the_tool_man

Hi all:

Exactly one year ago, I attended the 2012 Blood Sweat and Gears ride, as a spectator, to watch my sister and niece officiate the event. My sister was the starter, because her husband had ridden the year before with stage IV melanoma, and had since passed. My sister and I made a pact that we would both ride this year. For those who don't know, BSG is a strenuous century/half century ride in the mountains of NC and TN, starting in Valle Crucis, NC.

Fast forward 364 days. I'd started training within days of last year's BSG. I started group riding on my old touring bike. I rode a few local events. I rode a century-and-a-half last fall. Along the way, I upgraded equipment and learned a lot about nutrition, hydration, pacing myself on long rides and group riding. I managed to get registered amid the mad rush that crashed the event server on registration night (the event sells out in hours). The day had finally come. Due to medical issues, my sister could not ride. But she came to cheer me on.

My goal was just to finish the half century. My hope was to finish in 5 hours or less. My plan was to not walk a single hill. In the year since all this started, I'd lost 37 lbs, and become a much stronger cyclist than I'd ever been. But, I had no delusions about my fitness or stamina. My confidence was boosted by my performance in the Fletcher Flyer just a couple of weeks ago, wherein I finished the half century in 3:20 in the pouring rain. But that terrain was tame compared to this.

I got my first taste just a few miles in. It was a long, hard climb for me. Several riders commented that they had forgotten about that hill. That made me a bit uneasy. However, I managed to climb respectably up that hill, and the next one. I got to the first rest stop at 12 miles, and felt good. A couple of miles later, I was marveling at the beautiful scenery and perfect weather, glad I'd decided to ride. Little did I know what lay ahead. The next climb was much steeper than the others, and much longer, too. I started seeing other riders stop or walk. I willed myself to keep pedaling, not to give up, not to think about the pain in my legs. But eventually, I couldn't do it any more. I had to stop and rest a minute. Once I got going again, I found it within myself to continue all the way to the top. But at the top, feeling as though every breath I took would be my last, I had to stop again to regain my composure. After the long descent that followed, and a few miles of rolling hills, I felt pretty good. But I could tell, I was wearing down. I took a long rest at the 2nd rest stop, thinking this would help. However, I just felt stiff, not rested. Nevertheless, with only 22 miles left, I started to feel as though the worst was behind me. Wrong again. Soon came another impossibly long, impossibly steep hill. I had to stop twice on that one. I was halfway down the other side when I got passed by the lead century rider. I'd done 35 miles in the time it took him to do 85. I rolled into the last rest stop with 12 miles left to ride. My spirits were high because I knew I was getting close to the end. But once again, the hills punished me. Hills I had ridden earlier now sapped all of my strength and replaced it with nothing but pain. Finally, the last hill. I knew it was coming, as the last few miles of the route are the same as the first, but in reverse. I gave it everything I had, but had to stop. My legs were done. I slowly put my cleat covers on, and walked up the hill, humiliated. A few folks were near the top to cheer me on, but I didn't feel very happy at that point. At the summit, I crawled back on the bike, and resumed the battle. As I neared the finish, and realized I would actually finish, I found energy from somewhere. I actually passed a couple of other riders. I crossed the finish line, and was appreciative of the applause and cheers. Time: 5:08. Not bad for a first effort.

Once I saw the results, I learned I finished 501 of 517. That was a bit more sobering. I passed more than 16 riders, so many must not have finished. I can honestly say that was the single most difficult event of my life. I can also say that I'll be back next year. I'll shoot for finishing in the top 500.

Regards,
John.

Porter20

John -

Congratulations!!! Please be proud of this accomplishment! As a former resident of Greenville, SC, I have several friends that have done BSG (and actually had someone from Florida go up for it this year). It is a challenging, challenging ride even for veteran cyclist that log a lot of miles a week. You had a goal, you trained hard, lost some weight in the process, probably made some new friends along the way, definitely learned a lot more about cycling and finished the ride!!! That is fantastic! There are a lot of people out there that would not have taken on such an aggressive goal - great for you!!

Good luck in the training for next year - I am sure you will finish in the top 500 and smash that time of 5:08.

Ex Pres 

Congrats, John. Personally I've been avoiding hill climb specials like that one. Kudos for taking one on.