Lige Hensley joined me on this early season ride. This was our first one with the Ohio Randon's. Bob, you did a great job and designed a very good route. At the 7:30 am start we had clear, sunny skies and it was a "balmy" 22 degrees according to my Garmin ! Lige said it best. It was very COLD and Windy. I've ridden in harsher wind but not for that long at this temperature. Brrrrrrrrr.
To be honest, at the beginning of the ride, I really didn't think I would even finish this Brevet. I had maybe 250 road miles in so far in 2011 with the longest one being 54 miles. I had not ridden any real hills. For those who have ridden with me over the years, I sweat a lot on bike rides regardless of the temperature. My biggest concern was not the strength of my legs but rather would I be able to effectively control my body temperature on this cold and windy day?
I adjusted my Garmin Edge data screens so I couldn't see my current speed. I felt that focusing just on average speed, total distance, my heart rate and cadence would keep me focused on the long term goal of finishing before dark.
Just before the start at the Days Inn:
By the first control in Urbana, I was feeling really good and felt pretty confidant about making it the whole way as long as we didn't push the average speed.
There were some tricky parts on the route and it was critical to pay close attention to the cue sheet and most importantly ride with some of the more experienced Ohio randonneurs. On a couple of occasions, we missed a turn but corrected ourselves fairly quickly.
We rode on some really nice roads, especially the paved trails. Indiana is so far behind in trail development. I hate to say it but we need to ride more in Ohio. Compared to central Indiana, the terrain here has much more variety and overall safer roads to ride on, especially those well maintained trails.
At every checkpoint, riders huddled inside trying to warm up. Hot chocolate at some Speedway gas stations, really warmed me up at the control stops.
Lige and I getting ready to go back in the cold:
Our bikes laying in wait while we warmed up in the Speedway:
Lige's Slushy:
We rode the last 25 or so miles with George from Michigan. He was going for PBP and must have been 10 times stronger than both of us. But being the first long ride of the year for most of us he was pretty beat too. But, chatting helps the miles go faster which we were all thankful for.
At mile 116 we hit a hill VERY similar to Oregon Road in Kentucky. Pretty steep, same sort of surroundings and kinda long. I measured 14% but it felt a lot steeper than that after 10 hours in the cold. Overall the hills on this route were not too difficult. I didn't have any problem with any climb until that last one as we climbed out of the "Enchanted Forest". I actually started cramping pretty bad about 1/3 way up and I stopped to get off the bike for a short bit. After walking less than 100 feet I jumped back on the bike and finished the climb. George and Lige soft pedaled until I got caught up with them and from there we just grinded it out into that cold headwind.
The route was like a huge figure-8. The last checkpoint was a familiar Speedway station in a town called Wilberforce and we were about 18 miles from the finish. The clock showed about 5pm and it wasn’t getting any warmer.
As we rolled out of the area, we heard the all too familiar sound of dogs giving chase. I saw the mommy dog and about 6 puppies, all in full sprint. After 110 miles in the cold and wind, the last thing I needed was a dog induced sprint. But, these dogs had nothing on us. There was no way they could ever catch me as I was already in the big ring and hammering at 12 mph. Had I not been, it probably wouldn’t have mattered as we were being pursued by a family of wiener dogs. It was a sight and sound to behold.
It was a long slog back to Springfield. At mile 127 we made a left hander toward town and had a tail wind for the first time in probably 6 hours. It’s quite amazing how fast 15 mph feels after struggling to do 11 mph for such a long time.
Right after we got into the Days Inn to turn in our cards, I texted Rick, Ron and Mark. All three responded essentially with the same words - "Awesome", "Great Job" and "Butler just won in overtime!" I would say they had their priorities in place.
Considering the lack of road miles, I was very pleased with the result: Ave speed 11.2 miles - 129 miles.
I am also very thankful that my wife came with me to Springfield. She was ready if needed to pick me up off the side of the road. Fortunately that wasn't necessary.
On Sunday, we drove down to Cincinnati and we had a wonderful visit with my brother Bill. I just fixed up a hybrid bike for him last fall and hopefully this spring and summer we will get together to ride some of the wonderful hills around Cincinnati. We visited Montgomery Bike Shop. A very cool store and it was open on Sunday!
