I didn't sleep well on Friday night due to our downstairs neighbor deciding that his radio needed to be on at 3 in the morning. The sound resonates up the house supports and into our bedroom floor and into our bed (which is on the floor) and I am such a light sleeper that it woke me up and I couldn't sleep. Needless to say given the enormity of the day ahead I went downstairs and stomped my feet on the floor to hopefully give him the hint. That didn't work so I started thumping on the floor with my heel to no avail. Frustrated and reticent I went back up stairs to try to get back to sleep. Overall it didn't effect me too much, but still was irritating none the less.
So we were up and at it at 4:40am ready to tackle 200 miles without skipping a beat. For the umpteenth time that I can remember I was ready to go way before Kirsten and TJ (who spent the night at our place due to the early start). I rolled over to Eric's for the start and TJ and Kirsten showed up a good 10-15 minutes after me...I have been on time or early for the last month or so...see you can teach an old dog new tricks! I was anxious to get going and jittery to get the show on the road. I was feeling good, hydrated, and strong for the day ahead.
We rolled out pretty easy until the first hill out of Penn Ave. and it was a long train of riders behind us. Eric asked if I could make sure everyone was together for the first couple miles since he couldn't see because he didn't have his contacts in....WHAT!!!! Apparently bathroom renovations got some dust in his eyes and they were all messed up...great to know the leader of this whole thing was riding blind...LITERALLY!
But I digress, from the get go three riders hauled butt out of DC and blew through stop lights while we kept the group together and I stayed near the front, avoiding the multitude of riders that hadn't ridden in a pack before or were on their tri bikes riding in their aero bars behind other riders...no no no! Once we hit that first hill...it worked itself out to what the groups were. We eventually caught up to the first group (because 10 people working together always goes faster than 3) and dropped virtually everyone else. I was well hydrated and peeing lots on the way out which was good considering the day and heat ahead of us. At the first rest stop we topped off and were ready to go as the first group and us merged together and was at the rest stop about 2 minutes total...maybe...we took off and the pace was blistering from the get go.
Out of the rest stop the hills start in again and there was a sizeable gap opening up between a couple riders I was behind and Laurel yelled out to me "CLOSE THAT GAP CHAD!". I knew if after a couple minutes Marc hadn't closed the gap and guy behind him hadn't closed that gap it would only grown and we would lose contact with the group. So I pulled around them with Laurel on my tail and closed the gap quickly to avoid losing contact. After that it was a hammer fest of epic proportions. The group remained pretty much intact until we left the 2nd aid station at mile 50 or so, but was hauling butt. We were easily pushing 27 mph on the flats and pulling up hills at 20 mph. Even staying on the back I was working to keep in contact and thought for sure my legs were going to be shelled if I kept that up. I took a couple pulls during that time and felt great overall considering the amount of work I was doing.
At the 2nd rest stop I was commenting about if we were going to slow it down slightly and Andy said "On that last pull you were hauling butt, so I don't see what you are complaining about!" Shortly after that the 2nd group rolled in and we jumped on our bikes to put the pedals to the metal literally. Again we were hammering hard and the miles were ticking by VERY VERY fast. Before no time we reached the 3rd rest stop right before the Solomon Island Bridge and were off before we could blink again. We got an escort over the bridge luckily since there isn't much of a shoulder and it is only 2 lanes wide. The escort stays behind us with their hazards on until we are safely on the other side. One story was one of the later groups was going over and an agro driver behind our escort laid on his horn and then proceeded to go AROUND the vehicle into oncoming traffic...again...driver on cyclist violence at the risk of a bit of safety for us a cyclists. Come on people...that 5 minutes isn't worth yours or our lives.
So around Mile 80 one of the stronger riders Maurice started to crack and fade back. I started backing off a bike fearing I would follow suit on the 2nd half of the ride only to lose Maurice all together. He said he was cramping bad and if he was hurting...I knew the pace was fast. It made me feel good though to know I was hanging with the big boys. I kept in contact with them until about mile 88 or so and decided to save myself a little for the long haul back. After awhile I saw Eric and Clint in the distance and decided riding with them would be better than riding alone. We took turns pulling and I had some hard spots but felt like I was in a good place and my legs weren't tired at all. We finally pulled into Point Look Out park ready to take a 30 minute break for lunch. I downed a diet coke, sandwich, chips, along with some other foods, but I should have really been drinking more (more on that later).
So we let the lead group go out on their own (4 guys) and hammer away while Eric and I got another group together of about 12 riders. We were getting a good pace going on the way to the next aid station when the 2nd law of Thermodynamics started to take hold (The law of Entropy). Within about 20 miles we got about 10 or more flats. With all the debris on the roads it wasn't a surprise but considering the temps had increased exponentially to about 95+ it was probably a result of the asphalt being so hot and making everyone's tires a little more supple and prone to slices and punctures. Alexi was first and we stopped at a gas station to wait for him. 10 minutes later we were on our way. Next up was TJ's flat where we decided that stopping every time was going to get a little ridiculous (after waiting for about 20 minutes!). We decided as long as there was one other person there we would leave them behind.
We rolled across the bridge the other way again with another escort and I was feeling good and my legs were strong as I pushed it slightly up the bridge ahead of everyone else. As I was passing Kelzie I noticed that her back tire was flat (she got a bad flat earlier that resulted in a screw actually screwing INTO her rim!). I told her and the people behind her to be careful on the descent as a result. We rolled into the bike shop and I probably should have drank all my bottles and one extra since it was getting pretty hot and my shorts were starting to get salty again. But I was still peeing so thought I was okay. Turns out I should have listened to myself. I doused myself with the iced sponges they had the rest stops (great thing to have Eric!) and was ready to go again. TJ meanwhile was in the bike shop getting a new tire and replacement tubes and the group wasn't going to wait for him. I didn't want to lose contact with the group so Kirsten stayed behind and I took off wanting to be with the biggest group possible to ensure I didn't blow up. Besides riding alone and the time all the flats had taken up, everyone was itching to get back to some pizza and beer!
We headed out and shortly there after Laurel informed us that she had forgotten her bottles at the last aid station...uhhh...HELLO! Eric passed off one to her and said "You better make due because we need you to help pull the group!" It was shortly after that things started to fall apart...someone else got a flat (I don't remember who) and then about 2 miles later...it happened...I got a flat...DAMMIT! I only had one tube since I gave Alexi a tube and the stem was shorter than I needed. Luckily Marc and Clint had stopped for me and Marc had a valve extender otherwise I would have been out of luck with out another tube. After a hissy fit for getting a flat we were on our way and I was leading out Marc since I knew he was hurting. He apologized for not being able to help out but I wasn't too worried about it and didn't mind since I knew he was in a bad place. We ended up dropping him on one hill and he motioned from a distance to press on. Shortly there after was when I started to not feel so good.
Slowly Clint pulled away and the going got tough...but I pressed on. I tried to drink and eat but wasn't reacting to well to the gel flask I had brought. Granted the gel that it was filled with was a good 1.5 years old and even refrigerated I started to question it's viability since everytime I took a shot of it I felt sick. I trudged on and eventually caught up to Kelzie who got another flat and expected her to pass me sooner rather than later. She and another rider started to catch up to me when I waved to one of the support vehicles to pull over. I needed ice water BAD! It was lonely and tough those 14 miles or so. I was riding with Kelzie and the other rider for awhile after that when finally Kelzie pulls up to me and says "I know you are on top of this...but the entire back of your jersey is covered in salt." To which I replied "That is probably why I am feeling this way." and thought to myself "I am obviously not all over it..."
She and the other rider pulled away as I limped into the the rest stop and was ready to call it quits. I didn't feel like eating or drinking anything and knew I was in trouble...I sat down in the shade and waited to shrug it off. One of the volunteers brought around ice water soaked towels which I put on my head and it felt AWESOME. I tried to eat a PBJ and everything was just disgusting to me. Kirsten rolled in shortly after and didn't realize what a bad state I was in. I decided that I would press on and started to feel better right before we left.
I took off with the 2nd group (Eric left with the lead group, not the 4 guys though) with Kirsten and Kip, TJ, and others. I was pulling for awhile but then started to dry heave...dropping far back and then catching up again. It was a frustrating process since my legs, even with the hammer fest the first 1/2, felt absolutely fabulous. They felt strong and ready to go, but my body was having none of it. I easily close the gaps the I let happen in front of me, but from the waist up, my body was having none of it.
I pressed on only to find the group stopped at the corner gas station at the turn. We were about 10 miles out from the next rest stop and I couldn't go on. I rested on the sidewalk out in front of the gas station and my HR was racing and wouldn't come down. I started to dry heave again and couldn't take anything in, water or otherwise. I knew at that point I was done. I couldn't drink or eat and my stomach had shut down. Not good and with 30 miles left I would have put myself in the hospital. Kirsten was impressed that I actually made the call and said she didn't want to have to take me to the hospital if I continued on. She called Christal and I started feeling better just due to time and resting. I jumped in the van and just wanted to be home.
Kirsten and TJ finished the ride extremely strong and I wished I could have been there to help them along. Kirsten always impresses me with her determination and drive, which is one of the things that always attracted me to her. She is on a totally different level sometimes but I guess we both are en total, but over the past month not at the same time. Which is good since we can help the other out when we are in not such a good place (i.e. me helping her last weekend and her helping me this weekend ;)
All in all I was somewhat disappointed since my legs felt great to the point where after 170 miles they aren't even sore or the slightest bit tired. Which tells me they are in great biking shape. I guess considering the brake neck speed of the first half of the ride and how my legs feel I can't be too disappointed, but need to listen to myself a little better when I think I need to drink and eat. The after party was great and we I was feeling pretty normal after we got back to Eric's place. I grabbed some pizza and headed home for a shower. Just as I was leaving TJ and Kristen showed up at the house. They didn't even go to Eric's and just wanted to shower up first, I don't blame them.
Sunday was a eatingfest with brunch at Tunnicliffs and tons of left overs that I ate while Kirsten was at Book Club. We were both pretty pooped and slept like Logs on Saturday night. I feel great today and want to take another crack at the 200 miles (even though I did finish 2 years ago) but I guess I will have to wait another year...I guess patience makes the heart grow fonder...but I don't think anyone can ever be fond of 200 miles...or can they?
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