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OK, here's my ride report, also titled "Why there is no chivalry in cycling".
I pulled a bonehead move first thing and forgot my two water bottles sitting in the freezer at the hotel. No biggie, I had a spare and asked Cheri go back and get them after we got started, then meet me in Brazil (about mile 25 or so), rather than at the first feed stop. I had on the sleeveless jersey I ordered...but now I see why you guys don't like sleeveless. I love my sleeveless shirts, but they are looser and have a LOT more room under the pits. This thing was tight and I didn't have all that empty space in the pits to let the air flow. So Botto was correct (he always is, cept when he aint'). I put some socks on at the last minute...my feet were feeling kind of cold as I was taking the bike for a little ride before the start, figured they'd get colder at 20mph. Usually 65 is my benchmark for wearing socks with sandals...it was 58. I prolly should have worn my leg warmers, but my legs felt fine after the first 5 miles or so. http://www.chipcom.net/bikes/rain07/dan_cheri.jpg I met up with some of our non-Fred BFers at the start. Here's a shot of Aham23, Psimet2001 and some old fat jarhead. (I was skinnier by the finish :eek:) JeniCincinatti is there too...you can see her hand, arm and gorgeous legs at the far left, cut off...that's what happens when you let your wife take a pic, the cute gals get cut out of the shot. http://www.chipcom.net/bikes/rain07/bf_start.jpg The start was a piece of cake...cept for all the folks that seem to have a problem holding a line while fumbling around getting clipped in. Pretty bad when an old fat fred like me has to holler "hold you line, dambit!". I managed to stay near the back of the rest of the BFers for a bit, but then lost them in traffic. As I was trying to keep them in sight to plan a way to bridge back, a sweet voice said 'Hi Chip". There was SmokinMiles, pretty as the morning, coming up next to me. We rode together for a while, but everytime I'd hang on the back of a group I'd look back to see her dropping off. So I'd slow down so she could bridge back up and wait for the next group to go my. I didn't mind, I figured it was probably a good thing not to go hammering too hard right off the bat and end up a bonked bowl of jello by noon. She told me it was OK to go ahead, because she 'knew her limitations', but being the chivalrous jarhead I am I just told her 'Nobody gets left behind'. So we rode and chatted for awhile until we got into Brazil, where Cheri was waiting with my missing water bottles. Turns out SmokinMiles grew up there and knew exactly where we were meeting. She bade me farewell as I pulled into the BP lot and told me I'd probably catch back up to her soon. HA, famous last words - I didn't see her again until I crossed the finish line. That girl might not be fast, but she's like the energizer bunny, she keeps riding, and riding and riding! :D It was great meeting you girlfriend...enjoyed being able to hang with you, since the guys dropped me like a bad headache! It was a good thing I took it easy for that first 25 miles...because I was pretty much solo for the rest of the ride. Cheri waited for me at the first feed stop and Plainview, then I sent her on ahead to Greenfield, rather than have her try to meet me at the lunch stop, which I planned on bypassing. I managed to latch on to a couple of groups, but here's the funny thing...everytime we'd hit a hill I'd end up dropping them! Don't you Indiana folks do much climbing? I mean geeze, for a fat old dude like me to be dropping young skinny roadies on them little inclines is just wrong! :p ;) There was one rider who was doing about the same pace as I, and between the two of us we made good time into Plainfield, picking up and dropping small groups in the process. When I got into Plainfield (about mile 66) and looked at my computer I was flabbergasted...I was doing a 21mph average speed, even after taking it fairly easy for the first 25! I can't take credit...that tailwind was great! Cheri met me at the little store in Plainfield that SmokinMiles mentioned, and I took the opportunity to eat some, since I planned on bypassing the lunch stop, then I sent Cheri ahead to Greenfield. http://www.chipcom.net/bikes/rain07/rearview.jpg I picked up that same rider out of Plainfield to the lunch stop, trying to make up for all the darn stops we had to make, so by the time I got to the lunch stop I changed my mind and stopped for a quick banana and a refill of my bottles. From there to Greenfield (and to the finish) I was solo, all the groups I caught were too slow and I didn't feel like hammering to keep up with those that passed me. As I passed 100 miles I saw that my average speed had dropped to around 19, but my ride time was 5:15...about 15 minutes faster than the one I had done a couple of weekends ago. Kewl. But I could feel that I was needing a break and was happy to get into Greenfield at about mile 110, where Cheri met me in a little park with some fresh fruit for lunch. That break put some life back into me and I set off for the finish knowing I'd make it. Just 50 miles to go...same as a commute to work and back...no problem! http://www.chipcom.net/bikes/rain07/front_view.jpg The last 50 miles was completely solo, but the tailwind was my friend...until I hit that detour in Dublin. When I made the turn the headwind hit me in the face like a brick wall and it was all I could do to keep a 14-15mph pace. That couple of miles seemed to take forever and I was so glad when I finally made the turn and had the wind back on my side. The rest of the ride was cake...even those loooong gradual hills where everyone else seemed to slow to a crawl. I caught a lot of people on those hills. Then finally I crossed the line....YAY... Total time: 10 hours, or a minute or two less...it was 5:01pm when I remembered to check the time a couple minutes after I finished. I'll see what they gave me when they publish the results. Distance: 160.05 miles Average speed: 19.0 mph Total ride time: 8:25 http://www.chipcom.net/bikes/rain07/finish1.jpg It was great meeting you all...and it was a great ride. Maybe I'll do it again next year. :) |
mikeat,
So glad you're ok and I absolutely understand your disappointment. It was a gorgeous day but, man, have you ever got a story for the grandkids! |
Well, folks, here's my brief ride report. This was my 2nd rain ride and I was woefully under-trained. I went into it with the idea that if I made it to Plainfield, I'd be about 8 miles from home and could get a nap in while everyone else was pedaling to Richmond. However, when I got there, I was feeling pretty good and managed to make the rest of the ride. I actually felt pretty good until about mile 125 or so, then I started playing those mind games that we all know and love. I sucked down a gel and some water and before long, the legs stopped burning and the tailwind (blessed tailwind) picked up a little and I sort of just cruised on into Richmond. Last year I did the ride in about 12:20. This year I came in just under 11:00 actual time and 9:09 on the computer (too much time at the SAGS methinks!). I averaged about 18mph and feel pretty good. Makes me glad I lost the 100 pounds so that I can enjoy rides like this.
Here are a couple of shots of my riding buddy and me. Chipcom, didn't we ride together for a while? I sort of recall a conversation about us being socially acceptable wheel suckers! :D Before the ride (I'm on the left): http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...ingstarted.jpg Loafing at lunch (I'm GLAD my wife brought the chair!): http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u.../lunchstop.jpg |
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It's too bad I didn't meet up with any of you guys. Sounds like most of you had a great time. |
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it was good to see some faces/jerseys i recognized and take a minute to chat with everyone. :) like many others - i was really grateful for the tailwind. also, glad i started up front and rode as hard as i could for the first 100. i had a couple of really fast groups to work with and it paid off in the end. smoked last year's time by over 3 hours. total time: 8:03 (well under goal) riding time 7:24 avg speed 21.5 not doing the hilly this year (probably) headed down to louisville next weekend for a hilly 140, with about 10K of climbing. that should be a challenging day. steve |
[QUOTE=chipcom]
I managed to stay near the back of the rest of the BFers for a bit, but then lost them in traffic. As I was trying to keep them in sight to plan a way to bridge back, a sweet voice said 'Hi Chip". There was SmokinMiles, pretty as the morning, coming up next to me. We rode together for a while, but everytime I'd hang on the back of a group I'd look back to see her dropping off. So I'd slow down so she could bridge back up and wait for the next group to go my. I didn't mind, I figured it was probably a good thing not to go hammering too hard right off the bat and end up a bonked bowl of jello by noon. She told me it was OK to go ahead, because she 'knew her limitations', but being the chivalrous jarhead I am I just told her 'Nobody gets left behind'. So we rode and chatted for awhile until we got into Brazil, where Cheri was waiting with my missing water bottles. Turns out SmokinMiles grew up there and knew exactly where we were meeting. She bade me farewell as I pulled into the BP lot and told me I'd probably catch back up to her soon. HA, famous last words - I didn't see her again until I crossed the finish line. That girl might not be fast, but she's like the energizer bunny, she keeps riding, and riding and riding! :D It was great meeting you girlfriend...enjoyed being able to hang with you, since the guys dropped me like a bad headache! QUOTE] Ah, yes, chivalry....you have revealed what I was not going to! That you are such a sweetie. I wasn't going to mention it too overtly as to not ruin your badarse reputation around here! :D I'm glad Cheri had a good day sagging. I should have mentioned when I told you "I know my limitations" that I also know my strengths....that when others need rest, I can keep plowing on. Endurance, alas, is my strength. :D Tell Cheri I'll join her sagging next year. I can show her more great spots across Indiana. I'm not riding RAIN again. Also, "So Botto was correct (he always is, cept when he aint')." This made me spew iced white rasperry tea all over my monitor. Too funny. It was great getting to know you. Hope to see you and Cheri at another ride. Crystal |
Garmin Stats:
Distance: 159.79 mi Elapsed Time: 8:10:45 Avg Pace: 3.04/mi Avg Speed: 19.5 mph Max Speed: 38.0 mph Calories: 12,016 cal Avg Heartrate: 145 bpm Max Heartrate: 177 bpm Avg Cadence: 78 rpm Ascent: 4,134 ft |
Smokinmiles,
Think I passed you 3 times on the post-lunch stop section on 40. Was the guy in the A4+ jersey on Litespeed Tuscany who said "You're forcing me to pass you again";) . Great ride, you were looking good! |
This was my first RAIN. Here is my ride report… unfortunately, I don’t have any pix, so it might be a bit boring.
A friend (Keith) and I rode in from Bloomington to Terre Haute on Friday morning, and stayed at the Econolodge (right by the Drury Inn where seemingly every one else stayed, but much cheaper). We arrived early to volunteer at the RAIN registration; we’re both members of the Bloomington Bicycle Club, who organizes the event. We worked the 1:00-5:00 volunteer shift and had dinner at the Coffee Cup family restaurant near the motel. It was cheap and good. I went to bed early at about 8:45 because I had a persistent summer cold, and the ride in from Bloomington had me tired out. Keith and I woke up at 5:00 and had breakfast at the hotel. I employed my usual pre-ride breakfast strategy of eating all I could hold… ended up having two waffles, a bowl of cereal, two muffins, and a cereal bar. The hotel didn’t have any fruit which was sort of a bummer. We left the hotel at 6:15 and rode about 8-miles to the start of the ride. I took up a position near the front of the pack, since I expected to remain with the lead group for as long as I could. I did not have sag support, and did not plan to stop except to pee, so I packed all my food with me. I took a bunch of hammer gel and clif bars, and packed four water bottles. I knew going into this ride without vehicular support would keep me from staying with the lead pack for the duration of the ride… after all, four bottles of water wouldn’t last me for 7-hours, and I would lose the pack when I stopped to refill… but I thought I would make the best of it and hang with the lead group until short on water. My riding buddy, Keith, was in a similar situation, and packed a ton of food in a Bob the Builder backpack that he strapped onto his rack. It was an amusing sight. The beginning of the ride was uneventful, except I thought I heard an accident from further back in the pack shortly into the ride. I was glad that I had picked a starting position towards the front of the pack because, with the police escort, there was no need to stop for the traffic lights and it was easy to negotiate a position towards the very front of the pack for when the police car peeled off and turned us loose on highway 40. Once the police escort departed, I took my place among a huge lead group that took up an entire lane on 40. Some riders rode in the second lane, blocking traffic. It was unfortunate to see this behavior, I believe that too much of that could mean the end of RAIN some time in the future, and in the very least, it gives cyclists a bad name. Cars were driving in the grass to pass the group… it was a crazy situation. Anyway, the lead group set a reasonable pace of 25-30, but the group kept surging and it was hard to keep a constant speed. There were no pacelines. I was feeling good in spite of my cold. The cool temperatures reduced my water consumption, so I thought that I could hang with the lead group until the lunch stop before needing to refill. Once we got to Plainfield, the route departed US40 and became a bit confusing. The lead group ran stoplights when they could. At one point, the lead group missed a detour and actually cut almost a mile off the route. So nearly all the top times in RAIN are, to some extent, illegitimate. I feel bad that I missed this road marking… but in a big pack like that it’s hard to see the Dan Henrys. This is something that was new to me… if the group stopped, folks would just whip it out and go to the bathroom right in the road. There was a girl of 12-13 on the back of a tandem that really got an eyeful! I rode through some guy’s steamy puddle about 30-miles east of Plainfield… it was gross. Since this was my first rain, I really didn’t know where the lunch stop was, and I missed it. I didn’t realize that I had gone by it until the group was east of Indy. This was disastrous for me, since I was out of water and 35-miles from the next stop. I grimly decided to stay with the main group for as long as I could. As the group got back on US40, at about mile 110, the pace quickened, and folks started getting dropped. I was feeling the effects of dehydration, and wasn’t up to staying at a pace of 25+. I got shelled at mile 118. I continued to ride on, and was counting the miles before the next rest stop, which was at mile 130. At about mile 122, my pace slowed to about 18mph and I guess I looked like death. A rider from Team Bolla gave me some water from his sag… I wish I had gotten the guy’s name… I owe him big time. I felt a little better after the water and my pace slowly improved. At mile 130, I loaded up on Gatorade at the last rest stop. Before I knew it, I had drank three waterbottles of Gatorade in 10-miles. I obviously overdid it, and I got a wicked stomachache and my headache got worse. At about mile 145, I ran into RAAM rider Dave Tanner. He let me tag along behind his back wheel all the way to the finish. The post-ride food was perfect… there was PBJ and lots of cookies and high-carb stuff there. They even had showers. Final stats: Ride Time: 6:53:48 Total Time: 6:59 Avg. Speed: 23.1 Distance: 159.02 (Remember, the lead group missed a detour that would have added almost a mile to the route) |
forgot to add at least a couple of pics!
before the ride - you can see chipcom behind me http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/a...7/IMGP1446.jpg after the ride with a couple of riders that i rolled with for about 70 miles - thanks to these guys for being great riding partners. the guy on the right got a 22nd place in the national time trials in his age group - not sure of the distance, but he's a very strong rider. http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/a...7/DSC00036.jpg |
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That's my SAG vehicle on the side...8 years old/216,000 miles/runs like a champ, but I digress. SmokinMiles - Thanks for the nice comments. They were really a great help. I thought they would've been bored driving around and waiting for me, but I learned of their day long adventure during dinner. Turns out they got lost a few times, and barely made it to each stop right before I did. They're looking forward to next year just as much as I am. I think I'll start collecting keychains :D |
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Crystal |
Short ride report: total time, 7:22. Avg speed, 22.4 mph (from my Polar CS200). Best of the 3 consecutive RAIN rides I've done. Rode in the pack until the Putnam Co. hills (I live there; I know them there hills) where the pack started to string out. Rode to the lunch stop with a new friend from Bloomington. From there, rode solo until about Dunreith; then met up with an 18-year-old from Ohio who impressed the socks off of me by his riding and his beyond-his-years maturity. Great ride, great event--hope to see everyone there again next year!
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Well...let's see. This year was a good year. I had a feeling that we were going to have a good tailwind, and indeed we did.
As others mentioned we rolled up to the start very early. On the rollup we came across shider and Chipcom. As we sat around spewing nervous chatter waiting for the start people started rolling up and introducing each other. I got some crap about not shaving my legs. I finally had to explain that the wife drew the line in the sand. I was handed CyLowe's camera at some point. Chipcom asked me to take a shot of his socks/sandals so that botto would know that Chip was keeping it real Fred style. The last couple of minutes were nerve racking. I was still hoping to see nvr at the start, and as it was he called with about 6 minutes to the start and said he was under the overpass....(about 600 riders back) :eek: When he showed I finally settled in and put my mind to starting. Even though we were only 6-10 rows back it was still a bit of a traffic jam. We fragmented early on. I was hanging on to shider and hoping we still had people with us. I thought Chipcom was right behind me, but turned finally to see it was aham. When we finally got to those early rollers I could see the 2-laned lead group heading up the roller ahead as we were getting into the valleys in between. It sounds like (from where people descibe certain events happening with relation to them) we were in the middle of most of the people here. Shider pulled forever. I seem to always find myself riding 2nd wheel to him. Waiting to see him pull off, but feeling like I am working at the front already. He just doesn't like not being in front. His friend from his home club that was riding with us kept yelling at him to take a break. Shider would just ignore it or drop back a few spots for 30 seconds (never getting into the actual line or draft) and then rocket back up to the front. Sick. We bum rushed the first stop. It was basically empty when we got there. No lines anywhere. A quick wiz, a PB&J and we were gone. Waved to our SAG as we went past. The next section was even faster it semed. The few times I looked down at my computer, all I saw was 30mph or over. I still had my compact on from the HHH ride (was waiting on a new chain from someone :rolleyes:), and quickly found that I ran out of gears :eek:. We came into the second stop on fire. I remember my avg being in the 23-24 mph range. Some of the comments I had heard from aham and cylowe while riding made me think that this was where we were going to let the rabbits go. Shider said, "l'm ready to roll." I said, "see you later." Aham got this puppy look on his face. I had only refilled my bottles, and still hadn't even gotten anything to eat and we were over already 60 miles into the ride. I figured WTF and asked if I could get 5 seconds to eat a PB&J. Shider said, "5, 4, 3..." As I choked it down I yelled at cylowe to get rollin. Shider was already out of the parking lot as we started to get going. I looked for nvr, but didn't see his SAG on the way out. Had a pretty good feeling that was going to be the last we saw him. I started taping the gels and started feeling a little iffy around 80 miles in. I hate the section around Indy. I always do. All 3 times I've done this ride I've hated that section. I was ready for the lunch stop. I just hadn't gotten anything real in me food wise and knew I was just setting myself up for a massive bonk if I didn't get anything. Filled the bottles, got a sandwich, sat down next to Shider just in time for him to get up. I sat there long enough to see SmokinMiles roll in. I turned around and she was gone. I scarfed down my turkey sandwich (couldn't even finish it all), and a bananna and asked the guys if they could stick around long enough for me to wizz. Saw a dude in the bathroom with a "R900" written on his number. Noticed the OSU jersey, but didn't say anything because...well...he had his hands full, and I'm not a toilet talker. We headed out the same way we headed out the last two years, which was not the actual route. Right out of the parking lot I said, "is this he right way? I don't see any riders up there." Someone said "yeah"... Well after getting to a corner that had no markings we stopped. A group collected at the intersection, and luckily one guy had a map, and enough knowledge of the area to point us in the right direction. From there we used the old route markings to get back on course. Not too long after that aham started pushing forward. I still felt pretty good (aham keeps telling me I had just blown up the group on my last pull), but looked back and noticed that cylowe was not looking his best. I floated back and in the process aham got a gap, and went through a yellow light. I knew that was the last we were going to see of him. That was right around when I looked down and noticed that I had just turned a sub-5 hour century. 4:43 to be exact. Not bad. Cylowe said he hit a century a few miles back (my computer always reads low - frame flex - sensor drop out) so the time was probably even better. Definitely my best. Had our SAG meet us at where 40 picks back up again. Every year I have needed water there. While I still had water this year, it wouldn't have lasted to the next stop at 130. Filled the bottles and got back going. I didn't feel too hot around 120 miles in. My knee which had been twitching all day just gave up on me. I had a shooting sharp pain on every pedal stroke. I had to resort to bursts of 5-8 revs followed by the same amount of time coasting. Rinse. Repeat. I still had tons of energy, and my guads felt good, but I just couldn't drope the hamer anymore :rolleyes:. The last stop couldn't have come quick enough. I felt good at the stop, apart from the knee. Potty break, grabbed 2 chilled banannas, and filled bottles. Ran about 20 minutes or so. Once back out I "clocked" the tailwind at 20mph about 3-4 times (felt no air moving at all, flags still flying, and the computer said "20"). That detour into the wind, can't remember if it was before the last break or not, was just horrid. I swept all of my gears, and thought about turning around and taking 40 through the construction zone. My knee was shot at the end of the day. I kept trying to pull, but cylowe would let me get along side, and then speed up and match pace. So I ended up wheel sucking for a large chunk of the end. SAG called at under 10 miles left and told me aham had finished. Once in Richmond cylowe took off on a hill. My knee just couldn't take it anymore. I was still close until I got caught by a light on a downhill (ARRGGGHH!). Got caught by another light on the same downhill. After that it was a nice easy roll in. All said and done I did better than last year (12:20ish last year). This was the perfect storm of weather conditions for this ride so I feel sorry for anyone who rode this as their first attempt. They will grossly under-estimate the ride next year. Total Time: 9:29:30 (off of my HRM which I forgot to stop for about 5-10 minutes after the end) Ride Time: 7:52:54 Calories: 5577 (FWIW) Avg HR: 139 (<-- extremely low for me) Avg Speed: 20.0 It ws great seeing everyone, and I find it funny that we all basically rode at the same pace, but rest time separated us. Next year I plan on preparing for super quick stops. Preset bottles again, and food/gels in my own little musette bags. That way maybe I won't be the anchor dragger. |
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I was annoyed with people riding in the left lane just like you were. If you have to ride in the left lane to pass then you've failed at your positioning. It's really that simple. I rode in the gutter on the right a couple times early on, but I was careful to take a long look ahead to make sure it was safe. I also noticed SAGs riding slowly in the left lane, which annoyed me as well. 40 isn't super busy, but it has its busy spots and usually has a steady flow of traffic, and with the construction on I-70 it's just not cool to impede traffic too much. I'm also annoyed at the way they ran stop lights on the Indy detour. The light's red, they go, and then they yell thanks to the cars. Yeah, thanks for stopping when we didn't give you any choice. :rolleyes: I'm not sure why guys were peeing in the middle of the road in busy areas. At the very least a big grassy shoulder was never too far away. I managed to hold it for 7 hours and I'm still living to tell about it. My biggest problem is that guys treat this like the Tour de France or something and overdo it with support vehicles. It seemed like some guys were grabbing bottles at least once an hour. Don't they have 2 bottle cages? I got a kick at how bad some of the SAGs/riders seemed to be at passing/grabbing bottles. I saw a ton of them get dropped. Worst of all, I saw a lot of gel wrappers being littered. That's bull****. I did the ride on 8 gels. Each empty wrapper was put safely in my jersey pocket. It's really not that hard. Maybe they should have a police escort the whole way? It might cut down on a little bit of the stupid behavior. |
[I hate the section around Indy. I always do. All 3 times I've done this ride I've hated that section. I was ready for the lunch stop.]
I hate this part, too, as you'll read in my report. Mentally, it is just so hard and one loses so much momentum there so for all of us to ride our best centuries, I'd say we did pretty darn good. I can just see aham's puppy look. I'm telling you... he and shider looked great the last 50 miles. I got shider out of the lunch stop going the right direction. Even though he hadn't done the ride before he started out of there the wrong, or old way, which makes me think he had seen riders going that direction. I might also add that I highly recommend the musette bags as opposed to having your sag stuff potatoes into a little Bento Box on the tube with one's phone in it. I speak from experience. :D Your are organizer extraordinaire! Thanks for getting us all together. It was great starting up front and getting through Terre Haute without the stoplights. Crystal |
Crystal,
While I didn't meet everyone, it seems we at least pass one another at different times, but I haven't seen you pic so I'm not sure. Any pics? |
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No smoochin where we were....just looking at hairy legs and crumpled up bib numbers! |
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