"The race is not to the swift but the one who endures the best" RNM
Some comments on my experience.
Boston Montreal Boston 780 miles. It was supposed to be 750 but
who's counting. 90 hours is the total time limit and control points
must be reached within time limits. 130 started BMB 104 finished.
The weather was good bu cold and it only rained one night. My plan
was to ride each day 264,216,186,116 miles and finish in time to get
5 or 6 hours sleep. The first and third day went over the White
mountains in Vermont. I made the distance but it took longer than
expected. My training had gone well. I had several 300 mile weeks
and the weekend before I did a 10 gap ride and the Covington Century
the next day with the front group. With some help from my friends.
I did the Pedal power ride Saturday Morning before I left to drive to
Boston and ran into T, Brenda and Doc who were going up "The Hump".
When I stopped to talk Doc gave me a bracelet he and brought from
Africa that had been blessed by a Shintu priest for me and my journey.
I thanked Doc and rode away thinking what were the odds of us crossing
paths on different rides that morning? Some things are meant to be.
I drove to and from Boston in my van carrying 4 bikes. Took several
days both ways. It was all part of the journey. The drive was good.
I especially enjoyed Philadelphia.
We started out at 4:02 AM chasing the lead group because we were
delayed by a malfunctioning flash camera. It was good to catch the
group and see the blinking lights of the lead car. When one of our GA
boys dropped a pump our glow sticks in our helmets came in handy so we
could ID each other and wait while the pump was retrieved. We chased
for a while and then settled down into a more reasonable pace.
At the 42 mile mark we hit a killer hill. It was worse than the
Manyunk Wall I had just seen in Philly. I thought everyone told me
the hills didn't start until mile 120. If this didn't count we were
in for a long day. (We were). I was told there were no mountains
worse than Neels gap. Bullshit. It didn't take long to realize this
course was much harder than I was told. I kept thinking they could
have told me the truth after I paid my money. I should know by now in
this sport when someone tells you about a course they are either
telling you how they felt that day or what you want to hear.
I got yelled at by motorists in Vermont and Canada in 2 days more than
I have been yelled at in the rural south in 10 years. I'll take a
southern redneck over a northern one any day. Also, us southerners
who don't know or forgot what a pot hole is I hit enough for everyone.
I tended to feel good in the wee hours of the night/morning. It's
nice to be out moving quietly through the darkness of night. It
definitely improves ones interplanetary funksmanship. Being the only
one on the road. Mike's idea of velcroing a cateye light to your
helmet makes all the difference in the world. The light on the handle
bar gives you tunnel vision but the light on your head means you can
see everywhere. This really helps decending mountains at 40 mph with
messed up pavement and your bike feeling like the headset and fork are
about to explode.
I saw an old guy old smoking a pipe on the bike and asked Dave who he
was. Dave said he was "The Man". I asked him how many BMB and PBP
he's done he said "a few". I heard he had done over 20. His advice
was "don't get lost". Made sense to me. On the way back a guy was
waiting by the door for someone to leave the checkpoint and when Lee
and I left he left with us. His name was John he had done BMB 8 times
and rode across America twice unsupported. The last time in 19 days.
And Lee and I thought we were fools. He was coming back from an
injury and rode the slow but the conversation was good and he knew the
way. John's message was you have to be tough and determined. Giving
up a few minutes to ride with someone slower or wait at a stop can
make the ride much more enjoyable.
Riding 780 miles is hard on the contact points. Vitamin I played an
increasing role as the days went on. I told Ming don't worry about
the recommended dosage "Extreme conditions call for Extreme measures"
On the last day the famous lines of Curtis Cobb came to mind "My ass
is raw". Feet and hands felt pretty good until after the ride. Right
now 5 days later my finger tips still tingle like they are asleep. My
toes have about returned to normal. The bottom line is mental. I
always knew I would make it. I realized I wouldn't get as much sleep
as I hoped for, but I got enough. It was a satisfying feeling
finishing each leg of the trip even though it was always between 2:30
and 4 AM. No one complained much and we all never wavered in our
determination to finish. It's good to feel that much collective
strength.
Those of you who heard me on day 3 say I was going to punch Mike
Delong for getting me into this know I was only kidding. Right? :).
Really I'd like to thank Mike for introducing me to the sport and
riding 2 years of brevets with me. Without him this would never have
happened. Lee rode the whole way with me. His pulls were inspiring
and helped us pass the miles by. I'm always amazed at how Ming can
put the hammer down and not worry about how many miles we've done or
have to do. Mark is the most patient and positive person I've met on
a bike. Tom is always interesting. Talking to locals, moving at his
own pace. Even though Dave is usually out in front of us somewhere it
was nice of him to put back on his cycling clothes Sunday so we
wouldn't feel bad. Congratulations Audax Atlanta.