Tour de Cure is more like a series of events rather than a single event. There were 4 or 5 ride options both Saturday and Sunday. For each ride a portion of the route overlapped. Kenneth was feeling short still recovering from hand cramps from last weekend's 199 mile double down. He was apprehensive(40 miles from Cary on Sunday), Jeff was pressed for time (40 miles from Cary on Sunday), Rebecca was in within reason (100 miles from Cary on Saturday), and I was my normal froggy self hoping for 100 Saturday and 100 on Sunday.
Registration was the next obstacle. Rebecca and I finally got in for the 100 on Saturday. We observed some subtle resistance to our casual approach to the event. Eventually we were registered and in the car enroute to the start at 6:30AM on Saturday.
On the drive we realized a logistical flaw - the ride went from Cary to Southern Pines - 60+ miles away. The shorter out and back options all left from Southern Pines. We were too late to reach that starting line on time. There was a shorter 75 mile route that went Cary to Southern Pines. We could ride that and then ride back for 150 but Rebecca rejected that option. Borrowing a page from Donna's book we went for it hoping for the best. At packet pickup we encountered more resistance to our casual approach. Eventually we had packets, numbers, and out of good fortune, transportation for us and bikes back to Cary. The only inconvenience was timing - transportation left for Cary at 8:30PM - several hours after we would finish the ride. We resided on napping in any available shade and threw a backpack with our minimal accidental provisions in the baggage truck for transport to Southern Pines.
With the last minute scrambling we rolled to the start just as they announced the start of the race. Perfection in my mind; chaos in Rebecca's.
We planned to ride together. We're getting better with our paceline where the stronger rider leads and the other follows. A few short minutes into the ride Chris invited us to join his group. We were riding similar pace and they were looking to grow their group to facilitate faster riding. We fell in and made new friends with Chris, Ray, Alan, and Clint.
I'm still learning group riding so I just sat in and observed for a while. Leaders were pulling for around 10 minutes. The pack was bunching up going downhill when leaders didn't pedal. Thanks Tarwheels! Eventually I got a chance to pull and went for it. In observing I learned the leader is pretty much on wind duty. The second helps regulate pace and points out obstacles. Mid pack perpetuates obstacle identification and the rest hang on. Our goal was to keep the group together so stragglers occasionally needed to speak up. In my mental picture these were the roles and responsibilities. Any breakdown would break the group. We broke alot.
The first couple hours we cruised around 17 mph. Rebecca was delighted. She normally struggles for 15. Group riding is great for pushing the pace. There were a few hills so she just had to push the hills and sit in for the rest. I quickly paired up with Alan to chat and pull. We would get started chatting and lose track of time and the group. Oops. Ray would fall in behind me and we would cruise along. Some mile later we'd look up and see the group splintered out behind us. My group riding needs more practice.
Gus described a "15 mph ride" as doing 15mph on flats and hills. It seemed strange to me but that was my most recent reference for pace line etiquette. When I held, or tried to hold, a steady pace uphill the group fractured. Consensus was that was OK so long as we coasted downhill so people could catch up. That didn't work so well for me. I like to say I "climb pretty well for a fat guy". That means I get to the top OK and the coast downhill pretty fast; remarkably fast in our group. No one could coast anywhere near my speed going downhill. So I tried to ease up even more going uphill. Yep, my paceline still needs practice.
The morning was cool and the miles easy. Shortly after we entered "the desert", an area that appeared to be a mining operation for sand, Rebecca developed a slow leak. We pushed through to the next aid station and started to change it ourselves. Then a bike mechanic showed up and volunteered to help. He was just arriving so we waited for him to get setup. He changed the tube and placed a piece of tape over a suspected burr in one of the joints of the rim.
We were off again on a heavily trafficed high speed sun bleached two lane road. I was happy for the left turn that ended that stretch. We unfortunately lost Clint. He was struggling a bit for the 75. Then we lost Chris. Then we found Southern Pines. It was a nice area with shady roads. After a rest stop and Chris rejoining we set out for the extra 25 mile loop to reach 95, or 100, or actually, what ended up being 104.
That loop proved perilous. Alan lost a water bottle that almost took out the peleton. Rebecca developed another slow leak in the rear tire. The loop rejoined the main route shortly before the monster climb of the day. I was much more excited about this than the rest of the group. Approaching the climb I ticked up to the highest gear and laid into the pedals. About half way up I dropped to the middle ring and refocused. I crested the hill in middle ring and little sprocket. The burn felt great.
Shortly after this Rebeeca's slow leak pulled us off the group. Alan and Ray went ahead. Chris soon passed and checked on us. We stopped twice to add air to the tire anticipating it would last to the end of the ride. At the 95 mile aid station we found the same bike mechanic from earlier. He happily agreed to take a second look. He worked on four bikes that day. Two of them were Rebecca's. This time he found a puncture. This assuaged our fears of continued rim troubles. Then we continued on toward the finish.
Before the finish a big shout out to Tour de Cure organizers. Every aid station was well stocked. They were frequent. And they had the BEST THING EVER for a bike aid station - ICE. Buckets of ICE. Every aid station I refilled bottles with ice and topped off Gatorade or Perform Rebecca and I were carrying. The ice combined with insulated bottles kept us in cool drink for the entire day. This was amazingly refreshing. In a race I might not take the time. In a charity ride it was bliss.
After meandering through several neighborhoods we found the finish in Aberdeen. We whiled away our time waiting for the return shuttle. Ride organizers came through again. We enjoyed post-ride beer, hotdogs, and burgers. Then after a pseudo-nap in the hall floor of the Hampton we enjoyed pasta dinner. Ride organizers shared a few words and stories that drew honest laughter. There were very interesting words from Tony at Type1Rider.org who is heading out this week to start the Tour Divide. We exchanged Facebook information with our new friends and set out for the shuttle home.
On the ride home we enjoyed great conversation with a guy from California who drove down from Charlotte to do the ride. He was a 1:10 half marathoner and did the 100 miles with a pack around 24mph. Wow. Gotta catch that group next time. Next year we'd like to do 2x100 staying overnight in Aberdeen and riding back on Sunday. We were invited this time but just not quite prepared. Next time.
Rebecca did great even after a bit of self doubt. I reminded her:
- She had her first 100 mile ride last weekend
- She rode 200 miles total last weekend
- She was doing her 3rd 100 mile ride here, on Saturday, for 303 miles total in 8 short days.
