Tom Stormcrowe

There was a bridge out on the route I planned on my ride from Lafayette, Indiana to Syracuse, Indiana. %$@^ ROAD CONSTRCTION! I am home now and in EXTREME pain! I did a sub 12 hr 167 mile ride instead of the 144 I had planned. As I said, I'm hurting, but it hurts so good! Elapsed time on the ride was 11:30! Labor Day weekend traffic absolutely sucked. I was almost hit by an obnoxious teemaged driver getting impatient and passing and cutting back in between me and my SAG wagon, nearly hitting me in the process. I had the wife driving our van as SAG support, with Amber Strobes on the roof and a SMV triangle as well as a banner on the tailgate reading Cyclist ahead. I feel rather lucky I wasn't hit, believe me, there ain't no thrill like a car zipping by you at 70 mph on a country road with 6" clearance! I HATE TEENAGE DRIVERS IN SOUPED UP MUSCLE CARS....at least that particular one!

I wound up starting out just before sunrise, I wanted to get some miles in before the traffic got hairy. Temp was 54 degrees with a light fog. It felt COLD! The entire ride was done against a headwind varying between 10 and 15 mph. As the day progressed, the clouds and light fog burned off into a glorious sunny afternoon with 69 degrees as a high. I hit the wall about the 90 mile point and was getting pretty discouraged, but decided to continue after the wife reminded me I didn't have to do this if I didn't want to, that it was fine if I quit (God, I hate it when she uses that word, it's a spur in the ol' side if ya know what I mean! )

I ran through a couple of really nice towns (Townships?) around the west side of North Manchester. One was called Ijamsville, and the other was Lakewood. The Lakewood FD was out and offered me water and Gatorade, nice guy's! I was using primarily liquid nutrition this ride and my sugars held up really well! I did get close to bonking, and that's why I was a bit discouraged. I pushed a bit too hard, I think, but still made it. This was a new high mileage day for me. It feels great, and I'm still feeling pretty trashed, but recovering well. Hydratrion went well and I hit Syracuse hungry as a bear! All evening and most of today, I've been nibbling and drinking fluids. MY average speed was 14.52 MPH. Not bad for an old middleaged fart!

TomM

I hate bonus mile rides.

JoseE5

i have to say my hat is off to you!!! this is what ive been wanting to do for a few weeks now . i think tommorow im gonna have to break the 100 miler. havent done a century yet . and about the wreckless drivers i know what you mean, i was reaching the top of a bride here in miami and a yellow mustang with a drunk driver swerved into my bike lane clipping the front wheel and almost hit the wall (second sooner would have been me) then swerved 2 lanes over to the left . up ahead about 1/4 mile he hit a rider who luckily recovered control of his bike and didnt fall (was very lucky) . thankfully police who were patroling the triathlon at this location witnessed the incedent and arrested the driver immedietly. thats the main reason why i dont do long distance rides , to many crazy drivers in miami !! but congrats on your new PR .
Jose

Tom Stormcrowe

Thanks, both of ya! Still feeling pretty wiped out, but I'm not surprised!

knoregs

I feel your pain... last week on a 100+ miler I went through a 5 mile stretch where the road was all torn up due to road construction... there was no turning around and walking 5 miles was not an option so I plodded on and wouldn't ya know, I flatted my front tire... a BRAND NEW $80 TIRE!!! oh well

great ride!!! perserverance through the tuff parts of the ride is what it's all about... rolling into the drive on the bike instead of in a van with a new personal best is a great feeling... always has me with a big sh*t eatin' grin on my face.

KingTermite 

Awesome ride (and report), Tom!!! Congrats!

I know you are older than me...and I'm not close to being ready enough to try a ride like that yet.

jschen

Congrats!

Richard Cranium

Glad to hear of your suck-cessful ride. What's more interesting is that you can get someone to sag/support you on a holiday weekend. What kind of bribery does that take?

Too bad about the traffic, I've ridden quite a bit around Indianapolis and could usually find backroads.

What the deal on your ride? If it was just you, couldn't you route yourself onto lower traffic roads?

I've ridden 210 miles in the last two days, but all traffic I was getting was mostly grain trucks and farm equipment.

oilfreeandhappy

WTG Tom. I know that "good feeling" of being sore.

Michigander

Yay for weight loss! My personal best is 180-185 miles in about 20 hours at a 24 hour event on Bell Isle (an island between michigan and canada). I was so tired I was pretty much hallucinating and had to stop. I was 17 or 18 at the time and weighed about 200-210 pounds. I have nothing but the highest respect for what you're doing.

Tom Stormcrowe

How did I get a Holiday weekend SAG Driver: I had to marry her 29 years ago! Worth it though!

Traffic problems? I rode into the heart of Indiana Lake Country on Labor Day Weekend! That's like Riding to Bush Stadium on a game day. All routes get busy!

FXjohn

No wonder you didn't want to ride around Orland/Mongo

Tom Stormcrowe

I was thinking about trying for Pokagon, but have family in Syracuse, and decided to visit. Otherwise, we'd be clinking beer mugs FTF instead of virtually, John!

GuitarWizard

Congrats! What is your weight down to now? That's really quite an impressive accomplishment, and well-deserved with all the work that has gone into it.

Tom Stormcrowe

I'm kinda holding at 232 right now. I seem to have plateaued. AAAARGH!