Today I rode in the Pontiac 150 Rotary Ride as a charity ride. I managed to clock in 152km in 4:40 for an average of 32.7 kph. Not too bad considering I rode the first 112km by myself, yes sans d'autres cyclistes. But, I'm getting ahead of myself....Although it was a charity event over in Detroit, I knew that I needed to get to the event early, with the expectation that there would be riders ready to leave at 8:00am. The day was looking nice and everything was going well (got across the border without any problems). The weather was going to be beautiful, starting out at about 18c and warming up to about 26c by my expected ride end. No rain or even clouds in sight and, the worst thing to look forward to, was the shape of the roads in Pontiac (I always ride either my commuter or cross bike on Pontiac's streets).
I hurried and got dressed, registered, and got my bike ready. There were about 20 or so people in the parking lot so I figured that maybe half or so would be riding the 150km--there were some nice kits and some from local clubs that I recognized. So, after getting all the tickets and my swag, I started walking around the parking lot hoping to make new friends and get a nice group together. I couldn't believe it, everyone in the parking lot said they were doing the 44 mile or 74km. Of course, that was a good distance but not the same route that I was taking! Oh well, c'est la vie.
So, I was dressed and ready to go with no one around to ride with. And, the wheels in my brain started to spin: Would I ride it by myself and try to catch up to other riders, would a group catch up to me, would a ride a little then just come back....I just wasn't sure what to do. I figured that I made the drive and already got a nice t-shirt so it wouldn't be a big loss to go home. Well, I then decided to go out and see how the ride goes, if I got tired, I could just double back and go home, no regrets because no companions and the charity would still benefit.
So, I got my map in my hand and started out. The directions on the map provided were excellent although I didn't see any markers on the road for the ride. I didn't get lost at all except for one mistaken turn which cost me about 10 seconds as I turned right around. I had 3 bottles but no food and wasn't sure I was ready for a solo ride.
The roads were as bad as I can recall. I think that the rail trails in the area are way better than the roads for bikes. In fact, after only the first 34 minutes, I split open my rear tire and the tube blew. Since I was out alone, I just took my time (a whole 8 minutes in total) to inspect and repair the tire after getting it off the wheel. It looked like I hit a rock or crack, which there were too many to know which, and I put a 2cm split in the tire. Nasty! Good thing I had a boot patch, or so I thought. I figured it needed it and that an inflated tube would just rupture without it. I couldn't get the paper off the sticky side of the boot but finally got enough off and stuck it in the tire. It held!
Well back on the road....
After about an hour and a half, I started to pass riders going the other way. I figured that the 74km route round itself back the same way out I was going. The largest group I saw was 4 riders and most people were going solo. Well, if they could, I knew that I could when, after all, I was only about 50km into the ride.
All went well, and very fast even with a 13kph headwind. The hills were nuts for someone from Essex County (and, really crazy given my size). George equals flats, no hills, bad hills. One hill was a 13% grade and it really, really, really hurt. The reward was the 68kph I got up to on the way down. Except when I hit a stone and my front wheel started into a nasty wheel wobble. Luckily, I knew what to do and pushed both legs against the top tube and just kept hammering. It was a nice reward for that nasty, nasty hill.
At about the 82km mark, I actually started to feel a little tired. I think I was not drinking enough and I had only gone through about half a bottle by this time. I would normally have drank 3-4 times that by now but I was trying to conserve my fluids for when the temperature got warmer. And, I just flew by the first rest stop with the intention of catching up to a group. But, I was getting a little hungry and could use some nice fruit.
Now, the drivers were bad....worse than what I've seen in Michigan before. I don't know why, maybe the nice weather but, later talking with some other riders from the area, they agreed that it was bad, worse than usual. I promised that I would post that we would never do anything like that to cyclists in Canada, except of course in Vancouver....
There was a rest stop coming up at the 88km mark and I was planning on stopping. It was at a local bike shop so I could buy another tube and co2 cartridge just in case. I had some drinks and a banana and felt refreshed. I filled my one empty water bottle with water. It took me 2:30 to make it to the rest stop and I was feeling good about my ride (averaging 35.2kph solo so far). No help and a good pace, maybe because it was scary riding at times and I just wanted to get it over with! At the rest stop, there were a number of the 74km riders whom I spoke with at 8:00. One guy pointed out a couple of riders he thought were going the 150km. But, to me they didn't look too motivated to go, so I quickly departed, figuring that I only had another 62km, so solo wouldn't be too bad.
So, because the route was not marked, I was dependent on my paper map. I knew that it would get wet from sweat and wouldn't last so I put my glasses on my pocket at the start of the ride to make a bridge away from my back for the paper. And I was sweating a great deal as I managed to average just over 35kph over the first 2 1/2 hours. But, my strategy was only so good. The folds in the map started to break down and, when I was looking at entry 31, I noticed that entry 32 was no longer there! The paper had ripped and the location of the turn was gone. Entry 31 indicated 2 miles in length, so I road about 3km and then pulled over in a parking lot to try and figure out the directions.
I was at the 112km mark at this point in the ride, when I was trying to figure out the map. There were 2 turns to the right, both of which looked good but I was trying to figure out the map. I had stood there for about 6 minutes when I heard, 'it's the next right.' I quickly looked up and saw riders--like an explorer seeing land. To be exact, a group of 4 riders (from the 88km rest stop) went past and I didn't need an invitation, I got on my bike and jumped to catch up with them. I road with them for the remaining 38km, or better stated, I sucked their wheels for the remainder of the ride. Apparently, they had left at 6:30 but had got lost so had put in a number of extra miles.
There was a lunch stop around the 138km mark and we all pulled in for the food. They had pizza, bananas and cookies. Pizza was out for me but the other goodies worked for me. They also had some really cold drinks which hit the spot. After we all ate and shared some stories, including me talking about the ESR ride to the Falls, we headed out for the last 12km. I was now tired and really wanted to get back to my car. And, after about another 4km, my left leg started cramping in 2 places. Ouch, oh well, it was only another 8km although I dropped off the back (but caught up in another 2km at a light).
I managed to finish the ride and was happy to be done. It was a good charity ride for a community that really needs help. I spoke to the organizer a bit after because I wanted to learn more about what the charity was doing. It was clear to everyone that Pontiac has a lot of problems, with the roads likely being nearer the bottom of the list. He told me that they had obtained 1700 new helmets for local kids from the POH hospital (the location of the start/finish) and 140 bikes from the police. Unbelievable, that would be great for the local kids--and it was a great effort considering this was the first year for the charity ride.
(black is route out, red is back in)Charity ride information at: Pontiac 150 Rotary Ride