Weekend de Cure

This past weekend was dedicated as my weekend de cures. I participated in both the Buffalo - Niagara (Saturday) and the Rochester (Sunday) Tour de Cures. In both events I rode the century(100 miles). This is my second attempt at ride a century in successive days. The first being a successful TOSRV, one month earlier. There are numerous rides that raise money for various causes, this is one I happened on in 2005, and also the only one I raise money for.

One of the reasons I started riding in the summer of 2004, I had started (OK... OK I was well on my way) to getting fat gain a massive amount of weight. Unfortunately that put me at high risk for Diabetes. My doctor began to scold inform me about the dangers of diabetes. My blood sugar levels were at that point in time were elevated. It took a few years but I now have normal levels and have made small gains in the battle of the bulge.

So it was very early, on a cool June morning I head off to Niagara Community College to Ride the Buffalo - Niagara regions TDC. This is a fund raising event for the national organization. There is a $150.00 minimum that each rider must raise, seeing as I participated in 2 events, that ups my minimum to $300.00. With the tremendous support from many friends, family and colleagues, I did meet these goals. A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL.

Arriving at NCC, I proceed to the check in, then the start area. With a big hoopla we are off. This course is relatively flat. It starts out meandering towards Old Fort Niagara. In the beginning I hook up with the lead group, and these boys are hammering. I manage to hang with them for the first 27 miles before I'm spit out the back of the pace line. We cover that distance in 1h 9m., now that's moving right along. One of the great features of this ride is there are marshals at every intersection, stopping traffic so we riders did not have to stop. Gives you the feeling that we are in one of the major races/ ours held with the big boys !!! The next 30 miles follow the coast line of Lake Ontario with a slight tailwind this is a nice stroll. I have ridden this route many times, yet always enjoy the sights. At the 50 mile mark, there is a rest stop at Golden State Park. This is a beautiful little state park that has a lighthouse there that was built in the mid 1800's. Also in true TDC flair, lunch is served. Originally I felt that leaving Golden State Park by 11:30am would put me on a very good pace for the day. Well I'm out of there before 10:15.......

Having reached the lowest elevation point of the day, its time to start working a little harder. Not only is there a slight uphill climb for the next 50 miles, the tailwinds have become headwinds. Seems all I've ridden in this spring has been nasty headwinds. I hook up with another pace line that is a more reasonable speed. We start clicking off miles ...then disaster strikes. One of the riders made some type of mistake, and flipped ass over teakettle. Landed squarely on his back, and destroyed his helmet. I cannot stress enough the need to where a helmet when you ride. Especially after witnessing this crash. The rider was dazed and in a mild shock, having suffered a mild concussion. Who knows how more severe this would be if not for the helmet. One of the great benefits of organized rides is the abundance of SAG (support and gear), and medical help. A SAG wagon happened upon us within 3 minutes of the crash, and took the rider to the next SAG stop in Royalton. I did see this rider in Royalton, and he was overall ok(nothing broken) he was very , very sore and had a massive headache.

Next on to Rapids fire hall, where I had to wait out tornado warnings last year. Nothing of the sort this year. We are blessed with sunny skies, cool temps. I meet a rider there who was sporting a TOSRV jersey from 2007. He is shaped like how I was two years ago and pretty tired.I invite him to draft me the rest of the way. So I pull him the last 20 miles. There is a huge difference being in someones draft. You use 40% less energy and power sitting behind another rider out of the wind. There are a couple of bumps we go over, then arrive at NCC for the finish, complete with music, food, and a beer & wine garden. A pretty good ride overall, my time is a personal best for a century at 5h47m.







Sunday Morning comes a little to quick. I'm a little sluggish getting up, yet my legs feel good and ready for an adventure. Today's ride starts and ends at Mendon Ponds Park. Cheryl and I arrive , get the bikes ready, then check in. She will be riding the metric(100 Kilometers...62.25.miles) and me, the century. The same hoopla as yesterday sends us off on our way. Charyl's route heads off in a different direction at first, then with routes merge on and off for the duration. The route heads thru Rush to the Genesse river , then turns south. We meet up at the rest stop near Avon, 26 miles in. Then ride together to the first climb after that we separate and ride at our own pace. Now we are in the area where I train often. West of the river , south of RT 20. In Genesseo, there is a steep climb up into the College. Then a pleasant ride north on RT 39 to Avon, were the Avon FD always makes you feel so welcome. After this I turn south on Pole Bridge Rd. This is a new road added this year. I liked it tho others complained bitterly. Pole Bridge keeps rising, and rising, and rising. There are 3 short steep (over 10%grade) climbs that really grab your attention.Once you reach Rt20A, its a quick decent into Lakeville, where lunch is served. I must say Buffalo has better road Marshals, but Rochester has the best food of any ride. Tom Wahls had fantastic wraps and salads for all. Now time for a spin around Conesus Lake. I stop back in Lakeville and top off with water,for there are only 30 miles left, and I fell pretty good so this is my last planned stop. It's basically down hill to Avon, and a slight tailwind. This makes for a good pace. Coming out of Avon, there is a climb where the DEC is located. A few where struggling up this. This is also where the 40 & 62 mile routes join together for the finally push back to Mendon Ponds. The 40 mile rides have a large variety of bikes. there are many comfort, mountain bike types, a few Walmart specials mixed in. There are two hefty climbs after Honeoye Falls, on Clover St, just before the new traffic circle at 251. It takes a little more than usual to get over these, but that's expected seeing as I'm nearing 190 miles in two days.

Mendon Ponds Park is a welcome site. There is the same Hoopla as yesterday at the finish, along with live bands and dinner catered by Outback Steakhouse. Like I mentioned earlier...Rochester sure knows how to put on the feedbag.

Time for the ride 6H27m
Total miles for the weekend...103.6m
Total time.........................11h14m
Total elevation .................6726 ft
Not bad for an old fart

Well I was able to complete another double century in consecutive days, and raise a fair amount of money for a good cause. This is the only time each year I solicit donations for a ride. I feel it is unfair to all to be asked a couple times a year for funds. I know I would grow tired of it if someone asked me 3-4 times a year for charity fund raisers.

Tale of two rides.
Niagara Falls Profile.
Elevation gain 1960 ft


Rochester Profile
Elevation gain 4766 ft



I would like to once again thank all who contributed to these rides, and hope that you will continue to support me in the up coming years.

TOSRV

I have wanted to do Tour of the Scoito River Vally (TOSRV) for the past few years but felt intimidated by the double century. That's 100 miles on both Saturday and Sunday. 200 miles in two days...piece of cake...Right! It seems the only way to commit to a ride like this is send in the registration monies,. Because I'm to frugal to send in the money and not participate, I registered for this in March, which means I'm commit ed now.

Setting sail mid morning on Friday May 8th, my biggest concern was the weather. At home the past few weeks, we have had a cool , wet , windy spell. The forecast for the Columbus area was no rain, but windy and cool. It rained on and off most of the way down. I had hopped to stop in Dayton to see Rachel and Jason, but they had an offer they couldn't refuse. There choices were to stay home and spend a glorious evening with me, or go to Key West, Fla, and suffer terribly with warmth, sunshine, and white beaches....I just don't understand why they would pick Key West over me...Oh well their loss ;) ...!!!!!

Arriving in Columbus around 5p, I headed over to the Downtown Marriott, were the registration packets were available for pick up, then went over to the YMCA, a few blocks north of there to sign up for my digs for the night. They offered floor space, and about 100 riders took advantage of this. We did have full use of their gym and other facilities. It is quite a complex in the middle of downtown Columbus. I found an upscale sports bar, ate dinner then back to the YMCA.

Saturday morning arrives early, with the rustling of riders getting ready to head out. I'm all packed and dropped off my bag to the luggage trucks before 7am. A quick ride around the block, and I'm off.

The ride is basically 104 miles due south From Columbus ,OH., to Portsmouth, OH. We stay in the Scoita River valley all the way. The Scoito River drains south into the Ohio River east of Cincinnati. this made Saturdays ride was a slight down hill, with a few bumps along the way.
This being the 48th version of this event, the organizers have this pretty well in hand. The knock on the ride is the mid spring weather...you never know what you will get until the day arrives.

Early in morning , sky's looked promising, and the SW winds were slight. On the way out of Columbus, I hook up with acouple of guys from W.Virginia, and we moved right along to the first sag stop. There are 4 sags spaced every 25 miles. The pace was high teens. Pace lines are formed and dropped all along the route. You don't even need a map with 2600 riders here, your never out of sight of someone. At the first sag I fuel up, then set out again.

This time a much more leisurely pace. I hook up with a couple guys from Dayton, and we meander on. It's now mid morning and the winds are starting to pick up. For the rest of the day I battles SW winds in the 15-20 mph range, with a few gusts that actually move the bike sideways a few inches. There's a thrill for you! The terrain has remained small rollers, with the elevation decreasing ever so slightly as we head downstream to the Ohio River.

Chillicothe. Ohio is sag #2 is all set up for lunch, It is quite a sight, to see so many cyclist's and cycles milling about. This is also the starting point for the 1/2 TOSRV. With a full belly I'm off again. The winds are so enjoyable ... Yet there is a respite, for this is where we enter the infamous "Hill" section. For the next 10 miles we encounter a few rollers similar to what I ride in at home. Unfortunately, most of the local riders (read FLATLANDERS),these are real mountains to them. A young gentleman I spoke with at the previous sag, told me how much he hates hills because it slows him down to 9 mph. As I motored passed this rider going up every small rise ...he was well below 9mpg, mashing his pedals, and whining. I never did see him again, there were a few tougher ones along the way. It was the winds that made this more challenging. As you ducked behind a grove of trees, or an embankment, there was a reprieve. As soon as you came out into the open, you were slammed with what felt like a brick wall. So much for the high teens average set in the first 20 miles. I did hook up with a young couple from Columbus and we work together most of the next 20 miles.

Sag #3, is at a cute little park overlooking Lake White State Park, a man made lake. Of course this is 75 miles into the ride and the actual sag stop is Atop a little rise 100 steps UP, well worth the climb. Great for loosing up tight calf muscles.

Now it's on to the finish of day 1. The winds are relentless, but the end is near. As I enter Portsmouth, I see a couple of Fantastic murals painted on some walls. After 48 years Portsmouth welcomes with open arms TOSRV riders. To my amazement, just as you enter town, there is the most wonderful SAG(unofficial) of the ride.... A micro brewery !!!! Not wanting to upset the cycling Gods, or the fine people of Portsmouth, I'm obliged to stop and have a pint. This bike riding is really a very tough endeavor. As I leave this Garden of Eden, I ride along the flood control wall. For almost 1 mile there are huge murals depicting Portsmouth history. Very, very cool. At the official end point in a park in the middle of town, there are bands, vendors,and beer available. As I mentioned earlier, after 48 years they organizers have figured this out pretty well...

Off I go to the college, where the camping is. Now talk about fun...try setting up a tent in 25mph winds...ALONE. Best part was the laundry only took 3 minutes to dry on the line. I head over to a local church for dinner, then back to camp to eagerly await Sundays Ride. I finish the day with 110 miles

Sunday starts out sunny, but very chilly. Temps are low 40's with the winds now shifted to the NW. Great...it doesn't get any better than this!!!!!! Headwinds both ways....! I set out about 6:30 Fortunately I hook up with a couple that are riding at a comfortable pace of 15-16 mph. We tool along to The first sag, Lake White. I head out from there and come upon the young couple from yesterday, but they being young and all, I can't hold there pace.

The wind start to pick up around 9:30, this time they are quite chilly, being from the north. Altho not as strong as Saturdays winds, at 10-15mph with some strong gusts they do present a challenge. Yesterday was a slight downhill, so now that we are doing a complete reverse of the same course, there is a slight uphill all the way to Columbus. I stop in Chillicothe for lunch, and run into a young man I sold a house to last September... Its a small world! Today's speeds a very much slower that yesterdays, but I keep on moving. In still average 13.9 for the day....Not bad for an old fart! Most of the day I'm riding solo which surprises me in how many pace lines I pass all while riding solo. I just couldn't find a group traveling at my speed.

About 12 miles from the finish in Columbus, I entered an industrial zone, with stoplights every mile or so. Call it luck, but usually I have to stop at every light I encounter. This time I'm looking forward to stopping at these lights for the moment or so of rest...This time every one of the suckers was green when I arrived. Of course I'm to anal to stop ...so I pedal on.

The skyline of downtown Columbus is looming larger and larger on the horizon. That is such a welcome site. Wouldn't you know it, about 2 miles from the end of the ride, I encounter another Garden of Eden...... Once again, not wanting to upset the cycling Gods, I'm obliges to stop and have a pint. these cycle Gods can be very fickle. Also manage to sell some Moustache Wax while I'm there too!.

I ride past the state Capital building which is the official end, get my certificate stating I completed all 210 miles, then off to the YMCA, for a shower. I arrived home shortly after 11pm, tired but with a great sense of accomplishment.

2011 is the 50th running of this event...See you there...!