The weather today was clear, still, and cold. Start time’s
temperature was in the high thirties. That’s ok, really, because
it should rise to the perfect cycling temperature of around 60 degrees
later today.
There is a much larger crowd this year than the 14 who braved last
year’s rain. I count about 32 folks on a variety of bikes,
including a couple of tandems, two fixed gears (Spencer and me), and
one single speed. No recumbents. Huh? Maybe they
already read the next paragraph.
This course is hilly. I remember that from last year. I
still have an e-mail from RBA Bob Burns saying that there is over 7,000
ft. of climbing. Nothing too steep to ride, just a couple of
short groaners. Mainly, there are a bunch of fairly short
hills. Otherwise, very few flat spots.
I’m starting out the day thinking I ought to try to stay with the pack
and avoid last year’s 80 solitary miles after being dropped after the
first control point 40 miles in. Today, I’ve had more rest, eaten
better, and (I keep telling myself) trained better.
Silly thought.
After 20-some miles of trying to keep up a conversation with Spencer
while matching his pace, I’m cooked: stiff legs, breaking a
sweat, and panting. I’m thinking, what did I do wrong? Took
me a while to admit that my error was in trying to keep up with the
bunch. They’re fast, I’m not, live with it!
So I did, and that made the rest of the ride fairly enjoyable.
At the half-way point in Platte City, I caught up with Del, another
victim spat off the back of the pack. We ate our convenience
store snacks and commiserated over having tried too hard to keep up
with The Big Boys. After lunch, we headed off together.
After a few miles, Del decided he’d pick up the pace a bit, so off he
went, always staying about a quarter-mile in front of me.
For the rest of the day, whenever he’d pull into a convenience store,
I’d be there about a minute later. And, when we’d head out, he’d
take that same quarter-mile lead and hold it. Shame we didn’t
just ride together. The conversation alone would’ve made the
miles fly by a little quicker.
As it gets close to 5pm, we get close to the Perkins Restaurant that
served as the start and finish. I finish in about the same time
as last year, a few minutes over 10 hours.
300k – April 16, 2005
Spencer warned me: today’s course has more hills than the
200k. Bob-the-organizer says “over 13,000 ft of climbing” as we
prepare to head out. There are 16 guys present, including my
fellow fixed-gear-rider Spencer.
Happily, the weather is wonderful – very little wind, warm enough for
shorts, and nothing but sunshine predicted for the day.
I was schooled two weeks ago: Don’t try to keep up with the Fast
Boys. Did I listen to me? Of course not. We all
started out together at an altogether too-quick-of-a-pace. Felt
more like a Saturday morning club ride. I had been panting along
for about five miles when I received my omen: on a stretch of
rough road, my gatorade bottle leapt from its cage. I said,
shoot, that sucks, and went back to get it. By the time I was
again headed north, I could only see the taillights of the pack.
This was a good thing, I quickly realize, because now, I will be riding
at my own pace.
The circling vultures south of Stewartsville were a nice touch.
Quite motivating.
Spencer also warned me about the lack of, well, anything between
Stewartsville and Albany. At the first control in Stewartsville,
I was sure to drink a lot and stock up on more liquids. Good
boy. Between the pleasant temperatures and the slight tailwind, I
made fairly good time to the turnaround point in Albany. I saw
the lead pack about 8 miles out of town, meaning they were probably
about 16 miles in front of me. The last rider I met was Patrick,
about 5 miles out of town.
At the convenience store in Albany, I had a meager meal of sandwich,
juice, and paydays. After stripping off a layer, I headed back up
the hills that led down into the town.
After about 110 miles, about 20 miles out from Albany, and after having
walked my bike up a couple of hills, I decided to flip my wheel from
the 16-tooth fixed cog to the 18-tooth freewheel. Aaahhh….Now I
remember…coasting downhill, what a concept. And, the change from
a 72” gear to a 64” gear really flattened out the hills. Of
course, I lost that fabulous momentum generator that is the fixed gear,
but on this now hotter day, it was a change for the better.
I left Albany for the trip back south with full water bottles, but made
short work of them in the hills and rising temperatures of the
afternoon. I cut my last good swallow into quarters, and tried to
make that last about 10 miles. Hah! It was at this point
that I started looking towards the yards of the houses I passed, hoping
to find someone outside whom I could bother for a refill of
water. I found that person on the back deck of a house about 20
miles north of Stewartsville. I approached quietly and politely,
explained my situation and asked if I could bother her for some
water. She said, “Absolutely.” She went inside and returned
with two refrigerated bottles. She filled up my bottles, wished
me luck, and I was on my way. What an angel.
As I re-hydrated myself over the next 20 miles, my strength came back
and I was able to climb more enthusiastically. At the convenience
store in Stewartsville, I met Pat and another rider as they were
leaving. I got my favorite convenience store brand red hot chili
burrito, a pint of milk, water and gatorade. Fuel for the tank.
While stopped, I turned on my cell phone, just to see if there were any
messages. Yes, there was one from my friend Bryan in
Wichita. He said, “just wanted you to know…I’m sitting around my
house not doing a darn thing…just thinking about you out on that
bike.” Thanks, Bry…
The last 40 miles into Liberty through Plattsburg were just fine.
I stopped one more time at the Plattsburg 66 station for a quick
frappucino and some snacks, turned on all my lights, and hopped onto
Plattsburg road for the last leg south. Riding in the dark on
Plattsburg road was really fun. Descending into the valleys, I
was struck by the temperature difference – much cooler than on top of
the hills. Somewhere on this road, I scared up a deer just off
the road. Also along this road, I came across a bunch of folks
surrounding a bonfire just about 20 yards off the road. As I rode
by, they all cheered and yelled. I wasn’t sure if it was for me,
or if they had just thrown something really colorful into the
fire. (Later, comparing notes with Patrick, he said that they got
the same reception as they passed.)
I got back to Liberty at 10pm, a bit tired, but certainly feeling much
better than I had in the middle of the afternoon, out of water and
tired.