Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - My Covington ride report.

First and foremost.... Good on completing your goal on this ride Miss B.

My day...

I was in the first line of riders behind the kids as they did their 1.5 miles then it was game on. We started out pretty mellow then ramped it up in the front pack. I was doing pulls up front and then I would drift back into the pack to get some rest then I was off again at the front. We had pros/Cat 1~2's up there doing their thing and I was sticking to them as best I could and when the downhill’s came I would pass everybody and take the lead. I did this drill many times and one time I reached 55mph while passing the dude at the front of the pack. I knew this guy and he is Pro, (Phil Sutherland) he rides for Team Type one and is also the owner of the team. I smiled at him when I blew by and then assumed the lead position. When the climb came he came over to me and stated that he liked my style… As we were rolling along doing about 25mph the guy right in front of me had a nasty rear tire blowout… BOOM!!! He managed to hold it together and I put my hand up to warn the other riders where the flat was and proceeded to go around him. I was happy that I made it out of that situation unscathed but that was to be just one of many. At one point we were doing a paceline up front. A paceline is when the lead guy does a pull up front then pulls to the left and lets the guy that was behind him take the lead and then he moves left and so on… As I was doing my pull I looked down and saw that I was doing 35mph on a flat section with the entire peloton behind me. When I pulled out I looked over to my buddy who was 3rd in line I just shook my head. I noticed that there was only a select few that would work up front and most of the other folks were just sitting in, enjoying the free ride. This is fine by me but after a while I was over it and figured I’d move back into the pack and recover a bit.

While I was in the center of the pack I saw this young guy getting all squirrelly and crossing wheels while standing up in the middle of the pack! This is bad and sure enough he took some poor fellow out right next to me… As it turns out the guy broke his collarbone in that crash, I never looked back when it happened since I try to stay focused on the stuff ahead and not worry too much about the stuff behind me unless it’s a teammate. Right after the kid took the guy out he yelled to his buddy that he didn’t cause the wreck I told him “BS” and the other guys around us agreed so I made sure to point him out to the others in the lead pack, he was marked. After a while of going back and forth to the front on the downhill’s and suffering up the climbs that they were attacking I decided I was going way too hard for doing 100 in this heat. My HR was over 180 on the climbs so after about 40 miles into it I decided to step it down a bit and finish at my pace and let the lead pack go. I was still going hard but not averaging a 173 HR, My first rest stop was in Rutledge (70 miles into it), I was out of water and needed to cool down my core with the water hose plus my buddy was working the bike mechanic part of this stop. We talked for a bit and I ate a Sammy then I was off to contend with the hills near the Hard labor creek state park. I got past the hills and then my bike started to feel odd… I had a slow leak in my front tire. I had one C02 and one tube with me and decided to turn it around and deal with the flat at the rest stop I just was at… 10 miles back! I was going the wrong way and the folks that know me were yelling “YO, Big Scott!” as they saw me go by. I’m sure they were wondering what the heck was I doing but I did not want to be without a spare tube for the rest of the ride. When I got there my buddy was knee deep in a broken rear derailleur cable fix and needed a third hand. It took us at least 10 mins to get the end of the cable out of the shifter and the guy thanked us and he was off. I fixed my front tire and got down the road only to have another front tire flat! This time I was able to flag down the sag wagon and used their pump for the fix. I added 22 miles to this ride already and was feeling the heat for sure. I stopped at the last two rest stops to pour ice water all over myself and ate some gels.
There was no shade to hide from the sun on this ride and I saw many riders on the side of the road in full-on lock up mode due to intense cramping. My cramps started at the 100 mile mark (80 miles for the rest of the folks). My inner right thigh was the culprit as it always is. Just as I felt the twinge of leg getting ready to lockup I just unclip and let it hang while peddling with the other leg solo style. Not fun but at least I was still rolling, I was in damage control and just wanted to finish on the bike rather then in the van like many others on this day. I did my thing up front and did it well then I did my ride. When I got back to the parking lot I was still cramping pretty bad but was happy it was over. I did a mellow 3 hour mtb ride at Yellow river on Sunday, I wanted to ride in the shade, I had enough of the sun for a while! I did 122 miles in some very intense heat, my name is Big Soctt and I like to ride my bike... fast!

-Scott

The A group finished in 4:14. They stopped (GASP!) for a water refill once.

You tube vid of the ride (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NOgcD_llfs)

A group was 4:14, WOW, what was your time?

I did 122 in 5:23 but I toned it down a bit towards the end due to the cramping/one leg thing.

Still pretty darn good!

Man you are my hero!
With all the hard cycling that you do - are you still losing weight? Or does it seem like you just get stronger and stronger?
How much climb was on that ride?

Hey Big Scott -Bravo!!!! You are awesome. You rock..YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!I :lol: loved reading your report - and the You tube video (was that made by you??? How did you do that..Camera mounted on Bike??)... so that's what the start looked like!


You sure we were on the same ride??? My SAG Stops had far fewer people - I think maybe more of the riders were up front! Weren't the kids awesome? It was very inspiring. They had their new outfits from NARC (North ATlanta Riding Club) and I am sure the race raised a ton of money for them. It was fun to watch them peddle.

It was so great to hear about your ride. I like the cooling off with water/hose idea. I should have tried it!

Ok - Well - I am very very impressed -and happy for us! Clydesdales rock... Go get em!

Another side of the story, my buddy Mike did a write-up as well. He was on the other side of the "kid".

Covington Century – August 2, 2008

My arrival was early so I would be able to start in the front – right behind the kids who were going to lead out for 1 ½ miles. My concern was things would get too squirrelly in the middle of the pack, as everyone tried to pace behind the kids – the surges, the inattention, the adrenaline, etc. The ride starts on time and I am in the front 40 or so riders – even in the front portion, the ride was a little hairy with the surges, etc. The kids pull off and cheer us on – and we are off. The front group is running strong – I know Scott Vitelli (the Pedaling Machine) is up there, but I am having to pay attention to my surroundings and cannot see the front. I remain within the first 50 or so riders using my game plan to stay on the far left as much as possible – this allows me to rock down the hills and not have to break at the bottom and loose momentum. There are a few times that I get in the front 20 or so – but I am not strong enough or fast enough to pull in front of this pack. While I regret sucking off everyone else, it was just a fact of life that all I could do was hang-on to this ride.

We pass the first stop – there are a lot of volunteers clapping and cheering. I am still with the front pack, when we are just a couple of miles or so out from the 2nd stop as I look up and see a familiar riding style. It is a rider that has been on the Roswell Thursday night ride many times – while I admire his energy, he is the worst rider I have been with. His constant bouncing, flitting back and forth, total body movement and unaware of his surroundings reminds me of a mosquito flying – never in a straight path. I desire to avoid him now as I do during the Thurs rides, so I move back over to the far left (we are still riding the entire width of the lane and I had been pressed inside for a while). After passing him, I continue riding in between the double yellow lines (to avoid the reflectors). Someone bumps me from the right, then hits my handlebars – followed by a third time of bumping into me, so I turn my head to the right to see what is going on, and Mosquito is back. He looks at me after bumping me and realizes what he is doing, so he says ‘Whoa’ and begins to peel hard to the right. He almost dives to the right he turns so hard, and catches the front wheel of someone behind him and a chain reaction begins. Turning forward I whisper a prayer for the downed riders. This guy is dangerous – I will not ride near him again if I can help it, and am thankful he did not take me down as well.

Confusion hits at the 2nd stop – some riders continue on even though this is a turn around point, while others are stopping and some like me are simply turning around in the SAG parking area. Turning, I see Scott turning as well. We are ahead of the main pack now. Scott is up ahead of me, when the pack catches up – I pick up speed so they are slowly passing me, so I can hook-up. Dropping off the main group a little before the 3rd stop, I pull into the SAG and refill my bottles, and refuel and hydrate my body (I have been using my e-tabs during the ride and again here at the stop) before pressing on. When I walk to the porta-john, a man and his son (looked like he was 11 or 12) rode by – the group of cheering volunteers were clapping and yelling – the look on this boy’s face was priceless – I joined in the clapping and cheering, as the boy’s face broke open in a huge grin as he realized everyone was out to see him and cheer him on (or at least that is what it looked like he was thinking) – looking at Dad, he was getting a kick out of the joy his son was getting from the attention – this moment made up for the remaining agony I would go through!

Pulling 5 or 6 people, both thighs lock-up around mile 45 while standing to press up a hill. The group has to dodge me as I abruptly stop pedaling while working through both cramps. I realize I can no longer stand to pedal, so I push while seated. While I am able to mix it up with different smaller groups, I am loosing momentum due to slowing up-hills. The cramps are becoming more frequent and I am dropping gears quickly up hills. Pulling into the SAG at the 63 mile point, both legs again lock-up while clipping out and I fall onto a bumper of a car as I cannot get my legs under me. Untangling from the bike, I am able to stand the bike up, but I cannot stand up straight, cannot walk and cannot sit. Calling on someone close to me for assistance, I fall onto the curb in a seated position as he parks my bike for me. This is a 40-45 minute stop with stretching, walking, sitting, cooling off and hydrating. There are several others who are working out cramps as well. I am determined to finish, so I climb back on and start off.

Almost immediately, both thighs and the back of my left knee are cramping. Soon, my calves decide to join the party and not be left out. While I feel I have plenty of energy, my pistons are misfiring and loosing compression – in effect my engine is shut down. All I can do is continue to back off – however I have lost the ability to stand and pedal, so to relieve my rear-end, I stand on one leg while coasting downhill. My butt hurts, in part to the slow speed creating constant pressure with no relief from standing to power up a hill. However now that I am coasting down hill, I loose the momentum to drive me back up the next hill, which puts me into the proverbial ‘catch-22’ position. I see Scott flag down a SAG vehicle with Peachtree Bikes on the side. Cruising by at an incredible speed of 5 MPH, I ask him if he is ok as he turns his bike over – he said he would catch-up. I consider stopping to provide support – I doubt Scott needed my support with the SAG vehicle there – I know stopping ends my misery so I almost stop, but continue on since I know my friend is ok.

There are several people pulled over not doing well – all have someone with them, so I keep turning the wheels (slowly). At the 63 mile stop, I am still averaging 22.3 MPH – watching my average it slips below 20.0 at 68 miles – and drops down to 19.1 MPH by the time I pull into the SAG stop at the 75 mile spot. To avoid falling over, I clip out early and then stand next to a handrail – both legs lock-up, but I am prepared and do not fall this time. Finding the SAG vehicle, several people line up immediately after me. An hour later, the SAG vehicle drops me off at the parking area. While I am disappointed in not finishing, I am thankful that I am not hurt and that for once in my life had the sense to stop before it was too late. I will ride again – and I will finish again …. just not today. Today, I take my beating, take my failed attempt, brush the dust off my back-side, square my shoulders and look ahead to the next ride.

-Mike

http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l322/Frankencougie/Off%20Road/Me_pack.jpg

Nice shot of me leading the entire pack...

-Scott

Beautiful!!! That's me a few miles back :)