Tim shared his write-up from this gran fondo adventure in Garrett County, Maryland. Originally published July 1, 2012.
BACKGROUND
Remember this email to the group?
DATE: Wednesday, December 14, 2011 7:22 AM
SUBJECT: Garrett County Gran Fondo
I know you guys would dig this. 125+ miles and 16,500 ft off (sic) climbing.
Sent from my iPhone
Joe V.
Shortly afterwards I ask Joe directly in person, “So what’s it really like?” He responds with “I’m not going to lie. It’s frigg’n hard man!” This coming from someone who rides 100 miles as a pre-ride, does “training” marathons, and has been known to complete multiple Iron Mans within a month’s time. Then he follows with a sly grin “It’s a great ride, you gotta do it.”
That’s how it started. Fastforward a couple of months later and Andreas, Carl, Matt, Bob, Bill (aka Texas Bill), Joe, and I had signed up.
FRIDAY NIGHT - FONDO EVE
(L-R) Yours truly, Matt preparing for the next day's event by pre-dehydrating with beer, Bob happy and secure in the fact that he brought a 6 pack of spare tubes, Bill minutes after taking the first step in silencing his critics by paying $5 to upgrade from the Savage Century (100 miles) to the Diabolical Double (125 miles), Andreas celebrating Germany's earlier Eurocup victory over Greece, and Carl's hand.
At the event sponsored pre-ride evening dinner, we found ourselves eating cold spaghetti while being serenaded by the local favorite “The Hillbilly Gypsies” (Andreas, rounded out his U.S. experience with this unique part of Americana. Yes, he now knows that “Deliverance” was not exactly historical and not exactly fiction). After the Banjos stopped, the ride organizer took the stage and informed the participants that a “microburst” had come through during the afternoon and that part of the course was impassible due to fallen trees and debris. Nonetheless, he was hopeful that local Garrett Country road crews would accommodate his plea to clear the roads before the next day’s ride. In any event, he assured us that the show would go on, but that additional caution should be taken, as many of these roads by themselves are narrow, lightly traveled, gravel laden, and technical in nature. Since the theme of this year’s ride was “safety”, he diligently detailed all potential road hazards and dangerous descents. He also informed all of us that this was not a typical “Fondo”, as it would not be timed from start to finish by individual participant and should not be treated as a race. Certain climbs, however, would be timed for KOM honors, including the final 1.78 mile summit finish. IMHO, I sensed the organizers wanted to put together a Fondo’esque course that is comparable to those in Europe in terms of distance, climbing, technical difficulty, and road conditions. But…I believe they wanted to downplay the race aspect given the average American participant’s inexperience in such an event (ie, treating this like a race could have been an invitation for lots of attrition due to both fatigue and crashes). The MC went on to point out the various abandon options in the event the ride becomes too much for one to handle and finished by proclaiming that the goal this year was to lower the total number of crashes.
Shortly after these rousing words of encouragement, I received an email from Joe V. stating his apologies and regrets, as he would not be able to attend this year. Hmmmm...what had we gotten ourselves into?
PRE-START
After a night of restless sleep, I awoke at my usual hour with a lot of time to kill given the pre-ride was officially cancelled due to mitigating circumstances. By 6:50, the 6 of us lined up a few rows from the front and were ready to roll...until instances of minor panic set in – “Oh no, please tell me those 6 Tri guys with aerobars, TT helmets, and sleeveless jerseys aren’t lining up in front of us!”. This observation was followed by Matt pointing out to Carl that he had no waterbottles. No, Carl had not purposely intended to pay homage to Bodnar by attempting to ride 125 miles on preride coffee only. No, this was an unintentional oversight for which he only had a few minutes to resolve before the official start.
Breakfast - Bill feeling good, Andreas measuring his caloric intake, Carl eating Rais'n Bran (we learned that he treats his cereal with the same single-minded focus as he does his kits, ie, he never deviates and it is always Rais'n Bran), yours truly minutes after applying a second base layer of SPF70, and Matt mitigating his prior evening's dehydration efforts with coffee. Bob (not pictured) evidently was with his bike letting air out of its tires.
Lining up at the Start - Bill supergluing his ostensibly nano-powered airconditioned-equiped armcoolers to his arms, Bob listening to the air leaking from his tires, Carl secure in the fact he is getting ready to ride 125 very hilly miles in the heat without water bottles and fluids, yours truly trying to scout out a possible escape route from all of the surrounding Tri-guys, Matt standing and remaining calm as usual, and Andreas getting ride advice from his daughter.
Start to Aid Station #1 (Mile 18.7)
After departing around 7:00 in a mass of some 500+ Diabolical Double starters (those doing the shorter routes would start at later times), we quickly descended down a long newly paved road into the Garrett County netherlands. As the Tri-guys broke up the peloton laterally with their unexceptional bike handling skills, many of us were able to quickly thread through a big opening they created in the middle in order to get around them and settle into a nice pace. Although the weather was pleasantly cool and predicted to be quite nice, a layer of fog was quickly settling in. This first section included mainly descending with a lot of technical bends and cornering. The fog added a challenge we had not anticipated. As for the 6 of us, Bill spent most of the time leading well ahead of the rest of us. Carl, on the other hand, spent most of his time chasing to get caught up after returning to the house to retrieve his bidons.
Carl sees Jenni (holder of the house key) and decides that it would be better to turn around and fetch his bidons, as the benefits of hydration would likely outweigh the benefits being 40oz lighter.
Aid Station #1 to Aid Station #2 (Mile 41.2)
The ride to Aid Station #2 remained relatively uneventful. The fog lifted, but so did the elevation, and the start of the continuous climbing with short descents had begun. Bill again rode off front in an apparent attempt to get lots of early TV coverage for the company emblazoned on his newly purchased jersey – Team Assos. The rest of us rode conservatively, with Bob holding back the most, as he now realized that he probably should have reconsidered his decision to NOT sneak in a purchase of a compact crankset behind his wife's back.
Aid Station #2 to Aid Station #3 (Mile 58.1)
The continuous climbing started to get a little more intense in terms of length and grade. For instance, how can one not like a climb called “Killer Miller”? Bill continued to show strong legs and please the Assos company with free TV coverage by riding well ahead in front. During this section, Andreas even decided to warm up his legs a little by joining Bill and taking a pull or two. I believe it was during this section where the first officially timed KOM was to take place (it would later turn out that the timer wasn’t working here). Of course, the temptation of KOM timing ignited a likely foolish waste of a match or two by me and possibly others.
As the six of us gathered together at Aid Station #3, I refilled my slightly aching and aging body with my second dose of Vitamin I (aka Ibuprofin to the uninitiated). Afterwards, there was a short conversation with Bill that went something like this:
Kohai: I’m feeling really good today.
Sempai: Yes, that’s good and you look strong. But please remember, the day is long and the sun is hot. Know yourself Kohai….know yourself.
Aid Station #3 to Aid Station #4 (Mile 84.5)
From there, the 6 of us stayed together until mile 63, which was where we encountered the much talked about 1.65 mile gravel road. Now, this was not comparable to a gravel railtrail, but instead it was more like a narrow dirt path in the middle of a woods filled with potholes and lots of loose gravel stones of all shapes and sizes. The first half was slightly downhill resulting in descent that seemingly never ended….but as soon as it did, it then quickly turned upwards, with the climbing getting steeper and steeper. If you were not geared correctly, which I was not, then sitting and spinning was not an option. Needless to say, I was forced to stand for the majority of the climb with my back wheel sliding in many directions. Midway up the climbing portion, there was a local plucking a banjo by the side of the path. The sudden realization of being in tight spandex dawned on me and the imagined sounds of a squealing pig ran through my head. I think this situational awareness triggered my flight reflex and I probably pushed harder up that hill than at any other time throughout the day. After exiting the woods and the path, Andreas and I found ourselves ahead of the others in our group of 6. Little did we know at that time, that the 6 of us would not ride together as a group for the rest of the day.
At Aid Station #4, we attempted to re-group but soon realized we had lost Bob somewhere in the forest. Unfortunately, this route was not conducive to turnaround search missions, so we were hopeful that perhaps Bob had been rescued by a sag wagon. Bill professed that he had finally encountered a tough hill back in the forest and Matt asked to see my secret stash of Vitamin I. The ride was starting to take its toll on us.
Blue Lick Rd (aka the Arenberg Forest of Garrett County). Man and his banjo deep in the woods.
Aid Station #4 to Aid Station #5 (Mile 100.5)
After departing as party of 5, we began the first of the 2 longest back-to-back climbs of the day. Andreas and I settled in a fairly comfortable spin and were the first to arrive at the next aid station. Arriving shortly after us, were Carl and Matt. Carl seemed to be getting stronger as the day got longer. Bill on the otherhand, had started to experience some serious knee pain. Upon Bill's arrival, his smiling and happy demeanor had dissippated. "Anybody have any tape for my knee" he requested. Unfortunately, none of us had spare physiotape in our saddlepacks. However, there was a first aid kit available and Bill was able to have someone wrap a thin layer of tape around his ailing knee. Andreas and I feared that perhaps this taping might function more like a tourniquet, and poor Bill might lose his leg because of this ride.
Paying Tribute to the Man Who Had Gotten Us Into This Mess: Andreas was aware of some 31% pot-holed climb that wasn't exactly part of the official route. However, it is a legendary climb in the Tri-scene. He talked me into climbing it with him, and lo-and-behold, look whose name is enshrined at the top of the climb.
Aid Station #5 to Aid Station #6 (Mile 111.4)
Leaving Aid Station #5 there was still a lot of climbing ahead and for Andreas, Carl, Matt and me, things went pretty much the same as they had during the previous section. However, it turns out that this is where Bill officially hit the wall (and the ground quite literally). Unfortunately not witnessed by anyone other than Bill, but this is where the so-called "fallover" occurred. Evidently Bill's legs cramped up so badly that he couldn't take feet out of the pedals and literally fell over and hit the ground. Andreas and I finished together at Aid Station #6 with Carl and Matt close behind. It was here that we realized we now had lost Bill and were now at a 33.3% casualty rate for our starting 6. The 4 of us who were remaining looked at each other with trepidation and wondering who would be next.
Aid Station #6 to Wisp Mountain Summit Finish (Mile 125)
The 4 of left this final Aid Station with 14 remaining miles, with the last 1.78 miles being a summit finish with some sections having percent grades well into the teens. Although we never saw Bill at this last rest stop, evidently he had recovered somewhat and rolled in just as the four of us were leaving. Although the final section and climb split Andreas, Carl, Matt, and me up slightly, we all finished within a few minutes of one another and presumabley within the first 30-35 minutes of the first finishers.
The four of us celebrated by attempting to eat the highly touted Garrett County Kiwana's deep fried french fries. Afterwards we waited anxiously by the finish line in the hopes that our two fallen comrades would surface. If not, we were debating on whether we should have the police inform the wives that their husbands were missing or whether we should just have Matt deliver the bad news. Then...out of the blue, like a mirage, Carl proclaims "That looks like Bill!". I respond "It sure does, but how can it be? His leg has likely been amputated by now due to the tourniquet". But sure enough, he had found his second wind and was going to finish. Shortly behind, we then saw and heard Bob. Turns out he had flatted back in the gravel forest - not just once, but twice. After fixing his flats, he rode back at a reasonable pace and finished.
Contemplating how we were going to inform the wives of Bill and Bob that their husbands had disappeared.
Bob finishing and shouting at the top of his lungs, “2 flats!! I had 2 flats!!”
Bill, leg and pride still in tact, just seconds from finishing the Diabolical Double.
Proof that despite earlier reports, there were no casualties.
Post-Ride
Reporting in with his boss.
Relaxing, dehydrating with beer, and re-counting the day's battles.