Link to Big Jays Fat Ass 12/6 hour
I don't name them, I only participate in them.
I've discovered with this ride you have to be extra careful when you tell your co-workers your plans for the weekend. When someone asks, "What's your plans for the weekend?". Don't say something like, "I'll be doing big Jays fatass for 12 hours" You'll get some odd looks, especially when you have a co-worker named Jay. I then had to do some back-pedaling and ended up saying something like " I don't name them, I only ride them".
The Ride details:
This UMCA event starts in Mahomet Illinois, which is almost a 3 hour drive from my home. It has both a 12 and a 6 hour ride, they both end at 6:00PM. This ride is unique from other UMCA events I have attended. It has no registration or registration fees, so no one knows how many, or even who may attend. They only ask that you make a donation to the local Rotary club.The ride has a single 'almost 25 mile' long loop. There is a single stop light that really needs to be obeyed, which can add a couple of minutes per loop. There are 4 or 5 railroad crossings, but none of them are bad enough that you need to slow down as you cross them. There are some gently rolling hills, plus a couple of overpasses. Most of the roads are on Illinois county roads, there are a couple of highway stretches. The heaviest traffic is in the town of Mahomet, and that traffic is light. There is a gas station at around the halfway mark, which makes a great stop for supplies if needed. The event does not provide any ride snacks, the only official stop is the start/finish at the funeral home. They do provide porta-poties, water and pot-luck cookout after the ride. They have an after race ceremony where the two riders with the highest mileages per category win a bottle of wine, your choice of red or white. The rider with the highest miles has their name added to the fatass traveling trophy saddle.
It starts and end at the Blair-Owens funeral home, and puts more trust on the riders being honest then other events. There is only one lap counter stop, it's at the start of the loop. Whenever you pass by the event table you holler your rider number, so they can mark your completed lap on the event card. On your last lap when the timer is running down to the last minutes, the riders are allowed to turn around and ride the loop in reverse. The riders then tell the event personnel how many extra miles they completed within the 12/6 hours, so the miles can be added to the riders completed full loops for their total distance.
Why I like this event:
Jay Yost, the event creator and namesake states the purpose of the ride is to help you get your personal best, whether it be for 6 or 12 hours. Even though this ride may seem amateurish compared to other rides, I really like it for a couple of reasons:This ride is a unique 'gateway' Ultra cycling event for anyone that may be considering the sport. It isn't expensive like other UMCA events can be, the longest (and only) loop is only 25 miles, if you're considering your first ultra cycling ride, this is a great place to start.
I also like how it demonstrates that a ride can be very simple and low cost to create. I don't want to over simplify what it takes to run an event like this, Jay does a great job. The way it's ran makes me feel that even I could start a 12 hour event if I had the desire. I feel there aren't enough ultra cycling events close to my neighborhood, plus there aren't any annual UMCA events in Indiana at all. Perhaps someone can pick up the ball here and make this happen, using the Jay Yosts method.
It's relatively close to my home, has great company and everyone has a fun time, even if we are melting in the heat. The largest disadvantage is possibly the July heat, last year we had a triple digit heat index, this year was much cooler, in the low 90's.
My ride details:
In 2015, I only managed to get 150 miles since the heat hit me hard. My stomach started feeling hot around the 85 mile mark, I then realized that I had stopped sweating, the sweat in my shirt had dried up and I was feeling the sun beat down on my shirt. I then struggled to finish the lap. when I did, Scott Radliff (also riding a recumbent) loaned me a bag of ice to cool myself down with. After a couple of hours I recuperated enough to do two more laps plus a couple extra miles for a total of 150 miles. Ride link:In 2016, I completed 210 miles, even though the high temps still zapped my energy. Scott was back this year, he also rode over 200 miles. I was struggling on the last couple of laps. I couldn't go over 17mph, or my legs would start cramping from all over, so I just held down to an easy pace. I couldn't stop long at this time, or I may not get my goal of 200 miles under 12 hours. This is when I started questioning the need for 200 miles under 12 hours. I can easily get 200 miles, but what idiot set the standard of 200 miles under 12 hours? Then I realized, I was that idiot. Ride Link:
