I shared this with the riders on the Century late in the ride today, and I think it is germane to this post. Let drop into anecdote mode for a second here and you'll soon get it...
Back when I started running, I very quickly discovered I had some ability, and with some work and coaching, I might be competitive on the road circuit. Fate cast me into the hands of such local running greats as Galloway, Jarrard, Moffatt, etc., but it was Jarrard in particular who molded much of the runner I would become. He was so methodical, intense, and tough, it was impossible to not admire him. I took every chance to run with him and soak up his knowledge and insight into the sport.
Moffatt was a very experienced runner, and a charming fellow at that. Think of him as the Mitchell Jimmy, except faster. He was another guy who, especially long runs, I made every attempt to join in running. I learned a lot about how to handle long-distance running from him.
Taken separately these two guys were helpful, supportive, and really helped bring me along. Taken together, well, they weren't. Every teacher knows there are combinations of kids that just spell trouble, and these two boys on a run meant trouble - for me.
I always wanted to be as fast as the guy up front, and always fought to be there. I wasn't ready, but that didn't stop me from trying. If these two guys were running, the pace would be elevated from the start. All it would take for things to get nuts was one guy getting a half-step on the other - looks would be exchanged, and it was on. I would bury my head and hang in there as best I could as the pace dipped, 5:45, 5:30, 5:15, 5:00... It never failed.
We have a riding version of that now - Miller and John T. If you are going out on a climbing course with either of these guys separately, it probably won't be too bad. Together? Somebody's gonna get hurt.
Today we headed for French Lick. Anyone who can read a topographic map can see this was going to be a challenge for a century ride. There are some pretty good hills along the way, nothing massive, but they just coming and coming. And at the front of every single one of them was either John T. or Miller.
I certainly wasn't shocked by this - having ridden with these guys for a few years, I know they climb great. I also knew adding Bartley to it was going to make for a long day for me. No matter. What's to lose? I'd never ridden on some of the roads and it was worth the risk to do so.
So as we started out on the ride, we also had along with us Jimmy and Rand. Believe it or not, that just made things worse. Jimmy is a great climber too. So there we were, early in the ride, Jimmy pushing the pace because he didn't give a crap, he was going short, and we got to the first hills. Great, 4 of the top 5 climbers in the club were right in front of me. I couldn't see how that could possibly go bad...
Jimmy and Rand turned back soon as we were on the back side of Spring Mill, and the rest of us resumed or trek west. The plan was to ride south and west as much early as possible to avoid the worst of the coming headwinds. We cut through Orleans in a new spot, made our way past the Super 2 and were then back in God's country.
Just like last week, it was still breathtaking. Not only because of the beauty; the hills were challenging, and John T. was making it all the worse by setting a strong tempo. There wasn't much talking today - if last week was a ride, this week was a workout! Miller looked super strong too. Bartley was being smart, hanging off a bit, not getting sucked into what the other guys were doing - yet. He suggested they might ride off and leave us, but I reminded him Scott was in charge of the course, and they didn't know it. They had to wait. ;)
In about three hours' time we made it to West Baden. I was low on fluids and wasn't going to take a chance Bartley might ride on through. I declared I needed a stop in this town to replenish, and it was lunch time anyway. Just then a McDonald's passed by on the left... oh, man! What I would have done with a double quarter-pounder with cheese...
Instead we landed at a mini-mart, which had more than acceptable food. My bit of trouble came when we came to a stop. Bartley put his foot down on the concrete pad, slid, and I thought, "Oh, man! He about fell over!" Stupid me, I pulled too close to the pad, couldn't move my foot to unclip, and fell over!
We grabbed our lunch, got our supplies, and had a very pleasant meal out on their patio. It was actually as nice a gas station setup for us as one could ask for. John T. hassled a couple of turkey hunters. They even let him get into their truck to see their day's prize. It was kind of like having Roy along to talk to the wood cutters in Campbellsburg. John T. speaks very fluent hunter.
As we left, we got on Highway 150 again and left town heading towards Paoli. Finally the wind was at our backs, the road was pretty good, and it was the easiest riding we did all day. If there had been a ballot, I would have voted to ride that puppy to Paoli and move on from there. However, Bartley ruled with dictatorial impunity, and we turned left off the road - and onto our first big hill of the return trip.
Oftentimes when you stop for a bit while riding long, you get back on and your legs burn the first time you press them. Mine were fine, a surprise given how sick I've been. Miller's must have been blank, because he started pounding us on every climb. I mean POUNDING. Even John T. was beginning to scale it back a bit by now, but Miller never flinched.
For my part, I was happy with my climbing at this point. I could still do it, which was great, and I wasn't struggling to catch Miller again after I topped. No, I couldn't stay with him on my best day in a climb, but overall his riding wasn't taking anything out of me I couldn't handle. This had been my fear leading up to this ride of course... the 1-2 punch of Miller and John T.
50 miles turned to 60, and somewhere in the next 10 miles I finally moved to the front and asked Miller to back down just a bit. We had a long way to go, and it was getting warm. He's a machine, and if I had to be the first to squeal, so be it.
Scott and I made on-the-fly adjustments to the course in the next few miles. We were planning to head to Livonia, but it was obvious to me after a point that was going to take us way too far out. I know 337 like the back of my hand, and using that as a reference, if Scott could tell me where he was going to dump us onto and how far away that point was, I could narrow down when we should make that move. We wound up jumping onto 337 west of Bromer, right about 26 miles from home.
The wind was now strong, so I offered to pull us easily into Orleans. What was supposed to be a southwest wind felt like it was steady (and strong) in my face all the way northwest. Thankfully we didn't have to go that way all that long, and we were finally headed north out of the direct wind. From here we would just take the traditional path home - including Rabbitsville.
When it was all said and done, we had between 100-101 miles. Scott deserves a great deal of credit for the work he's done on selecting courses this year. It was an outstanding all-around ride, challenging, pretty, and adapted for the conditions. It also included a carved Sasquatch statue. Not just any course can claim that!
I did go out and run two miles afterward, though I didn't want to. It didn't go poorly. I'd weighed myself before the workout and after. Starting weight was 175.6 lbs. Ending weight was 171 lbs. Hey, it was almost a six-and-a-half hour workout in the sun - you have to expect to lose some weight.
Rider Ratings
Not that anyone gives a crap, but as a coach I tend to watch everyone throughout a workout. The observations I would share...
Miller - outstanding in every department. Climbing, flats, into the wind, with the wind, it made no difference. He was clearly the man today. Total machine.
John T. - also outstanding. A little harder to measure compared to Miller because he exercised some caution in the second half. I never felt as though he was weakening in the least, just that maybe the thought entered his mind he might.
Bartley - it was a strong ride. Scott did two things today - he rode 100 miles faster than ever, and he rode the hilliest 100 miles ever. Half of that was his fault, the other of course the fault of the two guys above. He did a MUCH better job keeping fluids in, and though I know the ride got hard in places, he held in there. He's new enough to all this to perhaps not appreciate completely how well he managed to hang with two of the monsters of our riding group.
Jimmy - he's a sissy. Wussed out when things started to get tough.
Rand - a bigger sissy. No particular reason why, he just is.
It was an interesting mix of riders today. I dubbed this group "the Climbing Package" because all the guys (other than me) are great climbers. I can only guess what would have happened had Troy taken a day off and joined us...
Back when I started running, I very quickly discovered I had some ability, and with some work and coaching, I might be competitive on the road circuit. Fate cast me into the hands of such local running greats as Galloway, Jarrard, Moffatt, etc., but it was Jarrard in particular who molded much of the runner I would become. He was so methodical, intense, and tough, it was impossible to not admire him. I took every chance to run with him and soak up his knowledge and insight into the sport.
Moffatt was a very experienced runner, and a charming fellow at that. Think of him as the Mitchell Jimmy, except faster. He was another guy who, especially long runs, I made every attempt to join in running. I learned a lot about how to handle long-distance running from him.
Taken separately these two guys were helpful, supportive, and really helped bring me along. Taken together, well, they weren't. Every teacher knows there are combinations of kids that just spell trouble, and these two boys on a run meant trouble - for me.
I always wanted to be as fast as the guy up front, and always fought to be there. I wasn't ready, but that didn't stop me from trying. If these two guys were running, the pace would be elevated from the start. All it would take for things to get nuts was one guy getting a half-step on the other - looks would be exchanged, and it was on. I would bury my head and hang in there as best I could as the pace dipped, 5:45, 5:30, 5:15, 5:00... It never failed.
We have a riding version of that now - Miller and John T. If you are going out on a climbing course with either of these guys separately, it probably won't be too bad. Together? Somebody's gonna get hurt.
Today we headed for French Lick. Anyone who can read a topographic map can see this was going to be a challenge for a century ride. There are some pretty good hills along the way, nothing massive, but they just coming and coming. And at the front of every single one of them was either John T. or Miller.
I certainly wasn't shocked by this - having ridden with these guys for a few years, I know they climb great. I also knew adding Bartley to it was going to make for a long day for me. No matter. What's to lose? I'd never ridden on some of the roads and it was worth the risk to do so.
So as we started out on the ride, we also had along with us Jimmy and Rand. Believe it or not, that just made things worse. Jimmy is a great climber too. So there we were, early in the ride, Jimmy pushing the pace because he didn't give a crap, he was going short, and we got to the first hills. Great, 4 of the top 5 climbers in the club were right in front of me. I couldn't see how that could possibly go bad...
Jimmy and Rand turned back soon as we were on the back side of Spring Mill, and the rest of us resumed or trek west. The plan was to ride south and west as much early as possible to avoid the worst of the coming headwinds. We cut through Orleans in a new spot, made our way past the Super 2 and were then back in God's country.
Just like last week, it was still breathtaking. Not only because of the beauty; the hills were challenging, and John T. was making it all the worse by setting a strong tempo. There wasn't much talking today - if last week was a ride, this week was a workout! Miller looked super strong too. Bartley was being smart, hanging off a bit, not getting sucked into what the other guys were doing - yet. He suggested they might ride off and leave us, but I reminded him Scott was in charge of the course, and they didn't know it. They had to wait. ;)
In about three hours' time we made it to West Baden. I was low on fluids and wasn't going to take a chance Bartley might ride on through. I declared I needed a stop in this town to replenish, and it was lunch time anyway. Just then a McDonald's passed by on the left... oh, man! What I would have done with a double quarter-pounder with cheese...
Instead we landed at a mini-mart, which had more than acceptable food. My bit of trouble came when we came to a stop. Bartley put his foot down on the concrete pad, slid, and I thought, "Oh, man! He about fell over!" Stupid me, I pulled too close to the pad, couldn't move my foot to unclip, and fell over!
We grabbed our lunch, got our supplies, and had a very pleasant meal out on their patio. It was actually as nice a gas station setup for us as one could ask for. John T. hassled a couple of turkey hunters. They even let him get into their truck to see their day's prize. It was kind of like having Roy along to talk to the wood cutters in Campbellsburg. John T. speaks very fluent hunter.
As we left, we got on Highway 150 again and left town heading towards Paoli. Finally the wind was at our backs, the road was pretty good, and it was the easiest riding we did all day. If there had been a ballot, I would have voted to ride that puppy to Paoli and move on from there. However, Bartley ruled with dictatorial impunity, and we turned left off the road - and onto our first big hill of the return trip.
Oftentimes when you stop for a bit while riding long, you get back on and your legs burn the first time you press them. Mine were fine, a surprise given how sick I've been. Miller's must have been blank, because he started pounding us on every climb. I mean POUNDING. Even John T. was beginning to scale it back a bit by now, but Miller never flinched.
For my part, I was happy with my climbing at this point. I could still do it, which was great, and I wasn't struggling to catch Miller again after I topped. No, I couldn't stay with him on my best day in a climb, but overall his riding wasn't taking anything out of me I couldn't handle. This had been my fear leading up to this ride of course... the 1-2 punch of Miller and John T.
50 miles turned to 60, and somewhere in the next 10 miles I finally moved to the front and asked Miller to back down just a bit. We had a long way to go, and it was getting warm. He's a machine, and if I had to be the first to squeal, so be it.
Scott and I made on-the-fly adjustments to the course in the next few miles. We were planning to head to Livonia, but it was obvious to me after a point that was going to take us way too far out. I know 337 like the back of my hand, and using that as a reference, if Scott could tell me where he was going to dump us onto and how far away that point was, I could narrow down when we should make that move. We wound up jumping onto 337 west of Bromer, right about 26 miles from home.
The wind was now strong, so I offered to pull us easily into Orleans. What was supposed to be a southwest wind felt like it was steady (and strong) in my face all the way northwest. Thankfully we didn't have to go that way all that long, and we were finally headed north out of the direct wind. From here we would just take the traditional path home - including Rabbitsville.
When it was all said and done, we had between 100-101 miles. Scott deserves a great deal of credit for the work he's done on selecting courses this year. It was an outstanding all-around ride, challenging, pretty, and adapted for the conditions. It also included a carved Sasquatch statue. Not just any course can claim that!
I did go out and run two miles afterward, though I didn't want to. It didn't go poorly. I'd weighed myself before the workout and after. Starting weight was 175.6 lbs. Ending weight was 171 lbs. Hey, it was almost a six-and-a-half hour workout in the sun - you have to expect to lose some weight.
Rider Ratings
Not that anyone gives a crap, but as a coach I tend to watch everyone throughout a workout. The observations I would share...
Miller - outstanding in every department. Climbing, flats, into the wind, with the wind, it made no difference. He was clearly the man today. Total machine.
John T. - also outstanding. A little harder to measure compared to Miller because he exercised some caution in the second half. I never felt as though he was weakening in the least, just that maybe the thought entered his mind he might.
Bartley - it was a strong ride. Scott did two things today - he rode 100 miles faster than ever, and he rode the hilliest 100 miles ever. Half of that was his fault, the other of course the fault of the two guys above. He did a MUCH better job keeping fluids in, and though I know the ride got hard in places, he held in there. He's new enough to all this to perhaps not appreciate completely how well he managed to hang with two of the monsters of our riding group.
Jimmy - he's a sissy. Wussed out when things started to get tough.
Rand - a bigger sissy. No particular reason why, he just is.
It was an interesting mix of riders today. I dubbed this group "the Climbing Package" because all the guys (other than me) are great climbers. I can only guess what would have happened had Troy taken a day off and joined us...
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