Tree City Rolling Tour "unofficial century" ride

Summary:
-This is my favorite ride of the year, plus it's held in my hometown
-There were over 160 registered riders, almost doubled from last years ride
-I combined all three loops to create an "unofficial century" ride
-Total riding time was 5 hours and 34 minutes
-I seen other riders add 6 miles to the 30 mile loop by taking an extra lap around Lake Santee


General:
This is my favorite ride of the year, I've been looking forward to this ride all year. It has a great mix of challenging hills, beautiful countryside, a covered bride, a loop around Lake Santee plus the longest loop is short enough for my camera to catch the entire ride before the battery dies. Combined with the facts that it's put on in my own hometown and I'm a ride committee member are added bonuses. What more could you ask for?

The Tree City Rolling tour consists of three loops, a very hilly 60 mile, a 30 mile plus a 13 mile loop. One of the nice things about this ride is that it follows the same route as last year, so returning riders are less likely to make a wrong turn.

There was plenty of food at the sag stops. The main starting area also had Hamburgers, pork tenderloins and even a massage therapist to help work out the aches and pains after the ride.

I'm still the only recumbent bike, but not the most unusual rider, this year there was a unicycle that rode the 30 mile loop. He, like I had seen other riders do this year, added an extra loop around Lake Santee, making the 30 mile loop into a 36 mile loop. There was also one tandem bike, I'm not sure which loop they completed though.

The 60 mile loop:
This loop has some hills, since it goes through Buena Vista then South towards Hamburg and Enochsburg. The worst/best hills are between the 17 to 28 mile markers. The first hint of any real hill climbing are the two climbs on Stipps hill road before riding into Buena Vista. Then there is the triple threat south of Buena Vista which consists of three very steep but short rolling climbs one right after another.  These aren't the only three south of Buena vista, but seem to be the most severe. Once through Hamburg You'll start on a long downhill trek, you can easily coast to speeds in excess of 40 MPH down a scary, curvy descent with a posted speed limit of 25 MPH. Then you'll be at the base of the longest climb for this ride. This climb goes on for almost a mile with an average grade of 5%.  Once you hit the town of Enochsburg all the major climbs are over.

Last year I treated this loop like a time trial, I rode as fast as possible with no sag stops. I competed it in less then 3 hour and 9 minutes. This year I decided to do the same. I felt great, and was well rested. I stopped at the Lake Santee Sag stop to refill the water tanks. Even with the sag stop I still competed the ride faster then last year at under 3 hours and 6 minutes. If you count the riding time only, I did it under 3 hours and 5 minutes.

The 30 mile loop:
I decided to do an "unofficial century" meaning it wasn't advertised as a century ride. I created the century by combining all three loops, the 60, 30 and the 13 for a total of 103 miles. This loop as uneventful compared to the hilly 60, it does include a repeat of the trip around lake Santee though. I took my time on this loop, it took me an hour and 46 minutes.

The 13 mile loop:
This is the least eventful of the three loops, again I took my time. It took me a total of 47 minutes to complete this loop.


Ride Details Link


Ride Summary image:

Ride Across INdiana (RAIN)

The ride:
July is RAIN month in Indiana, that is Ride Across INdiana. I've considered this ride for the last two years and decided this was finally going to be the year for RAIN . This ride starts on the west side of Indiana in Terre Haute then goes east towards the finish at Richmond, Indiana. Most of the ride follows along old state highway 40 with a detour south of Indianapolis. Over 1,200 cyclist participated, that's the most cyclist I have ever seen at one time.

The plan:
My ambitious plan was to ride the RAIN, then ride another 60 miles to Greensburg to sleep in my own bed. Then get up the next day and ride the 130 miles back to Terre Haute to retrieve the pickup truck before returning home. That would be around 350 miles in two days. My goal for the RAIN ride is to complete it under 10 hours. I have yet to meet any of my long distance goals in the time I wanted this year, so I really want to get this one, it seemed simple enough, just 160 miles in 10 hours.

The start:
Since I couldn't convince my wife to assist me on the RAIN, I got up early and headed there on my own. I arrived at the Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods College before 6:00, giving me over an hour before the ride starts. I quickly put on my riding gear, took one last bathroom break, then headed for the starting line. I situated myself in the 'less then 10 hours' area of the starting line. The different areas were loosely marked by signs along the side of the road.

Someone up front was making some announcements, but I was far enough back that  I couldn't hear anything they were saying. Then suddenly everyone in front of me started moving, cuing me in that the ride has officially started! The riders all start on a downhill slope. I've never been in a mass start with 1,200 cyclist before and I quickly learned that if all in front are yelling "slowing" that means to start applying the brakes now and time to holler "slowing" yourself for the benefit of the cyclist behind you.

The first leg:
My plan was to skip the first sag stop at 37 miles then hit the second one at 62 miles. This is part of the 'make it under 10 hours plan'. I'm carrying three water bottles, so they should easily carry me to the second sag stop. I start off keeping up with the group I'm in, they're averaging around 18 MPH. For the most part there is no need to stop since there are police at all the intersections to let us through, we had to stop once to wait for a train. After a few miles the herd started to thin out. I then started to hit it a little harder. My right knee has been hurting a little since the start, I think I strained it a bit the weekend before. I was starting to worry that it may cause me to DNF, since it was hurting from the start.

The painful knee was not stopping me from pushing too hard though, I pushed my heart rate to the max a few times on this segment to show off my recumbent riding abilities. It didn't matter if I was going uphill, downhill or in a straightaway, I was having a great time pushing the bike as much as I could. I flew by the first sag stop, with no problems. It wasn't too much longer that I needed my third water bottle. It is low next to my rear wheel in such a way that I have to stop to swap it out with my easier to reach front water bottle. I'm still hitting it hard as I pulled into Plainfield.

Mechanical failure:
The second SAG stop is at the Plainfield Middle school. I quickly pump my gears to the lowest to prepare for the sag stop. Then I heard a sickening crunch and the pedals stopped turning. I quickly coasted to a stop and examined the damage. The chain was jammed between the rear sprocket and the spokes on the rear wheel. I lifted the rear wheel and pushed the bike on into the sag stop. I pulled out my screwdriver and pliers and messed with it for around 30 minutes trying to get the chain loose, I didn't even come close. It was jammed in real tight. I then knew I would need more help then I could provide.

I looked at the sheets for the ride looking for the number of a sag vehicle, figuring that they may take me to a nearby bike shop. To my surprise there were no numbers to call in case you needed help! I figure that it was probably since the ride has so many cyclist and a lot of them have their own personal vehicles. The sheet did have the number to a couple of bike shops though, so I called them to find out which one could pick me up. They were willing to work on my bike, but I needed to find a way to get there, they were all too busy to send a vehicle.

Next step: start asking anyone if they could either help me unjam the chain or take me to a bike shop. After a few minutes of asking around, I found someone willing to take me. I just needed to wait until his group that he was assisting was finished with the sag stop and continued on their way. I used the down time to search for the nearest bike shop, which was 'Gear Up' in Plainfield less then two miles away. Once his group headed out, I helped him mount my bike on his bike rack, then secured it for the trip. He then brought out his own tools and tried to pry the chain loose to no avail. He had larger tools then I had but the chain wouldn't budge. He then drove me to the bike shop, where I thanked him and he refused to take a tip for his troubles. I don't remember your name but thanks a lot for the ride, you saved my day!

From the moment I walked into the door, I knew I was in great hands, they started working on my bike right away. I expected some wait time. They ended up having to take off the rear socket to finally free the chain. They then trued the wheel and only charged around $20.00, I even asked, "Are you sure?", "For an emergency repair?" I ended up buying a mirror also. Did I mention that this shop also sells recumbent trikes? Yes they are the exclusive Terra Trike stocking dealer in Central Indiana. If you're in Indiana and are looking for a trike I'd stop by and see what they have to offer. While waiting in the shop I started to realize that I haven't refilled my water bottles yet and was growing thirsty, it had been a couple of hours since I pulled into Plainfield and had my last sip of water or had anything to eat. I was sting to wonder if this could have a negative impact on the rest of my ride.

I thanked the guys at the bike shop then headed back toward the sag stop. I then refilled my empty water bottles and grabbed some food. I also talked to a few other cyclist one that was curious about my arm and leg coolers that I use to keep from getting sun burnt. I learned from him that a long brim cap under your helmet can keep your face from getting burnt. I'll need to try that yet.

The second leg:
Finally, after two and a half hours of down time, I'm off onto the second leg of the ride!
The first leg was simple, just follow highway 40, the second leg, not as simple. This 50 mile leg winds itself around south of Indy to bypass the very busy downtown section of highway 40. This leg consists of back roads and city streets. This section was very slow, cars were being held up by cyclist which meant I was following slow cars along some narrow and winding roads. Perhaps if I hadn't lost two hours I would have been stuck with a faster group of cyclist.

The next sag stop was the lunch stop and also where the ride bike mechanic was at, if only my bike would have broken down here instead, I'd still be in great shape. I called my wife to let her know all was well. I then ate and headed out again. It was nice to be out of the headwind, but I was looking forward to getting back on highway 40.

The third leg:
 Finally back on highway 40 and only around 45 more miles to go! I was still feeling good, plus my knee stopped bothering me. Since I lost two plus hours to the bike breakdown, there was no way I was going to finish under 10 hours. The rest of the ride was uneventful, although there were a lot of hills towards the end. I was starting to feel a bit weary plus it was much later then I had planned at this stage. I was starting to look forward to the end of this ride. Then there it was, The final right turn to the finish line! I turned in with cheers from spectators. They took my number for my official time and handed me my trophy, a RAIN pin. Finally it was over. My official time at the finish line was 7:41 for a 12 hours and 41 minutes, not quite under 10 hours. If it wasn't for the bike breakdown, it would have been close.

Getting back home:
I didn't have a real backup plan on how to get back home, my original plan was to ride home the 60 extra miles from here. But that was before the bike breakdown that cost me two hours, I was also feeling a bit tired, but I would be fine after a rest. The final straw though was the Garmin low battery warning that starting flashing over the last few miles. I really didn't want to ride that many more miles and not have it recorded.

They have a bus service for taking riders back the 160 miles to Terre Haute, this service was looking pretty good to me now. I quickly searched for the bus and asked if they had any room for the next trip back. With luck they did have room! It would only cost me $69.00, nice! The bikes are given a ride in a separate moving van. This is an excellent service and I would recommend it to anyone that needs a ride back after the RAIN ride. Their last trip starts at 9:00 so I had some time yet. I took a shower and changed into my dry biking clothes, these were packed within the bike seat itself. This is also where I always pack my visor (for rain) that attaches to my helmet and my first aid kit.

The bus left a couple of minutes late, they served some cookies and drinks on the very relaxing ride back to Terre Haute. The bus took us back to the starting line to pickup out vehicles then led us to where the moving van was going to drop off out bikes.

I packed up the bike and was back home in a couple of hours, my very first RAIN ride adventure completed.


Ride details on Strava link:


Ride summary:

The National 24 hour challenge

The National 24 Hour Challenge  held annually in Middleville Michigan, was calling my name ever since I completed Calvin's 12 hour Challenge last month. 24 hours seems like a real test of personal perseverance. I have always liked the idea of riding all night, so this seemed like the perfect time to test this option out!

Since the race was coming around the corner fairly quickly, I decided to try some active recovery rides to help me prepare for the 24 hour challenge while still allowing me to recover from the May rides. I try to keep my heart rate very low, below 103bpm, this gives me an average speed well below 15mph. This is completely opposite of the style of riding I've been practicing since I bought the Moose in 2010. Previously it has been all about one thing, speed, speed and more SPEED!

Bike wreak a week before the race:
I was also being sensitive to making any changes to the bike before the big ride, everything was comfortable and seemed ready for the new challenge. Even though my cleats were worn out, I was afraid of changing them, for fear that it would make my sometimes occurring foot pain worse then it is. This turned out to be a mistake, luckily, I was riding slowly (low heart rate ride) along Park road in Greensburg when my foot slipped off the pedal and the heel struck the front wheel and down I went. I fell to my right side, I must have stuck out my right arm, since my entire arm was numb. It took me a couple of minutes before I could pick my bike back up, I kept trying but failing, finally by using my left hand and with the help of a good Samaritan I was able to right the bike and sit on it. I was able to hold the handlebars with both hands and I felt like I could make finish the last two miles to my house. So I pushed off from the good Samaritan declining his offer to have him drive me home. My arm was feeling less nub as I got closer to home, but was being really sensitive to any movement (painful sensitive).

I also received a good amount of road rash on my right thigh, which was being shown off to the world as I rode home, since a large patch of my Lycra shorts were torn out and hanging down by a few threads for all to see. This happened with less then two weeks before the big race. I took off the next day from work, the doctor saw no breaks from the x-ray, so he gave me an arm sling and sent me home with some magic pills. I babied the arm as much as possible It seemed I had a rotator cuff problem, since it usually only hurt when I tried to swing my arm up. I also couldn't lift anything without causing a lot of pain. I was considering moving the heaviest used break and gear shifters from the right side to the left side of my bike.

The injury was odd since there was no swelling, the shoulder wasn't warm, it just hurt whenever I tried to move my arm. On Thursday night just a couple of days before the race, I was up in the middle of the night, I tested the arm's range of motion, the shoulder popped and snapped, with some sharp pain. I then went to sleep wondering if I was going to make the ride at all. In the morning, my shoulder was aching a bit, which was unusual since it usually only hurt when I moved my arm. I tested my range of motion and there was no pain! Something must have popped back in place the night before. It wasn't anywhere near 100% yet, but at least I could move my arm around without any pain, it still hurt to lift things, but this meant I was ready for the big ride!

Arriving at Middleville:
I spent Thursday getting ready for the ride, packing anything that I thought I might need. Friday morning I loaded the pickup, said goodbye to the wife and headed towards Michigan. I took my time and arrived at the Middleville middle school 6 hours later. Right away I met up with some other Bent riders that I knew were going to be there from the Bent Riders online forum. Great bunch of guys that let me in on what to expect for the next days ride. I set up my tent close to the truck and tried to sleep as much as possible before the mornings event. Sleeping wasn't easy, I missed my bed plus there was some type of utility vehicle somewhere, that would backup every so often all night long, making that infernal beep, beEP, BEEPing sound, it woke me up way too often. I think I may have gotten 3 hours of sleep.

Morning of the race:
I was up at 6:00 in the morning, the weather looked great, with overcast clouds with a chance of scattered thunderstorms after 4:00PM. It was cool around 60 degrees, but not cool enough to warrant a jacket. I packed some energy bars and some arm and leg coolers to protect them from getting burnt once the sun comes out. There was a marching bagpipe band, then the ride sponsors talked about safety and the local laws, played the national anthem for Canada and the US, since there were riders from both countries. Then the countdown of the last few seconds started.

The mass start of around 300 cyclist went off without a hitch. There were marked police cars or volunteers at the major intersections for the first so many miles to help guide us through the busy intersections. There were actually fans cheering us on along the streets.

Loop 1, the 117 mile loop:
The first loop of 117 miles had four checkpoints where they punched your card to show you were there and also served water, bananas, oranges and Hammer nutrition products. The longest distance between checkpoints was around 37 miles. I planned on taking it easy on the first loop, keeping my heart rate below 130bpm, with the exception of any steep hills. On Calvin's 12 hour Challenge I mostly stayed well above 140bpm. There were some hills on the first loop, but nothing near as bad as the hills I tackle here locally on my 50 mile loop through Hamburg.

Soon after starting I realized I had forgotten my Motrin, and my right arm and hand started bothering me right away. I didn't find a gas station till around the 50 mile marker, where I stopped to buy some Motrin. My right arm and shoulder didn't bother me much at all, as long as I kept my right hand on the handlebar, or relaxed on my lap. I had trouble giving out right turn signals and swapping out water bottles, but not a major factor at all in the ride itself.

I put on the leg and arm coolers at the second rest stop at around 60 miles, they did a great job of keeping me from getting sunburned and not having to mess with sun screen. I would highly recommend these to any long distance rider concerned with the sun. I finished the first loop  with 7 hours of riding, feeling great and ready for the next set of loops.

Loop 2, the 23.7 mile loop:
I took a short break, replenishing my on-bike power bars supply, refilled the water bottles ate a banana then took off. My goal was to complete at least two of these loops before starting the 7 mile loops. There were a few good hill climbs on this loop, but there seemed to be more down hill coasting then any climbs. The checkpoint was close at around 10 miles into the loop. Since the checkpoint was so close I decided on the next running of this loop, I would replenish at this checkpoint instead of the main one at the middle school.

I was having so much fun on this loop that I forgot all about limiting my heart rate and was often at 150+ bpm. There were a lot of long downhill coasting which are great for a recumbent, I was able to coast faster then a lot of dfs were pedaling. I had the most fun on my second loop when the wind started blowing me up the hills on the last stretch. There was also a "check signal" street sign on one street, so as long as there was no traffic, I checked all my hand signals to make sure they were still in proper order.

At the end of the second loop I had a decision to make. I could take a 45 minute break until the 7 mile loop opens up at 7:15, or I could run another 23.7 mile loop then take a break. Since I had so much fun on the second loop, I didn't even hesitate to take a third time around loop two. I had been pushing too hard for the last fifty miles and it started to take its toll on me and I needed a short break at the next checkpoint. I sat a few minutes thinking that this third loop may have been a mistake, while munching on a banana and an orange. I also took some Hammer electrolyte pills and a gel packet. After a few more minutes I then started off. I still had the nice downhill costing, but the tailwind assist up the hills were gone, so this loop wasn't as much fun as the last one.

Loop 3, the 7.5 mile loop:
Once I had completed the third 23.7 mile loop I had ridden a little over 11 hours with only short breaks at the checkpoints. Now that I had 188.7 miles completed, I decided it was time for a real break. The time was between 8:30 and 9:00. I called my wife to let her know I was still OK and that I was getting ready for a break and see what kind of food was at the cafeteria. Once I hung up I decided to go ahead and do at least one 7.5 mile loop while there was still daylight, so I'd would know what to expect once it was dark out.

I was wanting to finish this loop before it was dark, so I raced around it with an average speed around 19mph, way too fast, since I had several hours to go yet. The loop was fairly flat with all the climbing in the first section of Bender road on the last leg of the loop. each intersection had a patrolman plus  spotlights that brightly lit up the intersections surrounding area.

Now, I'm ready for a break, I stop by the school cafeteria and order a pizza slice, Gatorade and a bag of chips. I then head towards the tent to lay down and rest a bit. Around 11:00 I was ready to hit it again. Since it's getting cooler out, I change all my clothes, putting on the long biking pants and jacket. I grabbed a power bar, refilled the water bottle, attached my night lights, then headed out into the dark.

The 7.5 miles loops were going very smooth, I felt great, not sleepy or sore. I figured all I needed to do was 3 sets of five loops to hit my 300 mile goal. I had plenty of time, so that shouldn't be a problem. It started sprinkling a little, but I don't mind riding in the rain. On the fifth loop the battery died on my Garmin. I should have recharged it in my truck during the earlier break. I completed the loop, then decided to take a break for an hour to allow the Garmin to recharge before the next set.

It was around 1:00. I called my wife and was all excited that I was going to easily make 300 miles. I just needed another 74 miles. 74 miles is easy, I've done more then that after I got off work in the evening. I'm just waiting an hour till the Garmin charges a bit then I'll head out for my next set of five loops. I can easily finish this up in five hours then have enough time to see how many extra bonus miles I can fit in. I was at 226.2 miles total so far.

The Storm:
I hung up the phone with the wife then tried to sleep for the next hour excited at how this race was turning out. Then the race announcer started talking about the upcoming storm and how the race would be suspended if there was lighting. Unfortunately suspended just means some hours would be taken off the 24, instead of being a 24 hour race it may be a 23 hour race, it always ends at 8:00 no matter what. Turns out that this storm is a severe thunderstorm with lots of lightning and 54 mph winds. so they made the announcement that the race was suspended until at least 15 minutes after the storm had passed. Then I heard the bad, it would be at earliest around 5:15 before the race could restart.

I decided to clean up a bit and put on my regular clothes so I could try sleeping without laying in my wet sweaty biking clothes. Then the high winds starting hitting. My tent couldn't handle the winds and partially collapsed with me inside. So I packed everything out of the tent and into the truck, then I took down the tent and packed it up.

Finish:
Once I had everything packed into the truck, I had the hard decision, do I go on or call it quits?
I certainly can't make the 300 mile goal now. If the race does restart at 5:15 (no guarantee) I would have less then 3 hours to ride. If I start home now I could be home by noon. I decided to call it quits and turned in the punch card. As I took the card in they announced they were restarting the race now (around 4:30). (not sure what happened to the 5:15 time). I already made the decision to call it quits, so I went ahead and turned the card in anyway. As they were talking about starting the racers in groups instead of having them all start at the same time.

Overall:
I really liked how this race was ran, with the first long loop, then the shorter loops as the night fell. The night time laps were great since they had floodlights and cops at each intersection. The stops on the longer loops were well placed and the punch card tracking of the laps worked great, better then the electronic tracking at Calvin's which failed to catch two of my 7 mile laps. I look forward to trying this ride (and Calvin's) again next year.

Next year I think I'll skip the tent and bring a comfortable lawn chair or cot and sleep in the high school auditorium instead.

Ride details:

 Ride Summary picture:

May 19th ride

Feeling fairly brave after the 12 hour Calvin's Challenge race success earlier this month, I went ahead and registered for the National 24 hour Challenge. Now it's a race to become as fit as possible by the 15th of June.

One tool I bought earlier this year is the CycleOPS heart monitor. I needed a new heart rate monitor anyway, since the old Garmin monitor was acting up quite a bit last year. The new monitor will estimate power from my heart rate and registers as both an ant+ power and heart rate monitor on the Garmin. This is a cheap way to test if a power monitor is for me.

Another tool I'm testing out is a website, Strava. This website will give me some numbers derived from the power meter to help decide when I'm ready to exercise more, do a recovery ride or take a break altogether.

In years past I just rode as often and put on as many miles as I could. The old method wasn't allowing for any recovery, I think this is why my speed started decreasing towards the end of last year. Reading a bit I discovered the importance of recovery rides and the intensity of workout rides. So I'm making sure that any workout ride has plenty of high intensity segments and my recovery rides have zero intensity. I'm new to all of this, but I'm hoping it'll all come together in time to help make the National 24 hour challenge a success, even though I'm only now starting to prepare for it.

I chose the hilly Hamburg community 50 mile course for today's ride since it has plenty of steep climbs for a mandatory high intensity workout. The temps were in the mid to high 80s today which was great since it would help me become acclimated to the hot temps I may see next month. I'm also testing some arm coolers and have some leg coolers on order. Hopefully these will help to prevent any sunburns this year.

The ride was fantastic, I plan on riding this course at least once a week to better my hill climbing. I also plan some high intensity flat courses, since it seems  hill climbing uses different muscles then a flat course.

Click here for ride details.

Ride summary from Strava:

Calvin's Challenge

      After last years success with my long distance ride to Shelbyville, Kentucky I started thinking about two long distance cycling clubs the UMCA and RUSA .

RUSA has a series of rides that get longer as they progress starting with a 200k and ending four rides later with a 600k. Completing the full series qualifies you for their longer 1200k rides.  Their philosophy is self sufficient, non-competitive rides, just finish the ride within the allocated time, there is no record of who came in first or last.

UMCA is all about competition, most of their races are based upon time instead of distance, such as 6, 12 and 24 hours in length. They also have time trials for set distances and they do the RAAM, race Across America. They allow support vehicles and in some races require them.

I'm somewhere in the middle, I like the RUSA idea of being self sufficient and the UMCA for being competitive. Since I wasn't sure which organization to join, I joined them both. I then watched the calendar for any upcoming events from either organization that I could try. There are two nearby RUSA orgs, one in Kentucky and one in Ohio. Both of them started their series too early for me, the temperatures still being in the 30s and 40s.

Calvins Challenge:
Then I heard about Calvin's Challenge, a 12 hour UMCA bike race based in Springfield Ohio. At first I was thinking there's no way I would drive a couple of hours to ride my bike in a 12 hour race. But as the date got closer I became more interested in trying it out. The race works by having two different sized loops, one 50.5 miles and the other at 7 miles. The race starts on the 50.5 loop, after 4:30 everyone is forced onto the smaller loop. The racers wear an RFID tag on their helmets that would automatically score your laps as you passed the check points. The race starts at 7:30AM and ends at 7:30PM whichever mile marker you past last on the 7 mile loop is added to your total distance.

The weather:
      The final decision for me came down to the predicted weather conditions, if it was going to be warm enough (60s at least) and dry, I'd give it a shot. The Saturday before the big day the weather was predicted with a high of 55 with ice pellets, It wasn't looking good. This has been one long extended winter.

      Then it happened! by Monday the weather guessmen were saying Springfield was going to have a high of 72 with no chance of rain and winds under 10mph. So I quickly paid my registration fees, to lock in that prediction, told my boss I was taking Friday off and waited for the big day. It turns out the guessmen were still a bit off, the actual temperatures ranged from the low 50s up to the mid 60s with lots and lots of WIND. I think the wind was steady at around 15mph all day long, only taking breaks to hammer us with 30mph gusts. The conditions were much cooler and windy then I would normally be comfortable with riding in.

Goal:
My goal was to get at least 200 miles so I could get the 'no medal medal' that was given to anyone that didn't place 1st, 2nd or 3rd and completed at least 200 miles. Last year I rode 186 miles in one trip in about 12 hours, but I was taking my time plus I had some big hills plus a flat tire. So surely I can make 200 miles in 12 hours on a much flatter course. But I was definitely not in shape yet this year. My longest ride was 53 miles at a slow 18mph average, plus I only have 400 miles in total for the year

Race day:
     On the big day, May 4th, I got up at 3:00AM, loaded the truck with the bike and gear, then drove a couple of hours to Shawnee High school in Springfield, Ohio. Man was it cold! The wind was already blowing hard even though the sun wasn't up yet. I put on both of my jackets along with my long biking pants and a biking dickey around my neck. What was I getting into? I don't ride in cold weather, I don't even like being outside in the cold, much less ride a bike in it! Yes, I'm a cold weather weenie!

      Once the sun came out it warmed up a bit and I dressed down to only one jacket. I picked up my registration packet including maps, directions and my Calvin's T-shirt. I lined up my cooler at the start line with all the other coolers. Mine only had water, Gatorade, power bars (peanut butter) and some pop-tarts. I seen and talked to some other recumbent cyclist at the starting area, there were 9 of us that signed up in the recumbent class.

The start:
      The race has a mass start for all the 12 hour racers, no matter which class you were in. So there were uptights, recumbents, trikes, HPV's and even a hand cycle, all starting together, I guess there were around 160 cyclist altogether. At 7:30AM sharp we were given the signal to start. The mass start went smoothly with no crashes that I could see, although we were pretty tight together and there was a quick turn to the right.

The first loop:
      It was cold and very windy, I pulled the dickey up over my mouth to keep my face warm, and my helmet down over my forehead. Speeds were not very fast, around 17 - 18 miles per hour. I was using a lot of energy to keep up that slow speed against the powerful wind. I was surprised by a trike that was able to keep up with me and even lead quite a bit in the flats. He was either in a lot better shape, or that wind wasn't pushing on his low profile ride. I would easily beat him on the downhills then he would catch me on the flats. This went on for the first 30 miles. Then the loop direction shifted the wind behind us. Ah nice tail winds! Now my speed increased to 22 - 25 mph in the flats. Easily leaving the trike and other uprights behind. At the 30 mile marker my average speed was under 17 mph, at this average, there was no way I was getting 200 miles in today.

Most of the remainder of the loop had tailwinds, making the loop a lot of fun. When I crossed the starting line my average speed was around 18mph and it only took me 2 hours and 45 minutes, so I could make 200 miles after all! Those last miles with the tailwinds made all the difference.  I took a quick 10 minute break.

The second Loop:
The second loop started without any problems with the exception of the wind seeming to be more powerful. I now knew what to expect and prepared for the hills and the next 30 miles of wind. I knew I only had to suffer through this for 30 miles then it would be party on when the loop direction changes towards the North. On this loop I was passed by a Quest velomobile I waved and he rang his bell as he flew by me. He was doing the 100 mile time trial, the earliest they started was at 8:45AM which means I had at least an hour and 15 minute lead on him. I'll have to talk my wife into allowing me to spend the money on one of those!
      Some uprights passed me before the 30 mile marker, they were getting a comfortable lead on me. Then the loop direction changed and I was suddenly going 22 - 25 mph again. I easily passed the uprights, I would have expected the tailwind to help them more since they are higher up in the air currents.
 
    At the end of this loop I was a little behind at around 6 hours and a some minutes, I should have been under 6 hours including break time. I lost all of the advantage I had gained in the first loop, and I haven't even stopped for a break yet. It was starting to warm up so I took off my jacket and changed into a dry shirt. Walking slowly back and forth between my truck and the start line a few times. I was also starting to feel like perhaps I should quit after getting the third loop in, that would put me at a respectable 151.5 miles for the race. I ended up taking a 30 minute break, way too long. On the upside,  I think this was the fastest century I have completed yet on the Musashi.

The third loop:
   Around 6 more hours to go, only 101 miles down. This loop was my slowest yet. Obviously the wind must be increasing speed after every loop that I complete, why else would I be getting slower each loop? The hills were somehow getting steeper also. I prepared for the wind and hills on this loop by setting my front gear to the slower one and left it there for the next 30 miles. I was starting to think I was the only recumbent left, and starting to think that hey, maybe I'm ahead of all the other recumbents, after all there are only 9 total that registered I didn't see that many at the start line, perhaps some paid then didn't show up. I was starting to think that maybe I was the lead recumbent (I think I was getting a little delirious at this point).

      About this time a Bacchetta CA2 passes me going at a very good clip. My first thoughts were I would easily catch him since the loop direction was about to change in my favor. My speed started to hit the 22-24 mph mark as the winds started pushing me faster. Something was wrong, I couldn't catch up with him. Then it hit me,  d'oh he had the same advantage that I had, and he just past me going at a very good rate of speed when the wind was in front of us. Well, then perhaps I would get 2nd over all in the recumbent class. Then it really dawned on me what had happened, he didn't start behind me in the pack and just finally caught up with me, he started at the lead of the pack, which meant he just lapped me completely, he had already completed 150 miles and was working on his 4th 50 mile loop. He was 50 plus miles ahead of me! I wonder how many other recumbents were ahead of me. My delirious dreams were shattered as I faced reality. I wasn't going to place or hit my 200 mile goal.

The 7 mile loops:
      After 4:30PM they closed the 50 mile loop and had everyone use the 7 mile loop for their final laps. I was hoping to get at least 3x 7 mile laps. It would be a little short of my goal of 200 miles. I filled up with water and set out on my first 7 mile lap. The first mile was the same as the 50 mile loop. The first two and a half miles were into the wind, the rest was pretty much tailwind, or some crosswind. Very nice compared to the 50 mile loop. I was starting to feel energized again.

      There were some Dayton Ohio news crew vans setting up in a couple of driveways. I was wondering what might be happening. Around the third loop I realized that we were the story. They started filming us as we flew by. I might be on the evening news! I didn't pay attention to the station that was recording us, I wanted to check their website to see if they had any streaming video of the race. If anyone finds some let me know.

Finish line:
      I'm easily going to get 5x 7 mile loops, a bit better then I had hoped, but still less then my 200 mile goal. I can't explain it but I had a sudden strong emotional rush, it quickly went away, but for a moment I thought I was going to start crying.  I think it was caused since the race was about over and I suddenly realized that I would actually complete the full 12 hours. Once I completed the 5 loops there were only a few minutes left, they'll add any extra ridden miles onto your total. Passing the 1 mile marker, I was told I had 5 minutes left! When I hit the 2 mile marker I only had 2 minutes left, so I was done. The race finally came to completion!

      I was contemplating riding enough miles to complete 200 miles just to say I went that far. but decided against it, I turned around and rode the 3 miles back to the starting point. I talked to a couple of other riders, the Bacchetta CA2 got around 251 miles, and he thought another recumbent rider had more miles then him. I dought that since I didn't see any other recumbent lap me, although, they could have passed me while I was off the bike though.

      My final total: 3x50.5 + 5x7 + 2=188.5 miles. Not bad for my first 12 hour race. Only 11.5 miles short of my goal. I feel I could have easily hit 200 miles if it wasn't for the wind. I spent almost a whole hour off the bike, that time would definitely have to improve next time.
 
Awards:
      During the award ceremony, I was surprised that they called me down in first place for recumbents in my age group! I quickly saw why I was first, there was no competition! So I was the only one standing on the podium during the picture taking. So I got a medal after all! Which was surprising since the recumbent record of 270 miles was done just last year in my age group. Reminds me of back when I was in 4-H club I and entered my Entomology (bugs) project to the fair. I had won the Grand prize ribbon, but I also won the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place ribbons. They had all the ribbons stuck to my project since no one else entered one at our county fair.

Great race:
      I want to give kudos to the race organizers, they did a fabulous job, the roads were marked at every mile marker with the distance written on the road. They had the Sheriffs out in force and helping with the race. There were plenty of water and food at the starter and at the 25 mile marker. Thanks to all the volunteers that made this a great race.

Next?
      The National 24 hour race is next month and only a 5 hour drive away in Michigan. I should be in better shape by then. I would think 350 miles would be a good goal for that race. I already put in for time off at work, all I can do now is watch the weather and then decide what to do.

    


Here are some great pictures of me that were taken by Shari Heinrich:

Click here for the ride details:

Here is the ride summary from Stava: