It was a tough one! Especially since I haven't ridden more then 40 miles since August, due to the arrival of Max the Cutie Pie Guy.
On the upside, it was in the upper 60s most of the day. On the other hand, there was a 20 mph headwind in the afternoon. Which is better than sleet.
Here's the scene at the ride start at 6:30 in the morning. I didn't sleep in the parking lot in Debra's Element, because the start was less than a half hour from home.
The first control was at the 7-11 in Gettysburg, PA. A good photographer would have taken pictures of the scenic battlefields we rode through. Me, I had to get to the bathroom.
Luckily, you don't have to count on me to be the photographer. Bill Beck, who organized the ride, drove out and took many excellent pictures, including this one:
Check out his Flickr page for the ride. His pictures are terrific. I think this is the only picture ever taken of me on a recumbent where I don't look completely goofy.
I also missed the camel by the side of the road. I was riding for awhile alongside Lou Lamoureaux. The camel was on a big downhill. Lou told me about it after we'd blown by it. We had a nice discussion about the advisability of letting farm animals into the kitchen. Lou thinks the line should be drawn at horses and cows.
Here is the only thing I remember from the midpoint control at Dillsburg, PA.
Look how big those slices are! So hot and tasty!
It seems that since I am out of shape and slow, I got to eat pizza. I hear the pizza store opened late, and the speedy riders had to make do with gourmet sandwiches from the foo-foo coffee shop next door.
On the way home in Taneytown, I realized I was right in front of the Antrim Inn, where our friends Randy and Sherri got married.
I don't know how I missed it on the way out. I think I was distracted by the Sheetz across the street.
This ride was more or less and out and back. The return route was different only for the last 15 miles or so. I was feeling good. I had about an hour of daylight left. I had heard there was 6000 feet of climb on this ride, and my trip computer (which runs high) said I was at 6800. So I was thinking maybe Bill had an easier route home than the way out.
Ha ha ha.
I think the first point where the return route diverged from the outbound route was at Buffalo Road.
Here are some cute, friendly goats at the farm at the start of Buffalo Road.
When I think of buffalos, I think of vast expanses of prairie. Nice flat prairie. Well, that has nothing to do with Buffalo Road.
It's just brutal. It's really steep, and it goes to the top of this ridge, and then down to the bottom and then back to the top again. With 15% grades. Yeah buddy. 115 miles into the ride. It was all right.
It was about a half hour after dark when I got in. I recorded 8000 feet of climb. But I felt like I earned the brevet for sure.
Here's the happy scene at the final control at the Pizza Hut in Woodbine.
At the my MotionBased page for the ride, there are lots of statistics, and links to a big Googlymap with the GPS trace and you can download it to Googlyearth too. Note that the battery died on the GPS (Garmin Edge 305) died a mile and a half from the end.
No comments:
Post a Comment