Riding Insanity Or:
How To Go Overboard In Two Easy Steps
1) Ride ridiculously long distances in ridiculous weather
conditions.
2) Repeat every weekend!
If someone had gone back in time and told me last year that I would be doing this year what I've done the past couple of months, I would have suggested they stop taking those exotic substances! The Streak ride today was the one-year anniversary of my first-ever organized ride. And, thankfully, the wind was the INVERSE of last year! :-) But today was also the culmination of a most interesting couple of months.
It all actually started last year when I decided that I was definitely going to Hotter'n Hell this year. But that was a LONG way off, and I thought little of it through the winter and spring months. About mid-June I realized that while I was in GREAT shape as compared to most Americans, HHH was going to be a real challenge if I didn't bear down and do something about it. So I instituted my own "plan". It wasn't much, just ride to El Reno and back every Sunday afternoon - yes, at the hottest part of the day! - after returning from the Legs ride and eating lunch. That gave me about 75-80 miles total for the day, 55 during all that wonderful mid-day heat. I also started going to organized rides.
First was the Fourth of July ride in Stillwater. I had gone to El Reno a couple of times, and figured the 60 mile ride wouldn't be a problem. Oh my, oh my... And I hear people say Oklahoma is flat... I don't think I want to find out what THEY call HILLS! Overall that ride was pretty good, but it sure was boring. I lost all the people I knew fairly early on, and didn't even have strangers to ride along with for much of it. That definitely told me to be SURE to have someone to ride along with, it makes the trip a whole lot more tolerable.
I had planned to go to Duncan, but wound up at a wedding in Dallas, so next was the Children's Center ride. This time I went 75 miles, and rode with John Shenk the entire way. Wow, what a difference! We had a great time (even in the rain) and got back in time for sunshine and pizza. Mmm! Why don't more rides have FREE PIZZA??? This was also the first organized ride on my shiny, new, two-week-old V-Rex, now not-so-shiny thanks to the rain and mud... Most important, though, was what I learned from this ride. First, I became a true believer in a heart monitor. I used my heart monitor on a trip to El Reno, then on this ride. What a difference! By watching that, and keeping my early-on enthusiasm in check, I added substantially to my overall average speed and didn't go home feeling like death warmed-over. Very good! Second, I started really having fun on these rides, talking with people along the way and the volunteers at the rest stops. And REALLY APPRECIATING the volunteers at the rest stops!
Now we get to Hotter'n Hell. The whole point of all these endeavors. I very nearly didn't go after all, I had a horrid previous week at work, got almost no riding in for a week, and up to Thursday night just generally didn't feel like going. Fortunately, I convinced myself otherwise (mostly because Moni told me she changed her mind and decided to go because _I_ was going!) and left the house at 3AM Saturday morning. Just getting there was an experience! This was the first time I had loaded my V-Rex in my pickup, and it proved interesting. First, the bike sits backwards in the bed and my tie-down straps didn't have enough downward pull. Shortly after getting on I-44, the bike starts lifting up, trying to sail out over the tailgate! Oops... Pull off, try again, hopefully good. No sooner do I get back on the highway, the tarp I had wrapped around the mesh seatback to keep bugs off begins to tear to shreds and hang out the back of the truck... <sigh> Stop again, remove tarp, accept the possibility of a buggy seat!
This wasn't my first trip to Wichita Falls, so I didn't have much trouble finding the event center, but I certainly wasn't prepared for the "event"! I pulled into the parking lot at 5AM to see that I was far from early. Wandered around a bit, found the registration room, got the bike ready, and headed off to the starting line. Wherever that was! I just hoped the people in front of me knew where THEY were going!
On finally finding the 100-mile starting line, I found a large number of people - mostly sleeping on the ground! - already there at 6AM. Very odd behavior, if you ask me! And no sign of Moni. Fortunately, she did see me, and we were actually about six back from the very front. Not that this seemed to matter, in the end. But for the moment, I just enjoyed the party atmosphere, with people very oddly dressed and even a couple of evangelic types that showed up to denounce the fact that we would have anything to do with something containing "Hell" in the title! They tag-teamed us. Each had a bullhorn, one on either side of the road. When one tired, the other picked up. Made me appreciate the pop music being played over the loud-speakers...!
7:30 finally arrived, but the cannon didn't. Everyone held their ears, but it didn't go off. So we just left. About a block down the road, BOOM! Heh... Interesting start! We took off FLYING too. The wind was at our backs, and we just stayed with that lead pack for a long time. Except we weren't the lead pack. For being right in front, with only tandems in front of us, we sure did pass a never-ending stream of slower bicycles! So, like I said, I guess it really doesn't matter WHERE you start out...
This ride was much like the others, talking with people along the way, running into friends in the most unexpected places, and being VERY impressed with their rest stops! Now I've REALLY been spoiled, it would be hard for any other ride to compare with those HHH rest stops! Huge tents at every one, all the drinks and "ride food" you could need, and great facilities when you are in the vanguard so there isn't a huge crowd yet. Heh. Probably the most notable events, though, were the Very Convenient location of Braum's at Burkburnett, perfectly timed for my usual 11:00 lunchtime, and a great place to rest before taking Hell's Gate! And, at the 80 and 93 mile rest stops, the SPRAYERS! I got a brief dousing at 70 miles, stood under the mister hose at 80 for some time, then thoroughly soaked myself three times while resting for about 1/2 hour at 93 miles. If it hadn't been for those seemingly silly things to do, I doubt I would ever have made it. By 85 miles I was SO ready to quit. But I kept going, I can't even say why except for Moni was up there somewhere, and finally made it to 93 miles. After the half hour rest, and watching several people around me getting IVs stuck in them (one person got two in that space of time), I realized I wasn't doing that badly and we headed out for the last 10 miles.
That last ten actually turned out pretty well. It got a bit overcast, we weren't going straight into the wind anymore, and I guess I found that "second wind" people talk about. We finally made the final descent into downtown from the overpass, zipped north (with the wind again!) for the last few blocks, and ever-so-gratefully accepted the finishers' pin and COLD, wet towels!
What a ride... I swore for the entire next week I would never do that again, but now I'm looking forward to next year!
Which brings us now to the OBS Streak. I figured this would be a pleasure ride compared to that 100 miles in Texas, but I was wrong! Thanks to the strong northwest wind, perfectly aligned with NW Highway, I even commented to one person along the way that "Hotter'n Hell was a cakewalk compared to this!" Of course HHH didn't have those hills either! I started out well enough, right out front with only one other person - the pack sure was slow to start. Once it caught up to us halfway to MacArthur, I hung along somewhere in the middle for a suprisingly fast trip to 178th street. I was suprised to see I had a 27 MPH average at that point! I lost the pack there, but joined up with John Shenk again, and proceeded at a more sedate pace.
The trip up NW Highway was a real challenge for me. I've never been particularly good at hills, never cared much for the wind, and here I was doing both in grand style. But, thanks to the experiences of the past month I _knew_ I could do it, and just kept going. Or, more to the point, I knew that if I stopped even once I would likely NOT get going again! So I kept going right on out to Okarche. Just before the last bridge into Okarche, a line of cyclists came up behind me. The leader said "we're depending on you to get us into town". I just had to laugh. I sure didn't feel like I was in any condition to help anyone out! But, I kept going, and they hung right behind me. And I was never so glad to see a rest stop in my life! Except, maybe, that 93 mile stop at HHH... Not only was I able to stop pedaling for a while, it marked the end of into-the-wind!
The ride might almost have been over at this point. The return trip was largely with the wind, and nearly effortless compared to going out. John and I spent the trip chatting and seeing just how far his fairing would let him crab with the wind! It wouldn't quite push him up a hill, though...! Once we got back to the finish line, we tried to do a "photo finish", but they just INSISTED on single-file. Oh, well!
Now, as I sit here, my legs slowly recovering, I am greatly looking forward to nearly a month of NO MORE RIDES! They sure are fun to do, and there's this new one to go to on October 13th, then of course Tour de Rain Forest -- I mean Tour de Trees! Ah, well, that's next month. In the mean time, I've racked up over 1000 miles on my now not-so-new V-Rex in just a month of ownership. That's more than enough for now!
Oklahoma Bicycle Society:
Riding Insanity
created by John Wente
last modified:
February 18, 2007
URL: http://www.OklahomaBicycleSociety.com