OMG this was one of the most fun rides of the year, hands down, except that Bud wasn't there .  We kept him in mind though as we rolled up the roadies in some pavement and smoked em like it was crack.
 
Mark Leuck and I formed the lowracer demolition squad and heaed out.  We had intended to roll out slowly and warm up, allowing Terry to hang with us a while, but the excitement of so many rabbits got our hackles up and we were gone.  Somewhere just shy of mile 20 out average was over 25mph accorinding to Mark's GPS.  Mile 40 we were still at 21, and then we hit some pretty serious hills and our legs got the better of us.  Also, at that point there were no roadies left to chase.  
 
Mile 40 to 65 we saw NO ONE in front of us to chase, until we stopped at a rest stop and some got ahead of us, only to be retaken.  The last 5 miles we started overtaking the slowpoked from the 30 mile route.
 
We finished just under 20mph average thanks to lots of stopsigns at the end.  Not shabby for my big bout of bronchitis and 3 weeks off the bike.  
 
We saw a lot of bents, including Ken and Peggy "The Machine" Strada.  The weather was perfect, the scenery was great, traffic was very low, and the roads were pretty good too.  No debris, just one gravel stretch.  The rest stops were frugal but friendly, and I didn't need anything more than the banana anyway.  Hot dogs at the end of the ride.  Very well done and I'll be back next year.
 
I'll have pics as soon as mark sends them on.

Sounds like a great ride. I had a wonderful time too, spending 9 hours at work today, then a 25 mile ride on the Joe Pool dam. Oh well....

I rode the 35 mile route by myself. Left with Ken,Greg and the others. lost sight of Greg early, rode it fast (for me) since I didn't have time to ride the long route . I to ran out of rabbits to chase. Finished with a 19.3mph average I was shooting for a 20mph, I'm just not quite that fast. I got up this morning and did 30 mintue of sprint intervals.  
P.S. I missed riding with Steve and Bud get well soon!!!!!
                                                                               Peggy

Quote from Mrs Strada on Nov 18^th, 2007, 11:57am:

 
 
Oh, we're in SO much trouble next year...  

Bud:   Its fun you say that about drafting I need have DF jump on my wheel just after we left the start line he said he was not part of the ride and  asked how far I was riding and he said he  would love to ride a long (on my wheel) I'm not very good at drafting or having someone draftoff of me. He stayed there for about 10 miles or so I lost him on the little hills after the dam. Being new to all of this I not know what the proper edicitate is for drafting or even how to let some draft off me safely.   Peggy

Quote from robert.j on Nov 19^th, 2007, 3:09pm:

 
Upright riders rarely recover, without crashing, when they touch wheels with the rider in front of them, but recumbents often can. I've stayed upright after touching a wheel in front of me, and I've seen Paul do it, as well.

Hey Yall
Im jumping into this thread a little late.    Hey if you want to run with the Dawgs you need to work out like one, which I dont.  So knowing that Greg and Mark are stronger riders I expected to get dropped.    They almost lost me early in the ride on a modest hill with some sort of water park on the top.  On the back side of the hill I hammered my Baron as best I could and maintained a speed over 30 miles an hour into the flats.  I got with in 20 feet of them.  Hoping to pass them, if only for a little while for bragging rights.  We hit another hill and they where gone.   I hung with them in view but lost site of them after about 7 miles when we hit the first turn-off.  
 
Then I took it easy to recover from my attack.  I was passed by two fast pace lines and then Mrs Strata passed me acting all cool.  At the next rest stop I waited for Ms Bobbi the Biker Babe.  She had a flat which delayed her.   But we continued on at a snails pace until Bobbi sagged out at the Valley View rest stop.   Making me officially the last rider in the 70 mile tour.  I checked with the volunteers if it they where comfortable with me and they didn’t mind at all.  So I continued on with my own personal escort who was the last patrol who checks the route prior to closing it behind him.   I hammered down and began to overtake slower people.   This freaked out the patrols as they where losing track of me.  Apparently the last riders are closely watched.    These volunteers are ham radio operators who do storm chasing and natural disaster volunteering so they fuss over their job a little more then necessary.  According to Bobbi who was getting sagged, she heard them call out my rider number “We lost that Recumbent number 518”.  
 
I was paranoid about cramps and energy and stopped at every stop except the first one.  At every rest stop I ate at least two or three bananas and drank Gatorade.  That’s at least 12 to 16 bananas!
 
Im up in Milwaukee.  My grandfather passed away Saturday Morning while I was riding the Turkey Roll.  He was 96 and lived a long healthy life.  Last spring he fell from his walker and broke his arm just below the shoulder.  Since he was dependant on the walker, having no arms to help walk grounded him and triggered his health to decline over the summer.  This was actually a blessing.  Although he was often uncomfortable, this situation gave us a chance to see him alive.  My Grandma dropped dead instantly from a stroke at 51 years old when I was 9.  The photo below is when I visited Milwaukee over the summer.  
 
Sincerely,
Terry  
 
 
Quote from aikigreg on Nov 17^th, 2007, 4:57pm:

Quote from Richard on Nov 20^th, 2007, 11:29am:

 
Wow, someone has lost some weight since then.
 

 
 
And they both have spiffy new bents now.