Chad's spot for various thoughts, musings, poetry, ideas and whatnot

Monday, November 11, 2002

Cruisin' in the Country
The season has now officially ended. This weekend was marked by the final big ride for the year for me and it was a lot of fun. I went down to the Claxton "Criusin' in the Country" Century Weekend event in, strangely enough, Claxton, GA, the Fruitcake Capital of the World. Kathy, Amy and the amzing D-Man went down with me for a fun filled weekend of riding and relaxing. We met with Bill Hallsworth of Valdosta and some others from the central Georgia area for what is, in my opinion, the best cycling event in Georgia. Friday was spent driving down and setting up. Great conversation and hanging out as we got the tents set up, looked at the stars and planned for Saturday's ride.

On Saturday, D-Man and I hooked up with Robbie Beauchamp to see if we could turn in a good time for the 100 mile ride. For Robbie and the D-Man the goal was to earn the coveted "Century Club" cap and put in their first sub-5 hour century. For me, since I already had caps from the last two years, I was shooting for something less than 4:30 for the 100 miles. The thing was we needed a strong group to make it happen and one of our clan that we really needed, Roberto, was absent and unaccounted for. So we set off, hoping to pick up some strong riders as we went to bolster our group. At first, things went badly. Everytime we hit a rider with some promise they'd try to hook onto a wheel and then they'd get dropped. Finally, around 25 miles into the ride we began to pick up a couple of riders with some legs and our group started to grow. At the 25 mile mark we were riding a 4 hour 28 minute pace and things were looking good. At the 36 mile rest stop we caught a fast group and picked up what we thought were going to be strong riders.

At 40 miles we gaught a guy that was time trailing. He had about the smoothest pedaling motion I think I've ever seen. Butta', pure butta! He hooked up with us just as the rest of the group started looking pretty weak. It turned out that he was Tyler Hamilton's Brother-in-Law riding custom US Postal everything. He was definitely strong and seemed ready to work. So there we are and going strong. I'm taking 6 to 7 minute pulls while the group rests. When the next guy comes through, he pulls hard as well. We're fighting a bit of a headwind but our pace is definitely good. Then we hit some rollers and the strain began to show on some of the group. On one climb climb Robbie put in a big effort and Derek, the TT dude, and I are the only two who can follow. The D-Man, not having eaten well early in the ride popped off the back and was gone as well. So the three of us start working and putting distance into the rest of the riders. As we pull into the 53 mile rest stop we're given the news that we're the first century riders to this point. Cool! We decide to wait on the rest of the group as the wind is picking up and we think we'll have a better chance if we all stick together. While we're waiting several more riders come in and it looks like we'll have a 10 person strong fast group.

So regrouped we set off. We set a good pace as first but then it begins to flag. When the weaker riders go to the front, they slow the group down, trying to keep us faster riders with them to pull them in. They skip several pulls and then when we finally force them to the front they ride at 18 mph and double up across the road to keep the faster riders from going to the front. I got mad. I believe that if you want to change the pace, you go to the front and change it. So I did and off the front I went. Robbie jumped with me and we rode off but the group decided to lift their pace and chase. That was ok with me and we let them catch us thinking that everyone will get the message that we want to ride fast. However, soon after the slower guys get on the front and try to slow everything down again. I looked at my odometer, did some quick calculations and realized that the sub 4:30 is in serious danger. In fact, so was beating my time from last year. Argh!

So off I went again. At the 65 mile mark I jumped the group with no intention of slowing down. At first they only let me go grudgingly, trying to chase me down. First the gap was only 100 feet; then 200; then 500 and then the fight goes out of everyone but Robbie. They give up trying to chase and I'm solo, off the front. While the ride isn't a race, I really like the idea of being the first century rider finish so I went hard. I rode at lactate threshold for the next 90 minutes but still just missed my goal by 6 minutes. Still, I beat my previous year's mark by 11 minutes. An excellent ride indeed. Robbie came in about 2 minutes behind me and Derek was third. The D-Man finished the 100 miles in 4:45 and the 105 in 5 hours while pulling a couple of other guys in. Excellent rides by all. The rest of the afternoon and evening were spent telling glory stories, sitting in the hot tubs provided by an event sponsor (I'm not making this up) and drinking a couple of cold adult beverages. Bill did the century in 5:35; a full hour less than the year before. Kathy and Amy rode 30 miles, a PR for Amy who was totally stoked about riding that far.

A great weekend and a great ride. If you like to ride and want the experience of a truly great ride that totally caters to all the riders, Claxton is the place. Mark your calendars for Vet's Day weekend next year. We'll see you there...just look for the cacti!

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