grahny

Photographer: https://www.kreutzphotography.com ... the pics are usually up within a week or so.

Sucks about the knee Jay, but you made it over all the hard climbs which is an accomplishment in itself. Sgtpepper, congrats on finishing the 70! Next year it's the 100 for you my friend

Glad to hear everyone reporting back in and no major casualties. Congrats on a successful event for everyone.

grunzster

And no reason you should be ashamed.

I was really debating hopping off on a few of those hills. There were some guys who appeared to be in better shape than me, who were blowing past me and then hoping off on some those of bigger climbs.

On the very first descent someone hit a rough patch and went into the rail. And at the after party someone showed me a picture of one of her friends who actually fell into a small creak!

Jay68442

I just really wanted to complete the 100. It figures I get hurt after all of the hard climbing was over. Or maybe I should say, all of that hard climbing hurt me. Anyway. Nice job on your ride grahny. 5:55 is a damn good time on a course that hard.

uncadan8

I'm thinking we must have been yo-yoing with one another quite a bit of the ride; you look familiar. I also did the ride in about 7.5 hours. Moving time was 6.5 hours. Congratulations on the ride!

the engine

We may have been ... I remember seeing some of the same faces all day long. I finished around 4 o'clock or so.

SgtPepper64

I did a search in the thread but can't find an answer to this question:

About how many feet of climbing were on the 70 mile route?

grunzster

You really think they'd put that on the route map.

dan.lavelle

Hahahaha the gummi bears were hilarious...i highly doubt they didnt anything to help nutrition-wise, but damnit did they make great comfort food after the Landis Store climb hahah.

"The spirit along the way was palpable" <--- I could not agree more, I miss it already and can't wait for next year. If you survived the 45, you'll be fine on the 70 if you can log some more miles in the next year. As for the Manayunk Wall - I climb the wall at least once or twice a week being in center city phila, and I've gotta tell you there were some kickers on sunday that were more than comparable to Manayunk.


Btw I think the 70mi has around 6000 feet of climbing, maybe a tad less.

grahny

How great is it to just roll through almost every single intersection with someone there holding up traffic for you? The volunteers & police were awesome as usual. Now if only I could get that type of service on my usual rides I'd be all set

I saw a packet of gummi bears on the side of the road at one spot and I was wondering 'who's eating gummi bears?'.... I didn't go for any of the food other than a banana at one stop so I didn't realize they had them - gummi bears sure are original

grunzster

The people directing us were great. They almost didn't even have to bother mark the route.

I pretty much just grabbed gel at every stop, throw in a power bar, some nuts, and one PB&J to get something solid in my stomach and for a little salt.

Jay68442

I saw this written on the side of a car at the LSC.

"Why do we ride??

Because our sweat is nothing compared to their tears.
Because our challenge is nothing compared to their fight.
Because we are all on one journey with one destination, one goal:
to conquer cancer in our lifetime"

JDavis

Did anybody see the helicopter landing at a church along the 70 mile route? There were a couple of fire trucks there too. I hope it wasn't one of the riders. I did see a couple of cyclists who had gone down, but I haven't heard about any serious wrecks.

XterraTri

there was a bad wreck. helicopter was hovering over some trees on part of the course where there was a sweeping fast downhill right turn. Hill on the right, guardrail on the left. there were people cautioning everyone to slow down and I look over. There was a biker on the ground wrapped in the foil blankets. looked like he was in bad shape. I kept trying to find a story on the news but there wasn't one. Don't know how he's doing.

A white chevy pickup also caused a wreck behind me on the uphill after the second (3rd) power stop. There were other riders behind to help so I pedaled as hard as possible until I reached the next intersection with an officer and notified him of the incident.

This was my first ever ride over 25 miles and man, I paid for it but I did finish!

uncadan8

The rider had a compound fracture of the arm - not sure which one, but is apparently doing okay.

HigherGround

Well, I think I probably had the most unusual "preparation" for the event...

I felt great on the Sunday prior, during the Covered Bridges ride in Lancaster. By the middle of the week, I was having problems with being exhausted, and having restricted breathing. My doctor ended up putting me in the hospital Friday afternoon for observation. By Saturday afternoon they had ruled out cardiac problems, so I was released from the hospital. I rode to the expo area to pick up my packet, and it felt sooo good to be on the bike! It seemed like the problems of the past few days were behind me. Unfortunately I had problems with an "intestinal jihad" late Saturday night, but a maximum dosage of some over-the-counter medicine got it under control.

I wasn't worried about setting any kind of record pace during the ride. Considering the previous week and the course profile, I just wanted to finish within the time limit. I knew I would have to pace myself in order to ride well towards the end. The first 50 miles went pretty well, and I was ahead of schedule. A bee stung me at about the 45 mile mark, but I was lucky because I didn't have a reaction. (I am allergic to some kinds of bee stings, and I carry an epi pen on rides.)

The killer hill before the sixth rest stop came a little earlier than I had expected, so I was kind of freaked out. If that was the second to the toughest hill, I'd be cooked on the worst one! I had to stop to rest on the hill (around the 55 mile point), but I made it up without walking. By the sixth rest stop I was pretty beat, but I attributed it to the severity of the hill and I hoped to recover.

The second half of the ride was much different than the first half. I was cramping and having problems on the climbs. On one gradual uphill, my hamstring locked up and I had to stop on the edge of the road. There were a lot of climbs where I had to stop and rest, which is unusual for me. I'm not the fastest climber by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm usually fine as long as I pace myself and ride within my limits. I think the problem was that the medicine I had taken to calm my stomach had slowed down my digestive system to the point where I wasn't absorbing food, water, and electrolytes nearly as fast as I normally would. The first half of the ride was done on my body's reserves, and by the second half, the tank was empty.

I distinctly remember one time when I stopped to rest. The course crossed over a busy intersection where the State Police were controlling traffic. Traffic was backed up in both directions. I stopped at the intersection to rest, as the climb continued straight up. I was straddling my top tube, slumped over my handlebars, head resting on the back of my hands, staring at my front wheel. Somebody in a waiting car said, "Come on buddy - if Lance can do it, you can too!" I continued up the hill, and still had to stop again to prevent my legs from locking up.

I knew I was cutting it close to the time limit, but I did the best I could. I knew the last part of the course was easier than the middle, and that gave me hope. Between the eighth and ninth rest stops, I was informed that the course was officially closed. I was so close to the finish! I pulled in to the last rest stop and asked one of the volunteers to remove my number. I said that I was a Montgomery County resident who was going out for a ride, and that the LAF was off the hook for any responsibility or liability - all of which was true. It was just a coincidence that my ride happened to go past my home and towards the college.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. After all, how hard could the remaining 10 miles or so be? Well, if the second half of the ride felt like the lights were off, the final 10 miles were like the plug was pulled out from the socket. I felt okay (relatively speaking) for the first few miles, but the remaining ones were spent crawling along in my 39 x 25. I blew up so hard that I'm surprised that no one reported seeing a mushroom cloud on the course! When I had to pull over on an uphill to allow the police escort for the sag wagon to pass, I was really reconsidering the wisdom of my decision! The final hill on Morris Rd., right before crossing Rt. 202, felt like Alpe d'Huez. I made the turn in to the college, and pedaled towards the black banner. When I got close enough to see "Finish - 350 yards", it felt like a cruel joke! When I made it to the end, my dad was still waiting there for me. I was not an official finisher, but I completed the whole course without walking or giving up. A volunteer asked if I wanted to get checked out at the medical tent. I took her up on the offer, and I was glad that I did. Those towels soaked with ice water felt so good!

I'm not saying this to brag, but I've done some really tough rides over the last 25 years, including the Assault on Mt. Mitchell and riding up Alpe d'Huez. All things considered, I think this one was the most challenging. I was almost certainly DFL, but I'm still proud of it. When my mom was diagnosed with cancer a second time, what was supposed to be a one week stay in the hospital became a month and a half. I know how stir crazy I was after just one day in the hospital, so I can't imagine how tough it was for her to be there for six weeks. She made it through that, so I was determined to finish this as well. I'm going to participate again next year, and to come back stronger.

RoadToNowhere

Wow, HG! What a week you had. It's no wonder you ran out of gas. Sounds like you were depleted from the very beginning.

I'm thinking now that I have no excuse NOT to do this ride next year.

Beth

uncadan8

Kudos, HG! I know what it feels like to be grinding along in that lowest gear and still keep hitting that shifter hoping for a lower gear. Great job on finishing! Now get some rest and spin easy for a while.

HigherGround

Uh oh...



This can't be good...

I just realized... I did laundry on Monday night when I went to visit my parents. However, I didn't take my cycling clothes because I let them hang dry. That means my jersey and shorts have been festering at the bottom of the hamper all week. And I thought I was suffering before - just wait till I open that lid tonight!

And thanks to uncadan8 and to Beth for the compliments - I'll expect to see both of you there next year! I promise to use a few gallons of Febreeze on the jersey between now and then!

grahny

Wow HigherGround... I was just thinking the other day I wonder how your ride went since you hadn't posted yet... hoping all was ok. Glad to hear you made it through as tough as it was. Finishing under those physical conditions is a victory in any book

That course is a b*tch for sure... last year that 2nd climb didn't leave any real lasting impact on me, but this year, feeling like crap myself, with no gas from the get-go, I feel like that climb was the hardest, roughest, most painful time on the bike in my entire life, and several times I had to look deeper than I ever had just to make it up. I can't imagine how tough it must have been for you, but you obviously showed depth of character and some serious will to see it through to the end and should be proud of that fact for sure. We make that small sacrifice for a few (long) hours on the bike, knowing how hard it is for others that can't be out there, and that means a lot to everyone.

Now please, for the love of all that is holy, get a gas mask, and get that kit into the washing machine

uncadan8

Better yet, HG, burn the kit! New stuff can always be bought.

I'll definitely be there next year. I just learned today of a friend who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer about a year ago. She was just able to get back on the bike this January. I had been out of touch with her for that entire period, so I had no idea that she had gone through this. This is a woman who bikes everywhere - she has never had a driver's license, and doesn't ever intend to get one. She was a mentor to me when I was just starting a job at a gym and always amazed me with how she rode the bike no matter what. In fact, it was on the bike that she realized something was very wrong and that she needed to get checked out.

She has been through the chemo and is riding again, but ovarian cancer is a nasty one and has a reputation for coming back. I pray it doesn't, but it certainly gives me more motivation to get on the stick with the fundraising for next year.

I haven't counted up all the people I know who are affected directly by cancer, but I know it is a high and growing number. We need to fight hard on this one, folks.

the engine

HigherGround, When I passed you on the hill before stop #6, I had no idea how badly you were feeling. We spoke a few words, and you didn't let on ... great job at getting through. I was surprised at how many riders I saw cramping this year. Seemed liked a lot more than previous years.

I'm am changing my RD, Cassette, and Chain to a Deore XT group. I'm gonna love that 32/11 cassette on those killer climbs. I have a triple Ultegra now, and adding lower cogs to go to (instead of 27t being my lowest), is going to save these old bones, and Clydesdale knees from excessive fatigue.

I have plans to do some New England hill climbs next season (including Mt. Washington, if I can get in). The new set-up is not just for LAC, but to give me a better chance on some of those major Vermont and New Hampshire road climbs as well.

Congrats to everyone who had a successful LAC ride ... some of us, worse for wear, but if you rode a complete ride, under any circumstances, it was a success.

RoadToNowhere

Use that Febreeze and/or some Clorox2 on that kit, and I'll be happy to hang onto your wheel next year.

As soon as the date and details are posted, I'll get it firmly on my calendar

Beth

Grasschopper

Ok if you are doing Philly next year I might have to do both Philly and Austin.

HigherGround

grahny: Hopefully having our mail forwarded to the Pain Cave will not be necessary during next year's event! It's tough to dig so deeply in to one's reserves, and not something you want to do too often. ("Thank you Captain Obvious", right? ) Having dug so deeply will give me confidence for when the going gets tough in the future, either on or off the bike. Thanks for the kind words.

uncadan8: Best wishes for your friend. It sounds like she's pretty tenacious to begin with, which can only help. I hope she has a complete recovery and can join us on the ride next year.

the engine: I recall that we had spoken briefly during the ride. I think it happened just as I was starting to feel bad - but I'm sure that's purely coincidence!

And to everyone else: No need for one of these



The jersey and shorts appear to be safe! However, I am thinking of getting one of the new jersey designs, and having it modified with a full zipper. Either way, you'll be safe from the funk!

grahny

Pictures are finally up.... https://www.kreutzphotography.com/