Killer Bee
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Congratulations to ,Bud, Nelson,Bryan & Shellene. Job well done. Obviously ,the riding conditions this past weekend were not the best(scattered rain showers & wind-lots of WIND), but we all persevered(or survived). Just over 36 hours to complete the 616K(which included 4-5hours of sleep). It was really cool to see all the Bacchetta's at the start of the ride Saturday morning. 6 total, 5 riding the 600k. We saw Bud briefly(at the start) and the 1st control(just as were heading out of the control). Nelson helped Bud with his cassette, then we headed out. Bud,glad that didn't get any worse for you. I think Peggy & I made some Rbent history this past weekend. The first Rbent members(husband/wife) to complete an ACP rando series(200,300,400 & 600K's), within the calendar year. So no pressure Ray/Angie ,Bud/Rose ,Mark/Christine ,Paul/Terrie ,Mark/Linda Metcalfe(wait,that's nothing for the Metcalfe's). A HUGE thanks to Nelson for riding with us. Just a class guy & a good friend. A true randonneur. The mental highs/lows on these long rides are incredible. We all ask a lot of bodies on these rides ,& it really is amazing what you can do when you push yourself. Peggy took a spill at mile 127 after a light rain shower left the road surface slippery. Nelson & I were riding beside one another ,Peggy was 20' or so behind us,then CRASH. When we got back to her ,the bike was lying on Peggy ,she fell on her right side. Peggy took the brunt of the crash(road rash on her right hip/leg), the bike escaped unscathed ,what a trooper. We dusted Peggy off & continued on our way. Peggy never complained/moaned & I know the road rash & bruised knee had to really hurt. We have another 100 miles to go to get back to the hotel in Denison. We arrive back around midnight. After getting our brevets cards signed ,we immediately went to the hotel to get a shower & sleep. The plan was to sleep 4 hours then have a 4:30am roll out Sunday morning. Oops. We roomed with Mark & Linda Metcalfe. Mark's I-phone's alarm goes off at 5:00am. I can't say that I was upset. I was exhausted. Peggy ,Nelson & I(and Mark) headed out of the hotel a little after 5:30am. More wind & light/medium showers(what fun). Mark heads off & Nelson ,Peggy & I navigate our way to Whitesboro. This was low spot for us. We're tired, it's dark , it's raining, & we're starting a 250K ride . As well approach Whitesboro ,we come on Mark just cruising along. The four of us ride into the Whitesboro together. We saw another rando group working on a bike in front of the convenience store. Tat group left short after, we left 5-10 minutes behind them heading N of hwy 377 with a tailwind. Mark hangs with us for a while ,then he powers on ahead of us. Back to the three of us riding again. I'm still not feeling 100% ,& it's 49+ miles to the next stop. Thankfully ,there was unscheduled store/stop in Enville,OK. The breakfast at this stop smelled like heaven(bacon eggs,etc...). We eat & head on to Lake Murray. The light showers stop & the sun makes its return. The trip around Lake Murray was the high point of Day #2. The scenery was beautiful & some fun rollers. There's a control at Lake Murray. We say the rando group at the control. We talk briefly ,they head out & we drink/eat & rest. One of the LSR members didn't feel like keeping their pace ,so I invite her to ride with us. She comes into the convenience store & rests with us. Now the FUN part. The trip from Lake Murray back to Tishomingo was tough ,nice 30+ mph head wind. 13 miles on OK 1. Then we arrive in Tishomingo,OK. After a stop there, we head out(four of us now), Nelson is leading us out. He & I are riding together & I look back in my mirror & see no Peggy or other LSR rider. Crap. I wait at the intersection of OK 22/78. A Pick up truck pulls over & asks me "are you looking for your riding partners?". I respond "Yes." "Well, one of the riders had a flat just outside of Tishomingo." I say thank you & ride 2 miles back to Peggy & the LSR rider. I see Peggy sitting on her bike, it was the other rider that had the flat. She went through 2 tubes, & finally Peggy finds a thorn in the tire sidewall. Tire on, we head out. At this point ,poor Nelson is wondering where we're at. The LSR riders doesn't have any more tubes. So I offer to ride with her for awhile. The wind was really blowing us around. I was afraid we would not make the control on time. So I excuse my self & catch Peggy a few miles up the road. I don't think I've ridden in wind that strong before. Peggy & I ride together a few miles before we see Nelson waiting for on the side of the road. We have 15 miles to the control. I'm spent by fighting the wind(I think all three of us were). The next control is a Love's truck stop(the same control that was on our Saturday 350k ,in Colbert,OK). I was in need of FOOD. This stop has a Subway. A subway never tasted so good. Just what we all needed. 14 miles to the finish. Across Denison dam into a HOWLING head wind(do I sound repetitive with the wind), through Eisenhower State Park & finish with about a 12-13% grade hill at the finish. We were greeted by cheers from the LSR members. We were all whipped. Now to start our RUSA series...did I just write that? Peggy burned over 10,000 calories during the ride. We survived. 36+ hours. Epic adventure ,accomplishment ride, call it whatever. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The LSR group are just amazing group. Very welcoming & supportive. I think Peggy has some pictures to share.
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