Let's start back at the beginning. It had been raining for several days leading up to the ride on Sunday so we didn't get much extra riding in during the week - OK, none. We did a couple of aerobics classes but that's not quite the same. It was supposed be partly cloudy on Sunday but when we woke at about 4:30 to drive down to Dartmouth, it was raining. Well, maybe it will be clear down there...
We got to the start at around 6:30 or so and checked in. They gave us a little wrist band and a cue sheet that gives the directions. We had thoughtfully brought a clear plastic sheet holder that we were going to put the cue sheet in and pin to the back of my jersey so Deb could navigate us around the course.When they handed us the sheet, Deb and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. It was an 11x17 sheet with about 4 point type listing all the turns. Deb's sunglasses are not bifocals so there was no way she was going to be able to read that thing.
Luckily, they also "arrow" the route which means that they spray paint little directional arrows on the road at all the turns. We'd actually ridden with the group that puts on this ride once before and they really do a good job with this and it worked perfectly on this ride.
Anyway, we rolled out of the parking lot at about 6:50. There wasn't a mass start at all. People just dribbled out as they got registered. I had figured we would just follow people around the course but there was nobody visible in front of us when we started. The roads were wet and I got the usual spray in the chin that I've come to love so much. A little way down the road we started to see other people who had started before us and we reeled them in one by one. I now know how this works. The people who are slow start first to give themselves plenty of time to get around the course. The fast guys arrive late and hammer past all the slow pokes.
At probably around 15 miles, a group of two people who had been slowly gaining on us for awhile finally caught us and we stayed with them until the first rest stop at 30 miles. They would pull away from us on the uphills and we would catch back up on the flats and downs. I should take this opportunity to point out that "The Flattest Century in the East" is anything but. It doesn't have "climbs" like we have around here but it was pretty rolly - much more so than I was expecting. It was a little bit frustrating too. We could stay with pretty much every group that we got with until the road turned up a bit. Then, we had to decide if it was worth the energy expenditure to try and hang with them to the top or just let them go and hope to catch. We did a little of both but, in hindsight, we probably should have just let them go.
At the 30 mile checkin, we refilled a bottle, stretched a bit and then headed back out. We actually felt pretty good - those miles had gone by pretty quickly. Less than a mile from the stop, we see something in the road which doesn't look normal. As we get closer, we realize that it's a rider lying in the road - not moving. There are a couple of people standing around looking concerned. We stop and Deb gets off and goes over to see what's up. Apparently a dog had run out and caused the crash and the guy couldn't move his hip/leg. One of the other people called for an ambulance and Deb sat down on the road and let this guy lean on her so that he wasn't trying to hold himself in an awkward, non-painful position. I sure wouldn't want to have a heart attack out there because it took the ambulance about 20 minutes to get there. They relieved Deb of her duties and we set off again.
I don't really remember much about the ride to the next rest stop. It was very scenic and we were still feeling pretty good. It was only at mile 47 so the stops weren't spaced evenly apart. We stopped but didn't have any food. We felt like the Cliff Bars would be better then the PBJs that they had. We got water and stretched and just chilled for 10 minutes or so. The weather was still damp but the roads were starting to dry out little by little. The next stop was another 20 plus miles down the road at 70 miles. Still, we again felt a little rejuvenated when we got back on the bike.
This next stretch took us to the coast and was really quite pretty. At least I think it was. By this point, the sun had come out and the temp was heading up. The pain was also starting to build and I don't think I was able to savor the full ambiance of the area. It was a long way to the third rest stop and I was mercifully glad to see it. Just before we got there, I was thinking that I was probably going to have to stop soon regardless.
At the stop, we sat, laid down, stretched and basically vegged for awhile. We had a PBJ between us, got water, and chilled some more. We also noticed that my odometer said we were at mile 72 while this stop is a mile 70 according to the cue sheet. Hmm, sounds like my odo is reading a little generous. It also indicates that we are going to have to ride until my odo says 102 miles, not just 100 - crap.
Deb and I hatched a plan that we would break up the last 30 into 3 sets of 10 miles. Our easy ride at home - which we call the Llama loop because it goes by a llama farm - is 10 miles so we figured it was just 3 of those. Yeah, easy peasy.
We started off again and this time we didn't feel so rejuvenated. Clearly, I was feeling it more than Deb. I had a tough time getting going again. I felt pretty good on the flats but as soon as we had any kind of uphill, the power went out of my legs. We got to around mile 83 and found a grassy spot to pull over and rest. It was kind of frustrating to have all those people that we passed, now passing us but, as Deb said, it's better than passing out and falling over. True dat.
After a few minutes, we mounted up again and headed out. At the next 10 mile spot, I was feeling not great but OK so we kept on going. Big mistake. After another few miles or so, I was in serious pain and having trouble just making my legs go around. Unfortunately, we were in some woods with no real place to pull over and rest. At about mile 100 (on my computer), I had to stop. We found a grassy lawn with a shade tree. It took me awhile to get my breathing down and my legs were pretty much toast so we sat/laid there for awhile. Finally, I managed to get to my feet and get on the bike. The last three miles back were tough but manageable and seeing the UMASS Dartmouth campus come around the trees was like finding an oasis in the Sahara.
We found the car, picked up our t-shirts, and had a burger (I know). I even had a quick massage to try and put some feeling back into my neck and shoulders.
I should point out that all this pain and suffering is from my perspective only. I don't mean to suggest that Deb was in nearly the kind of pain that I was. She said she felt pretty good - just a little sore. Clearly, she handled this much better than I did - she says it's because she's the professional athlete (aerobics instructor) after all. She came home and did laundry while I laid in the recliner, unable to move. I hate it when people show off.
So we did it. It's a milestone to say we have done. And, while I said at the top that I never want to do it again, as I type this on the day after, and the pain has subsided, I could see that someday, I might consider doing it again.
Nah.
