BlazingPedals

I'll preface my report by saying that, by my philosophy, speed is fun. And I had a blast today.

After yesterday's ride, it was apparent that I was a little bit faster than the others. So, I talked to Chris, my normal riding partner and we met at around 7:00 near the registration building. I saw a couple of familiar faces, but I'm sorry to say I forgot almost everyone's names from yesterday. Chris and I took off at 7:10. The route out of town was messed up by road work, but I simply hopped on the sidewalk and rode (slowly) past it. Normally I hate doing that, but in this case the sidewalk was empty and it relieved the car traffic of dealing with us, too; so it was an all-around good solution.

Once out of town, we headed north and gradually picked up the pace. Before long we were doing 22 mph, then 23, then 25+ on flat ground. Early on, I hit my day's high speed of 39.6 mph. If I'd have known I was that close to 40 mph, I would have pedaled harder! Since we were pushing it on the flats, I made the decision to NOT push hard on the hills, which were the standard S Michigan fare. Even with that, nobody passed us anywhere on the route, and we pretty much spent the morning dusting pacelines. Most of the area race-oriented clubs provided sacrificial offerings for us, and I lost count of how many 30-mph fly-bys we did.

Early in the route, we followed a blue arrow, which we thought was for the century route. Nope, it wasn't a Helluva Ride marking. We ended up in Hell, Michigan. That little detour added 10 miles to the trip, as well as killing our average because we had to lead several other lost riders back onto the route.

I was getting pretty hungry by lunch time. I usually have problems taking in enough Calories on these rides, so I tried eating more this time. Bad move; I ate too much. That came back to haunt me later. The route after lunch was more of the same stuff. One group tried to pass Chris while we were still doing our post-lunch warm-up. That was a Bad Move, too; because it terminated my warm-up as Chris immediately dropped the hammer, forcing me to give chase. Once I got 'velocitized' again, I was OK, though. It was a short jaunt to the Grass Lake rest stop. By then I had a stomach ache, so I forced down a few glasses of water and eventually got a few belches, which made it feel better.

Off we went again! By now, a small wind had come up, which was quartering against us. Just enough to move the flags in the front yards. Headwind is bad for average speed, but it makes us look GREAT because it only slows our recumbents down half as much as it slows everyone else. We passed lots of bikes on that stretch, too. Finally, we turned for the last stretch back to Chelsea and got a quartering tailwind. Chris immediately hit the gas, and I gave chase. We were passing bikes like they were fence posts. At one point, we came off a small hill doing 30 mph, then accelerated to 33 mph for the several mile shot out across the lowlands. I didn't have much power to spare for the small climbs, but then luckily neither did he. I finally managed to get in front of him, just in time to win the sign sprint. YES!!! Take that, you 45-year old KID!!! I finished with 85.00 miles showing, and the computer average of 20.2 mph. Walking the bike across the gravel at the fair grounds dropped the reading to 20.1; but I'm still going with the higher number.

Shortly after getting back, Road Fan found me. As it turns out, he had seen me at the top of a hill on the final stretch. He was helping load a heat-prostrated rider into a SAG vehicle and get it back out on the bike-clogged road. We hung out a while and worked at getting re-hydrated, then went over to a nearby fast-food place for some food and more liquids. I only needed a *short* nap when I got home. Naps, after all, are a Good Thing(tm) at our age!

It was a pleasure to meet everyone this weekend. I was impressed by the quality of riders represented by BF. There's lots of good experience and skill in the group! Maybe we'll see a few more here next year.

Beverly

Thanks for the report, Jim. This reminds me of a letter from the kids when they went away to summer camp

freedomrider1

I left right after OHR,and made it back for my friends grad.party.What a great two days of biking,great weather,great food,and most of all great people. I agree that everyone was very skilled.Want to thank Roadfan once again on a superb job of putting this together,on a side note i would say he definitely overachieved with Mrs.Roadfan,very nice lady.Blazing pedals is not blowin smoke ,his pedals are. He is fast.Jim from Boston was on a mission to do a century,which i am sure he did the way he moved out this morning.Irwin rode from Kzoo michigan to the event- a very strong rider as well.Roadfan moves out good also,Rtool and John were rock solid cyclists.And Oldfatdude is smokin fast also,and is not fat.So i guess its back to training for me to try to improve just to keep in touch with the peleton next year.

Road Fan

Catching OFG is a major training goal - he puts in several thousand miles a year, much of it climbing. None of us still-working stiffs will approach that level of training until we retire.

I got a late start on the ride - from the Huron River ride I got some saddle sores, and I took some time in the morning to evaluate. Finally I decided to get there by 8:30 as I had promised to at least see everyone off. I did arrive late, but had phoned Rtool around 8; finding he and John had already started. Probably there would be nobody to see off. I got there, registered for the short one (39 miles), and headed out, hoping to find my crew at the food stop. On the way there I was passed gently by a guy on a mid-80s Trek, and we started chatting, me on my 198x (x<3 I think) Mondonico. We stuck together the whole ride. I never did see rtool, John, or Irwin. I already knew Jim would be gone, based on his plan, and strength; same for Blazing. Freedomrider1 had also . I had no soreness until about 20 miles, but the thing about biking is you have to keep on or you don't get home.

At around 34 miles, John (my new companion) and I saw a man pulled over, bent over and sensed serious distress - we stopped to ask. He had a muscle cramp and was trying to stretch it, but looked like he was not standing with stability. I offerred to phone SAG for a pickup since he was not able to. SAG came in a few minutes, then I tried to direct traffic to allow the SAG driver to actually get onto the road. At that time, about a million riders, including BlazingPedals and his bud, came flying over the hill. I managed to direct a few dozen out of the lane, but it would have been too dangerous to get crowded riders to crowd more. Blazing and friend flew by me, SAG turned his vehicle around in the driveway, and was then able to see clearly how to get the cramped guy back to base. John and I got back on track.

The hills were really quite tough in those last 10 miles, at least for me. I had a few moments of brilliance where I topped one at about 22 mph, but had to let the batteries recharge for the next one, slogging up it at 4 mph at a 50 cadence. Heart rate was only briefly above 155, and I felt good pretty much the whole day. I did a much better job of hydrating on this ride than on the Huron River one.

Back at the Fairgrounds, Blazing Pedals and his friend found me, as did Freedomrider1. We all got a chance to inspect his bud's bike, a very low, very sleek carbon recumbent called a Velokraft. That is the most exotic and pure bicycle I have ever seen - just amazing! When he was pedaling hard while we gave assistance, it looked like nothing better than a low-flying black snake!

There was also a streamlined trike, fully enclosed. I didn't get to talk ot the owner, but I did get a pic. He barreled past us like we were standing still, too.

I noticed a number of other Italian bikes (I rode my Mondonico). Was surprised to note that nearly all the other owners of Italians were dressed in race-fan outfits, like Radio Shack, Astana, and the others now battling it out in France. Even if they had physiques more like mine than like that of Alberto Contador!

Many of the riders were female as well, in all varieties of shape, age, size, riding position, attire, and capability. I don't think I saw so many women in this event before!

Even if this doesn't become a mainstay of the 50+ers, I recommend the One Helluva Ride to all of you.

miss kenton

I have been watching this thread for ride reports and have greatly enjoyed your stories! Thank you for sharing them with us! Thus far, there is one thing missing--PHOTOS!! Also, what were the weather conditions?

BlazingPedals

I didn't bring a camera on either Friday's or Saturday's rides. In fact, the Good Wife(tm) borrowed my truck on Friday night and emptied it out. Several items didn't get reloaded, such as my on-bike tool kit and my tire pump. But I managed to survive without them, and I probably would have taken lousy pics anyway.

Weather was great. It was around 70F when I took off, with no wind at all, as far as I could tell. The sky was a brilliant blue, and if there was a cloud up there it died of loneliness early on. By the last rest stop, things were heating up as they usually do on this ride. I was glad I didn't do the full century route, as there's a lot of open, shadeless road; and the heat always gets to me out there. By the last rest stop in Grass Lake, we noticed a slight breeze from the northwest. It was just enough to let the front yard flags flap lazily. That made the northward stretch a bit slower, but once we turned east for the final leg back into Chelsea -- Hoo Boy! We were flying. Maybe it was psychological, because nobody else seemed to be. I remember a couple of hills, but most of them only rated a double-downshift so we could stay on top of the pedals and hammer over the crests. "Hammer" being a relative term at that point in the ride.

By the time we got back, the temp was at or near 90F. The one bad thing about the ride is that there's no shade at the end. But the watermelon was good and the hoses were out. Finally adjourning to McDonald's was a good idea, because it got us into the air conditioning.

miss kenton

The ride sounds great, even at 90 degrees!

Jim from Boston

I’ll start in chronologic order, saving the worst for last. I left off my last report as we were having a lively discussion about our cycling lifestyles at my motel on Friday night. Unfortunately everyone suddenly got very tired when I offered to show my mileage training graphs, so we dispersed for the night. I found the downside to staying at a motel before a ride is watching movies until 12:30 AM.

Freedomrider, Irwin, John, rtool and I found each other at about 7:00 AM. On-site registration was easy, quick and a continental breakfast was available. Freedomrider, Irwin and I started out together and by agreement we rode our own paces so I left them early. The initial half of the ride was very pleasant: sylvan, shaded and pastoral scenery, slightly up and down terrain, and roads I would describe as intimate; low traffic with no shoulder and none necessary. I met a freelance engineer who was writing a book about keeping fit with age. We rode together for several miles at a matched pace. I always have to be careful not to ride too fast too early, but I felt comfortable. When we came upon a dirt road with no other riders, we realized that we were lost, and used the map provided to get back on track. Since I don’t ride organized rides much, and the one I annually do is of a different format, I missed a couple turns for the century, due to my inattention.

My worst miles are routinely 40 to 60, and the route became challenging after the 60 mile lunch stop. That was a festive gathering for all the routes, including a band with broad musical appeal. The latter half of the ride was on wider and busier roads, though acceptable, but there was little shade. It was in the 90’s with incessant sun, the slight but noticeable head wind as described by Blazing Pedals, and hillier as described by Road Fan. Over the last 50 miles I applied sunscreen three times and got three hosings at the stops. I had a surprisingly good pace for a few miles at 75 miles, even pulling for an apparent roadie, but around mile 84, I had to sit in the shade and pour water over myself to cool. At the last rest stop I found I was 10 miles behind the scheduled century distance.

I arrived back at the start with 90 miles so I decided to complete the century. I went down a busy treeless road for a couple miles, but turned back and rode into Chelsea to take a picture of their landmark clocktower. Soon afterwards I had my crash at 94 miles. I was immediately assisted by some bystanders who claimed I was KO’ed for a bit, and the ambulance and police soon arrived. The upshot was spending from about 4:00 to 8:30 PM in the Emergency Room, with abrasions on my arms, knees, and a couple ugly ones on my face; and a gash about 1 inch long requiring 18 stitches to close. But not to worry, I’m OK, though I haven’t checked out the bike.

Wha’ happened? I was riding about 5 mph on the main street, and on that road surface were these strips of tar, the policeman called “tar seams,” apparently a cheap fix for cracks. In the 90 degree heat they became soft and sticky and grabbed my tire, and since I was going slowly, one pulled me down. The officer said that they had also received complaints from motorcyclists about these tar seams. I think my brand new eyeglasses made the gash. Ironically, since I had a corneal abrasion a few weeks ago I have been wearing goggles over my eyeglasses and I have to wonder if the goggles pushed the eyeglasses into my face. The frames were pretty damaged and unwearable though I had a spare pair in the car. Everybody was very nice and professional and I could take the episode in stride, but…

That night was a high school reunion from about 7:30 to 11:30 PM back in the Detroit area, about 60 miles away. The gracious police picked me up from the hospital, took me back to my car sitting forlornly in the lot by itself and then back to the police station to pick up my bike. So I left Chelsea at about 9:00 PM and hustled back to my mother’s house, in my smelly blood-stained cycling clothes. At about 20 miles from home the empty gas tank light went on, assuring me of 70 miles to empty. I got to her house around 10:15, and cleaned up quickly. I always carry 3’ x 4’ band aids for abrasions, so I put it over the wounds (over my right forehead-temple-eyesocket-cheek area); think Phantom of the Opera.

I arrived at the reunion about 11:00 PM. It was a pretty low key, all-classes affair, and not many of my class showed up, including the couple I had been very good friends with in High School and had sent me the notice of the reunion. A lot of my classmates still live in that area and see each other frequently so there is less motivation to attend than for me out in Boston. Nonetheless it was nice and we hung around until after midnight, I then went out for a local Detroit specialty, the Coney Dog (two); hot dog on a bun with chili, cheese, onion, mustard and bacon, finally going to bed at 1:30 AM, and up around 6:45 this AM. I was depeleted by the ride, with some tenderness from the abrasions and soft tissue injury, but well enough to go to church with the Mother, and type this long post.

Sorry to bloviate, but I sometimes use posts as my own personal journal. Also I wanted to say "Hi" to everybody on the ride and to our well-wishers. I have no regrets about this adventure, and fortunately got out of it alive. The main motivation to take it on was to meet such a nice group. Road Fan was a friendly and concerned Master of Ceremonies: Freedomrider and I hit it off when we found we were both Talk Show fans; Irwin’s stern visage on his avatar belies his jovial nature; John and rtool are such a good natured and funny pair. I did chat a bit with Blazing Pedals and was impressed with his prowess on the recumbent. Old Fat Guy and I chatted only a bit too. He lives in the Ann Arbor area and he and Road Fan are cycling technophiles. When I mentioned that I get all my work superbly done by my bike shop, he replied something like “There’s not a bike shop in the world I would trust.”

I didn’t take many photos, and none on the road, but here’s a sample; note the tar seams on the street in the picture of the clocktower:

freedomrider1

Iam really sorry all that happened Jim,my daughter and i were just watching the tour and they spoke of the tar seams,and how the riders hate them.They said it will melt the tires as well as puill you down. Overall it was a very good time and the pics came out great. thanks and hope you are ok.

BlazingPedals

Wow, I hadn't heard about the crash! Sorry to hear about it. I remember riding across a few of those seams and thinking someone could get hurt on them. They should spread sand on them, to give them some firmness.

Beverly

I'm glad to hear you weren't seriously injured. Those tar patches are a real danger around here, too. Fortunately most of the country roads are chip & seal and they don't often use tar to patch them.

Take care and heal quickly. How was the bike?

Road Fan

I seem to live in the world oblivious to road hazards! I had no idea those could be so treacherous ... I'm so sorry that happenned, and I wish I had known. It's great you're back up and functional. Probably minimal bike damage?

Probably should get the eye looked by your opthamologist, just to make sure the corneal abrasion area is not affected by the crash and incursion of the spectacles.

CraigB

I didn't see any pie (or pie remnants) in that table shot, Jim.

miss kenton

Jim, I am so sorry to hear of your accident. This was a harrowing tale and sounds so scary, especially in that you were by yourself! I hope you heal quickly! We have those tar seams all over here, yet I have never thought of them as a hazard. I will keep my guard up on them now!
Thanks for the photos! It would be nice if someone, (and I won't hold Jim to it as he a part of the walking wounded), would identify the AA50+ers in the photos so we know who's who.

Jim from Boston

Hey everybody,

Thanks for your kind notes. As the ER nurse said to me, It couldn't happen in a better place than this small town with helpful bystanders, capable paramedics and police,and a hospital with emergency room. I never thought of tar seams as a road hazard, and I intend to post about this, probably to the commuter forum, as a PSA, though they were hazardous to me because I was going slow.

I really feel OK today. I got my eyeglasses temporarily repaired, but will need new ones, and now will have an additional back-up spare pair. My front wheel is taco'ed and unrideable, but I'll be able to take it into my shop on Tuesday. Hopefully the facial wounds will heal leaving a hardly noticeable "dueling scar." I plan on riding my mountain bike by Wednesday until the road bike is repaired, and I don't think I'll abandon clipless pedals.

My previous corneal abrasion was on the opposite side from the facial injuries and appears to be still well-healed. The goggles were never retrieved, probably because they were cheapo Home Depot safety glasses, suspended with Velcro from a cap under my helmet. I think I will give them up for the time being, or at least try to find regular ski type goggles. They are however perfect and vital for winter riding to keep my eyes warm, and they don't fog up because they are so well-ventilated.

In the photographs of the assembled riders in sunlight, they are from left to right: Road Fan, Blazing Pedals, rtool, Freedomrider, John, and Irwin. Those first five shots were taken at our assembly point, after the Huron River Drive Ride. At the table shot, I'm in the striped collared shirt against the wall, and clockwise are Irwin against the wall, Freedomrider, John, and rtool. Our pleasant waitress insisted on clearing the table but allowed me to finish my pasta plate down to the last millligam of carbs. We didn't have pie, because we weren't sure what kind would go with beer (just John, rtool, and me).

Sincerely,

Jim.

seenoweevil

Great pics and story guys! Jim, sorry to hear about the accident, but glad you're up and kicking again. Again, I really wish I could have made it. There is always next year though, so I'm just gonna focus on that! So.......where to next year?

irwin7638

I haven't gotten caught up on this thread, but I just reached home. sunday I cut the trip short because of the heat, today I had to be patient while some thunderstorms came through. But overall a great weekend. I'll be posting info andpics on my blog this week after I get some sleep.

Marc

rtool

I want to start off by thanking Roadfan for all that he did setting things up for us, and helping make it a great weekend adventure. Beautiful bike Ken.

Enjoyed getting together with Roadfan, Freedomrider1, and John Thursday evening in Chelsea at the Irish Pub for beer, good food and great conversation. One busy town on Thursday evenings.

The Friday ride with all the 50+ers was lots of fun. John and I don’t usually ride that fast but we managed to hang-in-there. Felt good to stretch our legs and get up a good head of steam for the rolling hills. Zingerman’s was quite an experience, never seen so many items, on so many menu boards (super eats). The ice cream shop after the Friday ride was also excellent, good choice Roadfan. John and I also enjoyed getting together with Jim from Boston, Freedomrider1, and Irwin at the Common Grill in Chelsea Friday evening for good food and more great conversation.

Saturday ride for John and I was superb (we opted for the 39 miler) which worked out great for us. Food stops were excellent, especially at Chelsea fairgrounds for ice cold watermelon. Seen Jim from Boston, Freedomrider1, and Blazing Pedals that morning at the fairgrounds.

Jim, I am so sorry to hear about your accident, but glad to hear your doing better. Really enjoyed your pics. Looking forward to riding with you again at next years event. Heal quickly.

I know Beverly (Ma Barker) would have had a fantastic time meeting all of you. John and I missed dragging her along, and listening to her giving us directions, (usually) friendly criticisms, and generally working herself into frenzy trying to keep the boys in line, and updating us from her Garmin. The three of us earned the name of “Ma Barker and the Boys” from the New York Finger Lakes 50+ ride last year. We did miss her a lot and wish her the very best in her recovery.

To all, thanks for being there, we had a real great time and are looking forward to the next 50+ride. It is always great to put faces with the names on Bike Forums.

CraigB

Ah, Zingerman's. My wife and I were there on the 4th, on our way home from Algonac.

irwin7638

It may be a few days before I get my photos and tales of adventure posted. I found the storm I rode through Sunday had knocked out the power at my condo.
Jim, I'm sorry about the crash, those seams get awfully soft in the heat. At least the injuries don'tsound too serious, sorry about the pain through.
Beverly, your boys and I solved many of the world's problems while hangin' out after the ride. They told me a lot about you...be sure to tell me if you are going to future rides.
Ken, thanks for all the effort and communication you put into this. It was a great weekend. Since you were interested in Rivendell bikes, my experience with the decision and dealing with them is posted on my blog in a series labeled Hunqapillar starting here:
https://simplecycle-marc.blogspot.com...ering-for.html

Marc

irwin7638

We got power back on Tuesday afternoon so I was able to post the story of my misadventure Thursday on my blog. I was really disappointed with the photos. I managed to screw up the camera settings in the bright light and they were terrible. I'll be posting day by day over the next few days and put up what photos I could get.

Marc

DnvrFox

You can enhance your pictures using the free Irfanview.com program - Image> Auto adjust

It looks a bit better. See the example below:

irwin7638

Thanks,that might save a couple of them.

Marc

BluesDawg

Looks like you folks had a great time. I sure hope I can make it to one of the 50+ gatherings someday.

Jim, sorry you crashed, but at least your hot tar incident wasn't as bad as Joseba Beloki's.

Beverly

The Garmin and I will be there for the Sunday morning ride