I arrived in Delavan around 4:30 pm, and noticed Mike Geuss was already there. Checking in they were going to put me upstairs, and I asked if they could give me a first floor room. Luckily they had one left, and it had a frig too. I saw Mike, he had taken a nap, and said he was going to eat at Perkins. I went to Chili’s again. That place really is a pretty crappy place to eat. But, Delavan doesn’t give you any better options. Only fast food places, or so called restaurants like Chili’s or Perkins.
After dinner, saw Mike talking to Thomas, so I went over to say hello. The parking lot had more cars in it, and I could tell more cyclists had arrived.
Went to bed around 9pm. All my stuff was laid out for the 6am start. Including my stuff for the Sunday morning 200K portion of the 600K.
Saturday
Got dressed, walked outside around 5am to check the weather, and I could already tell it was going to hot. At least, I didn’t need to carry a lot stuff, like on the 400K, due to the warm weather. Next, I ate breakfast. I always bring food with me for the mornings. Then I went and picked up my Brevet control card, and cue sheet, which was three pages long.
After doing a few more things in my room, I headed out to the parking lot with my bike. By now, around 5:40am, the parking lot was full of riders, getting their bikes ready. I saw people I knew, from other Brevets, as well as people I know from Illinois, like Eric Peterson, Mike Geuss and Jon Batek. I walked over to say hi to Jon Batek. He was still getting ready so I didn’t stay long.
Next, Jim Kreps the person who runs the Brevets out of Delavan, inspected my gear, to make sure I had front and rear lights, including a reflective vest.
Jim gave his usual instructions speech, and at 6am, we headed out. I should note, that the 600K was just one of the Brevets offered on Saturday. So, at 6am, the 400K and 600K riders departed, seven riders did the 400K, and 13 were doing the 600K. At 7am, the 200K and 300K riders departed, going a different direction.
The 600K is a long ride, in miles it equals 373.9, but I unfortunately rode some extra miles on Sunday, thinking I was lost. So I ended up with 380 miles. And because of the length of this ride, I’m just going to report on the highlights, rather than describe the 35 hours it took me to complete the 600K.
Highlights
Upon leaving the start, we had a headwind, heading south towards Illinois. I took off, and was alone for a little while. After a few turns, I finally saw the A group coming up behind me. When they caught me, and I knew they would, Mike said “you looked lonely all by yourself.” When they went by, I grabbed a wheel, and rode with them for the next 35 miles. Most everyone took turns pulling, and despite the slight headwind, the temperature was still pretty cool. After falling off the back on purpose, I waived goodbye to Mike.
Arriving at the first control, in Kirkland, IL, the wind really picked up, and it was getting hot. The A group was long gone, but shortly after I arrived, Jon, and then Eric arrived, along with some others. Eric wanted to do his own thing, so Jon and I took off.
Jon and I coming up over this little rise into Oregon, IL, we see a rider off his bike. It was Mike, I couldn’t believe it. Apparently, Mike got a little to close to Bryce’s rear skewer, and it just shredded most of his carbon spokes, on his front wheel. He was lucky he didn’t go down. At the same time, some stranger in a minivan offered Mike a ride to the control Oregon, IL.
When Jon and I got to the Oregon, IL control, Mike was there, with his very messed up front wheel. Soon, Eric and others started to arrive. Mike had called Jim Kreps, and Jim was there to take Mike to a bike shop. At this point, it was getting really hot, around 89°. We asked Eric if he wanted to ride with us, he said “no, go on” - Eric looked really hot, and just bought a bunch a food to eat too.
Jon and I headed out, and now the hills start heading towards Wisconsin. It’s getting hot, and before the first climb out of Oregon, IL, I can really feel the heat. Same on the next climb. I told Jon, I’m going to take it slow. Passing Byron nuke plant, I thought it was raining, or trying too. But, it was just the water vapor from the cooling towers. Jon and I passed a group of about five riders, near the nuke plant, and our next stop was Pecatonica, IL. Pecatonica is a not a control, but an optional stop for water/food, and because of the heat, we needed water. The stretch from Oregon, IL to Brodhead, WI is the longest, about 65 miles, and was really rough with the heat. I would pour water on my head to cool off, which means less to drink.
When we arrived Brodhead, I was toast, I think Jon was hurting too. The heat on the 600K made it really hard, and it was hard not to run out of water, before you reached the next control. Anyway, at Brodhead, besides drinking a lot, I needed to do something about my body heat. I asked gal behind the counter if they sold safety pins. She thought they did, but no such luck. But, she happened to have one, and the right size too, nice and large. So, before Jon and I took off, I took one of my arm warmers, and filled it with ice. Then wrapped it around my neck, and used the safety pin to keep in place.
Our next control was Evansville, WI, and the ice in my arm warmer worked for most of the way. Though, leaving Brodhead, we picked another rider, Glen from MN. He was also in the A group, but fell off like me. Heading to Evansville was also hard, mostly again because of the heat. I was going very slow, around 12 mph. When we arrived in Evansville, it was around 6pm, and it was still 90° out. The high of the day was 95° plus. Paul Danhaus and his girlfriend were there, riding the tandem. The A group was no longer, well I knew Bryce was still out in front, and most likely Scott.
I ate some real food in Evansville, and also started to cramp up. So, I asked Jon, if I could borrow a couple of his Endurolytes. I was using Infinit, but apparently I was loosing a lot of salt. I could tell, since my bibs/jersey was covered in salt. Just back on the road headed to New Glarus, my right cramps up, and stopped quickly. I guess the Endurolytes hadn’t kicked in yet. After riding slow for a bit, my leg was okay. Off to New Glarus.
The temperature was starting to drop a little, so we were able to ride a bit faster. Though still hurting from the heat of the day, I still had to take it easy on the climbs. And there’s even more coming into New Glarus.
To my surprise, we were doing better than I thought time wise. Of course we didn’t get lost, since John had a GPS. Paul Danhaus and his girlfriend were there, and now they looked really fried. We put on our lights and reflective gear, and left for Oregon, WI. After climbing some rather steep hills, it flattened out a bit, and we pushed up the pace. Even in the dark, on the good roads, we were moving right along at speeds up to 24 mph. The cooler temps made a huge difference.
Paul Danhaus and his girlfriend were still at the Oregon, WI control when we arrived. Fueled up, and took off for Edgerton.
Coming into Edgerton, we were still making good time. Off in the distance, we saw red taillights. Jon thought it was a car, but it was actually the tandem.
Edgerton, what a sight. It’s now around a 11:30pm, still pretty good time wise. At the control we saw Paul Danhaus and his girlfriend. While waiting by my bike, some guy comes over to me, and wanted to know about my lights. He was also surprised to see bikes at night. We talked awhile. He’s from the area, and is a mountain biker. He said he has done 24 hour MTB rides so he felt our pain. After riding another 29 miles, back to Delavan, we arrived at 1:45am. Not bad, considering the heat, and 250 miles of riding.
Jon, Glen and I said good night, and I brought my bike into my room, after getting my control card stamped.
Went to McDonald’s, by car, which is right next store to the Super 8 hotel, since only the drive in is open. Bought some food, brought it back to the room, and started to eat. After a couple of bites, I thought I was going to hurl. I think I was border line for heat stroke. So, I took a shower, put on some bag balm, and went to bed.
Sunday (highlights continued)
After 3.5 hours of sleep, I got up, got dressed, ate a yogurt, which went down okay, some infinit, and headed out for the last 200K. Jon and Glen took off earlier, so I was solo. Which was fine, I needed to ride solo, and at my own pace. The sun was out, and the temps weren’t bad, yet. The first stop was at East Troy, WI. I felt pretty good. The lack of sleep wasn’t an issue. About halfway to East Troy, I’m coming to the crest of this hill, and up the other side was Bryce, solo. He rode all night, only stopping at the hotel to have his card stamped, and to get some things. It was great to see him. He yelled out “good job”, and that helped.
When I arrived at the East Troy control, no one was there, meaning other riders. Got my card stamped, and pushed on to Whitewater.
Heading to Whitewater, the cue sheet wasn’t very good, and there were not enough arrows on the road. It was very confusing, to say the least. Anyway, I thought I was on the right road, but I wasn’t sure. So, I decided to ride back to where I saw the last arrow. Which involved more climbing. I found the arrow, and decided I should just stay on Bluff road, and see what happens. I’m riding, and riding and I’m getting worried. Then I see this woman jogging. I asked her if she knew where Whitewater was, she did, and she was sure, if I stayed on Bluff, it would lead me to Whitewater. Sure enough, about a mile or so, I start to see more arrows. That woman was very nice, but she was also doing a 100 run that day - there was some endurance run going on.
Made it to Whitewater, and still no other riders. Shortly after leaving the Whitewater control, I see Jon riding towards me. He stopped and we talked a bit. Good to see him. He said he couldn’t sleep (in the back of his van), so he left around 4am, I think. Next, I saw Scott, and then later Glen riding towards me. Though before I saw Glen, I thought I was lost again. So, I flagged down this cop, who showed me on a map where I was, and how to get to Jefferson, WI. He was very nice, and lucky I saw him.
I arrived in Jefferson, the halfway point, yes! By now, it’s in the 90’s again. My sunburn is hurting, and I need to eat something. An ice cream bar and quart of Gatorade. Filled up my water bottle, and took off for the last 62 miles. About eight miles from Jefferson I see some riders coming towards me. It was the remaining 600K group. Michelle from MN, doing this 600K for training, and behind her three guys, that I don’t really know. It was nice to know I wasn’t the last person out there.
Back in Whitewater, I ate the same thing, before pushing on. I’m back now on Bluff road, and some parts of it were just crap, in fact, lots of bad road surfaces on the 200K portion. Now, I’m riding even slower, not because of the miles, the lack of sleep, or terrain, it was the heat once again. While on Bluff, this rider coming towards me calls out my name. I thought that was odd at first, but I realized it was Rob Schaller. Rob was just out for ride. I know Rob from the Brevets, and the 24 hour ride in Grand Rapids, MI, as well as through Eric. We talked for a bit. He asked if I wanted company, I said I was riding very slow, and wanted to ride solo. So, we both went our separate ways.
When I got to East Troy, the last control before Delavan, which is a McDonald’s, I got a large Coke, and fries. Shortly, after leaving, I see Rob again. This time we ride back to Delavan together, since he parked his car at the Super 8. I was really hurting from the heat - major sunburn, and somewhat dehydrated, and not able to ride fast, so Rob slowed down. It was nice he was there for my last 10 miles.
When we arrived the parking lot was pretty empty. Rob took the photos of me. I let Rob use my shower, since I was staying until Monday morning. I drank my chocolate milk, while waiting for Rob. After Rob left, I took a shower and went to bed. About an hour later, I was starting to get warm, so I went to ice maker, and got some ice. Put the ice in a towel, to help cool my body down, plus drank more cold water, and turned the AC up. It helped a lot, but my sunburn was really hurting.
This was my first 600K, though I have done the National 24 hour ride twice now, the 600K I think is a tougher. Anyway, it was a great feeling to finish this one. Next up, PBP in August, a 1,200K - yikes!
Some stats (some from Jon’s GPS -
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/90471846):
You have 40 hours to complete the 600K, I finished in 35 hours. I had 3.5 hours of sleep, which is included in the 35 hours.
Total Miles: 380
Elevation Gain: 13,350 ft
Max Grade: 14%
Calories burned: 21,354 approximately
Moving Time: 24:23:56
Avg Speed: 12 mph
Avg Moving Speed: 15.6 mph
8 of 13 completed. (26:40 to 38:01). One guy ended up in the Monroe, WI ER with heat stroke
0 comments:
Post a Comment