at the next
control I go for my stuff sac and it’s not there. I left the bag on
the ground 7 miles back, 330 miles into the ride, dang it, Dang it,
DANG it. I was gonna just leave it and hope I didn’t have a flat tire
on the last 50 miles but then I remembered the $80 bicycle light in
the bag. Then I also remembered my jeep keys were in the bag as well
so being the first rider back was not an option. I just hope the bag
is still there. The church lot is now filled with cars since I left
as its 10:00am Sunday morning. No bag where I left it so I go in and
chat with the welcome lady in the foyer. She then finds the guy who
found my bag and all is well. All I lost was having to cycle 14 bonus
miles.
Mile 345 to the last control at mile 365 was headwinds and 25mph
gust. I think I cried a couple of times and had to get off the bike a
couple times and walk around a bit. Finally the last control and 30
miles back to Lumberton with mostly tailwinds. All smiles now as I’m
cruising for home. I end up with 395 miles in 30 hours and 50
minutes. Two guys finish up before me and another rides in about 30
minutes later. I shower and head for home in time for dinner. 685
miles from Sunday to Sunday. Very, very tired! That was the last big
ride for 2011. I’ll still knock down a few 200K’s to try and keep my
position in total kilometers in RUSA events. I’ll start with another
200K on Saturday. Yoo-hoo!
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