At some point, I was ready to shoot that masochistic voice in my head that encourages me to sign up for such idiotic things as riding 160 miles on a bicycle in one day. This ride began in Terre Haute (next to Illinois), and finished in Richmond (next to Ohio), and we had 14 hours to complete it. "Hey that sounds like fun!" the little voice said. "It'll be a great day!" "You can do this!" "Why not?", she said. Some day I may learn to ignore that little bitch, but I haven't figured out how to do that just yet. So I drove to Richmond, IN Friday afternoon, and caught a bus back to the start in Terre Haute. The ride started at a little college in the middle of nowhere, aptly named St. Mary Of The Woods. The school rented out dorm rooms, which made it very convenient the following morning.
Unfortunately, breakfast was a disappointment. The promised eggs were nowhere to be seen, and the last thing I want to eat before 12-14 hours of hard effort is link sausage or fried hash browns. I settled for several cups of (non-Greek) yogurt with a little fruit. Not being Greek style, the yogurt was loaded with sugar and not-so-loaded with protein, but it would have to do. I only had to go 2.5 hours on the bike before getting to more food.
I started about 25 yards behind the "Just Hope To Finish" sign, behind hundreds of other riders. I think there were around 1200 riders, and it was really something to be part of that group. Certainly not a place I ever expected to be – spectator, perhaps, but not a participant. This is kinda cool!
We heard some sort of commotion waaaaay up there (there were so many riders we couldn't see the start, up around the bend), and figured we'd be moving soon. Sure enough, a movement passed through the mass, made its way to us, and it was time to go. The Sheriff and local police provided an amazing escort through Terre Haute, all the way out of town on the other side. They were fabulous. It was wild to be riding easily in a large group of people, and every so often have a couple of Sheriff’s vehicles go zooming past us to catch up to the lead riders and manage car traffic while we passed.
There were four SAG (Support and Gear) stops and one lunch stop. The first leg was the longest of the day, at mile 40 or so. The rest of them were 20-25 miles apart, so not quite so difficult mentally. It was time to just settle in and get to stop #1.
Everything about this was a new experience for me: the distance, the number of other riders, the pace. I've never ridden with a large group (only some group rides from the local bike shop, sorted by speed), so wasn’t sure what to expect. Thanks to the local group rides, I did at least have an understanding of basic etiquette, but that’s about it. I was also one of the few people who were riding a tri bike instead of a road bike. [This matters because a tri bike is designed to be more comfortable when you are down low in the aero position, but you have less control down there. This makes it bad etiquette to go aero if you are anywhere near a group of people that you could take out if you lost control. I'm lucky this bike is reasonably comfortable in either position, or it would have been a truly miserable day.]
The day was far too long for a blow-by-blow, but the following is a summary of the essentials.
1-40 (2.5 hours) – Almost sabotaged myself by not taking in any calories. Felt good but drained by the time I got to the SAG stop.
SAG #1 – Half a banana and half a PB&J. Filled up front water bottle with Gatorade. Didn't sit this time except for pee break. Plan was to pee at every stop just to confirm I was taking in enough liquid, and to make sure I loitered long enough to get some rest. Averaged about 15 minutes per break.
41-64 (1.5 hours) – Felt horrible due to the calorie deficit from miles 1-40, but it passed after 45 minutes or so when the food from SAG 1 kicked in.
SAG #2 – Banana, filled water bottle with Gatorade.
65-94 (2 hours) – Bananas are wonderful things. Had a nice burst of energy when it kicked in. Had a light rain for most of this segment, but didn’t mind.
LUNCH – Banana, half PB&J, veggie wrap, potato chips, Gatorade. Enjoyed sitting for a while, watching it rain.
95-115 (1.5 hours) – Felt great after lunch. Rain stopped after a handful of miles. By now, the riders were more spread out and there was more opportunity to go down into the aerobars, so that helped conserve energy.
SAG #3 – Ate nothing, continued drinking Gatorade. Probably not a smart move, but there weren’t any bananas and none of the processed stuff looked appetizing. Should have shoved something down the gullet anyway, I know that now. Enjoyed sitting (NOT on a bike) for a bit.
116-120 – Still felt good, but was beginning to tire of the whole thing. I would have been ecstatic if I could have gotten off the bike and run a marathon instead of riding the remaining distance.
121-133 (1.5 hours) – Mentally getting harder to stay motivated. Realizing that there's a reason I like multisport: my attention span just isn't that long. Had to keep reminding myself that at this point it was mental, my body was holding up just fine.
SAG #4 – Banana, half PB&J, Gatorade, frozen popsicle drink, sat for a while and people-watched. The stop was at a small volunteer firehouse, and they made us very, very welcome. In addition to the popsicles, a firefighter was filling our bottles with ice. Wonderful, since it was getting pretty warm and muggy by now. Thankfully the cloud cover never quite broke up, but it did heat up for a little while.
133 – Only 28 more miles to go! Woohoo! I can wrap my brain around that. I got this!
137 – OK, it's no longer just mental. My legs are tired. And my back. And my neck. Surprisingly, the ass is just fine, only some very minor chafing where my left leg lightly brushes the side of the saddle. Easy to deal with, given the alternative.
140 – How am I going to finish this?
143 – How do people do this year after year? Why?
145 – How the HELL am I going to finish this?
156 – Saw sign that said, "5 miles to finish". Hot damn and Hallelujah! Hardest five miles I have ever ridden.
157 – OK, this qualifies as a hardcore suckfest.
161.5 – Is that really the turn into the finish? Can it be?
161.6 – Can I stop and stand up without falling over? Surprisingly, yes! Came in just behind two other riders. We all unclipped and stood, got our finisher keychain, and stood in a very short line for our finisher photo. I could see my car from where I was standing, and immediately started fantasizing about sitting in it. Rode the bike the few yards to the car, got off, and hurled myself into the passenger seat, where I sat, being completely pitiful, for at least five minutes.
Time in the saddle: 10:30:49
Total time: 12:03:00
Rinsed off in the cold showers at the college that served as the finish line, put on some clean clothes, stopped at a local family restaurant and ordered a fried chicken dinner to-go, and drove the 70 miles back home to my inviting bed.
Other than the disappointing breakfast, everything, and I do mean everything, about this ride was incredibly well organized. The SAG stops had the promised items, all the logistics made sense, and every single volunteer (and there were plenty) was cheerful and helpful. Their good spirits really helped lift our spirits. They were outstanding and deeply, deeply appreciated. And I would love to personally thank whoever convinced the weather gods to take it easy on us. The radar was looking pretty scary at lunch, but nothing materialized and in fact it stayed much cooler than the typical July day in Indiana.
Overall, I am very pleased with how I did, and still not quite sure I really did it. I had figured I would need the entire 14 hours, so was very pleased to finish a full two hours sooner than expected. Was also very happy that the first 100-112 miles really weren't that bad, and not something to be so intimidated by. Even though I was exhausted when I got home, my body was so physically wound up that I had a very tough time falling asleep. I woke up twice in the night to visit the refrigerator and eat. Today (Monday, two days later), I am not sore, and Pilates felt really, really good.
Almost 53, rode 160 miles in a day on a handful of 2-3 hour rides, no pain or soreness? I’ll take it!
Random thoughts:
- Never inhale as you pass road kill.
- Make the most of the downhills, no matter how slight the incline.
- Butt lube is a wonderful thing.
- Heated car seats are the bomb!
