Can you believe it? On the morning of the inaugural Alumni Days Bike Ride, rain fell defiantly from the skies. It had been with a great deal of trepidation our guides had faced the prospect of guiding neophyte riders through the unforgiving hills and valleys of northern Lawrence County... now we had to face them on wet roads.
Our conviction wavered, if only for a while. Our impromptu breakfast at McDonald's had been a stalling tactic, attempting to set aside for a while the decision we were all secretly admitting must be made - to cancel the event. Once we arrived at the club, Jimmy echoed the voices in our minds, and seemed poised to end the suspense.
Then the ladies came.
That's right, the women gave the men the backbone to venture out. When it was time to toe the line, it was a 3/2 advantage for the women. Embarking were Robin Elliot, Judy Cross, Amy Brown, Roy Ritter, and IronBill.
It might have been that we laid it on too thick - okay, maybe I laid it on too thick - about yesterday's ride. I had been talking about hills being pretty challenging, and we were all worried about slick roads on some of the massive downhills. The results was two of the ladies turned back before we hit the big stuff. For that, I'm sorry.
Once it was down to three, the ride began in earnest. Fortunately for us the skies dried up and the northwest winds quickly dried the roads, and we enjoyed ever safer roads as time went on. We were very cautious about the two major downhills, and with that put away, we only concerned ourselves about getting through the ensuing uphills.
I mentioned yesterday how I began laughing when I faced that wall of a hill near Peerless. No joke, I let Roy and Robin go ahead (I planned to try to hit it hard), and as they crossed the bridge I distinctly heard Robin begin laughing. I love it. Imminent death faced her, and she rode into it not whining, but laughing. I'd ride with her any time.
I gave it all I could, but I could not overtake the KOM. I'm not a climber anyway, but yesterday's ride definitely took the zip out of my legs. Funny thing... my lungs were fine, a sign my conditioning is excellent I suppose. I just couldn't crush the pedals fast enough. It wasn't even close, I can tell you that.
After that the ride was a lot more pleasant. We crossed Bartlettsville road and headed toward Bonehead's in Heltonville. There we stopped and got a drink and ate our food. It's worth noting Robin had some exotic peanut butter made from sunflower seeds and nutrition bars. I'm not going to argue with the value of such things, given she's a pretty fit person, but dang... if I had to live on that stuff, I'd probably sprint towards the light.
The ride across the valley proved once again Robin could hang. On the flats she could hold 18 mph without effort, and that is as well as we do as a group. Maybe we had to wait a little on the hills, but it wasn't much. Looking at the ride data would fool you, because it's 2 mph slower than yesterday, but... that's because the first 4-5 miles of the ride were spent waiting on the rider on the old mountain bike.
In the end it was a terrific ride. Roy and Robin were old friends from school, so the conversation went smoothly throughout the morning. I didn't know what to expect in her riding ability. I knew she could ride distance, as her group has already accomplished 100-milers this year. Still you never know until you ride with people.
Roy did well too. This doesn't surprise me as much, because he lives and rides in an area surrounded by hills, and he recently competed in a half-Ironman. For that reason I haven't spent a lot of electronic ink here discussing his efforts. I will say I never felt he was wearing out or struggling any more than we did yesterday.
For my part, I tried to take a few KOMs but largely failed. The good news is the one I really wanted most, the "Mt. Unpleasant" segment, is mine. Of course that will last only until Miller or Heatherly or Bartley get out there to top it (they all climb better than I do), but today, it's mine.
Mt. Unpleasant
So what if the numbers were low? So what if only three went the distance? It was a fun ride. I actually like the circuit, hilly though it is. It doesn't figure much into the next two weeks of my training (taper), but afterwards, who knows?
After the ride, Roy and I went to Subway for a sandwich. As I was standing in line deciding what to buy, I asked myself the question any serious connoisseur of the glorified bologna sandwich would: WWDDD? (That's, "What Would Dan Dyke Do?")
I could hear that baritone voice drawling in his familiar John Wayne cadence, "Anyone who rides THAT hard of a ride ought to eat the WHOLE sandwich!" How right you are, Dan! So I bought the full sub, though I took half home. Maybe I'll have it later tonight...
Our conviction wavered, if only for a while. Our impromptu breakfast at McDonald's had been a stalling tactic, attempting to set aside for a while the decision we were all secretly admitting must be made - to cancel the event. Once we arrived at the club, Jimmy echoed the voices in our minds, and seemed poised to end the suspense.
Then the ladies came.
That's right, the women gave the men the backbone to venture out. When it was time to toe the line, it was a 3/2 advantage for the women. Embarking were Robin Elliot, Judy Cross, Amy Brown, Roy Ritter, and IronBill.
It might have been that we laid it on too thick - okay, maybe I laid it on too thick - about yesterday's ride. I had been talking about hills being pretty challenging, and we were all worried about slick roads on some of the massive downhills. The results was two of the ladies turned back before we hit the big stuff. For that, I'm sorry.
Once it was down to three, the ride began in earnest. Fortunately for us the skies dried up and the northwest winds quickly dried the roads, and we enjoyed ever safer roads as time went on. We were very cautious about the two major downhills, and with that put away, we only concerned ourselves about getting through the ensuing uphills.
I mentioned yesterday how I began laughing when I faced that wall of a hill near Peerless. No joke, I let Roy and Robin go ahead (I planned to try to hit it hard), and as they crossed the bridge I distinctly heard Robin begin laughing. I love it. Imminent death faced her, and she rode into it not whining, but laughing. I'd ride with her any time.
I gave it all I could, but I could not overtake the KOM. I'm not a climber anyway, but yesterday's ride definitely took the zip out of my legs. Funny thing... my lungs were fine, a sign my conditioning is excellent I suppose. I just couldn't crush the pedals fast enough. It wasn't even close, I can tell you that.
After that the ride was a lot more pleasant. We crossed Bartlettsville road and headed toward Bonehead's in Heltonville. There we stopped and got a drink and ate our food. It's worth noting Robin had some exotic peanut butter made from sunflower seeds and nutrition bars. I'm not going to argue with the value of such things, given she's a pretty fit person, but dang... if I had to live on that stuff, I'd probably sprint towards the light.
The ride across the valley proved once again Robin could hang. On the flats she could hold 18 mph without effort, and that is as well as we do as a group. Maybe we had to wait a little on the hills, but it wasn't much. Looking at the ride data would fool you, because it's 2 mph slower than yesterday, but... that's because the first 4-5 miles of the ride were spent waiting on the rider on the old mountain bike.
In the end it was a terrific ride. Roy and Robin were old friends from school, so the conversation went smoothly throughout the morning. I didn't know what to expect in her riding ability. I knew she could ride distance, as her group has already accomplished 100-milers this year. Still you never know until you ride with people.
Roy did well too. This doesn't surprise me as much, because he lives and rides in an area surrounded by hills, and he recently competed in a half-Ironman. For that reason I haven't spent a lot of electronic ink here discussing his efforts. I will say I never felt he was wearing out or struggling any more than we did yesterday.
For my part, I tried to take a few KOMs but largely failed. The good news is the one I really wanted most, the "Mt. Unpleasant" segment, is mine. Of course that will last only until Miller or Heatherly or Bartley get out there to top it (they all climb better than I do), but today, it's mine.
Mt. Unpleasant
So what if the numbers were low? So what if only three went the distance? It was a fun ride. I actually like the circuit, hilly though it is. It doesn't figure much into the next two weeks of my training (taper), but afterwards, who knows?
After the ride, Roy and I went to Subway for a sandwich. As I was standing in line deciding what to buy, I asked myself the question any serious connoisseur of the glorified bologna sandwich would: WWDDD? (That's, "What Would Dan Dyke Do?")
I could hear that baritone voice drawling in his familiar John Wayne cadence, "Anyone who rides THAT hard of a ride ought to eat the WHOLE sandwich!" How right you are, Dan! So I bought the full sub, though I took half home. Maybe I'll have it later tonight...
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