July 6 - Loop 1
weather sunny / beg temp 75 / end temp 75 / rel humidity 61% / lo 74 / high 98 / wind ESE 3-16 / miles 226.74 / avg 14.7 / max 39.5 / elev gain 8289 / start time 6 6:59 AM 7-6 / end time 2:10 AM 7-7
 
This was no easy 600k - none are. But I had an additional handicap and it didn't reveal itself until I was well into it - about 85 miles in. Symptoms indicated digestive virus and displayed multiple symptoms, including headache, bloating, stomach ache, runs, nausea, vomiting. All of these symptoms work against your body's acceptance of nutrition, and resulting depletion of strength and endurance. It was hot, too, and that exacerbated the situation. This bothered me most during the run from Glen Rose to Meridian - about 25 miles of bad chipseal, headwind and crosswind, climbing, and heat. After all this, I was pretty wasted by the time I reached Meridian. The rest of the riders were an hour ahead by this time. I was on my own, but not for the first time. My biggest fear was not being able to get back to the start point under my own power. Meridian was mile 100 - that meant 126 miles remained. That was daunting! I'd been on the phone to Sharon at each town - leaving voice mail of my progress. She would leave me messages saying when they got to a stop and when they left. I topped off my camelbak and 2 bottles with ice once I replenished their contents. Everything was full and ice cold. My struggle on the steeper hills was such that I was using my granny gear on most of the climbs - climbs I had never before needed a granny gear on. From Meridian to Cranfills Gap is normally a royal beating - quartering headwind, long steep climbs, and intense heat. Well, I got a break, this time: quartering tailwind! still had the long climbs which I again did in the granny gear. The heat was there but not intense - there was a cooling element to the wind I hadn't noticed before. The arm and leg coolers I have begun wearing this summer helped as well. 18 miles later I was in Cranfills Gap and feeling better. I checked my containers - they were still cold and still 80% full. I could go on to Hico without topping anything off. That saved a lot of time. Cranfills Gap to Hico is about 22 miles and some nice downhills and a very nice tailwind. During all this time, I was also verging on cramping. I would drink more of my Fizzy Endurolyte drink which I was carrying in my camelbak. I put 2 tablets in the camelbak at Meridian. But I didn't like the taste. So I would go for quite awhile without drinking from the camelbak. Then the cramping sensation would come back and I'd gulp down the Endurolyte solution, putting cramps on the back burner again. Finally, in the stretch from Cranfills Gap to Hico I had no cramps. From Hico I had about 25 miles to Dublin. This would be my last daylight segment. I had a chocolate milk at Hico - that was it. I didn't top anything off once again. the containers were half full, but the sun was getting lower and the heat was relenting. I called Sharon, left her a message, and asked her to make sure the group waited for me in Dublin. I didn't want to do the night section from Dublin to Gordon, solo. That stretch is 40 miles of climbs, twists, and turns. I told Sharon it would take me 1½ hours to reach Dublin. I got there 2 minutes ahead of schedule and feeling pretty good by then! The group was there, waiting. They had been there about 40 minutes. By the time I reached Dublin, the sun was going down. My containers were empty - I needed to replenish everything. About 10 more minutes and I was ready to go on. My dance with the virus still showed itself on the steeper climbs although I no longer needed the granny. I would fall off the pace and then catch back up if we had a flat area or a downhill. We finally reached Gordon, and were on our way after a short stop, tackling Apple Pie Hill to ascend the escarpment up to Hwy 180. Then it was 15 miles from the turn onto 180 back to Mineral Wells.  After my early troubles, it was hard to believe I'd made it back to Mineral Wells under my own power!
 
July 7 - loop 2
weather: sunny, then scattered clouds, then magnificent Milky Way!
beg temp 77 / end temp 84 / rel humidity 69% / lo 75 / hi 100 / wind ESE 5 - 18 / miles 146.97 / avg speed 13.1 / max speed 31.6 / elev gain 4615 / start time 7:05 / end time 10:55
 
Next morning, I felt pretty good. Rather than DNF and cut my losses, I decided to go on and do the second loop - fateful decision. We all left Mineral Wells about 7AM, heading west on 180 toward Metcalf Gap - about 18 miles away. I felt pretty good the first half of that distance but in Palo Pinto i had a vague feeling of nausea. It was vague, though, and I was in hopes it would go away once we reached Strawn and had more food (to add to the pre-ride oatmeal I'd already had).  I had an egg / sausage / cheese sandwich at Strawn. We got going toward Desdemona - 20 miles south on Hwy 16. This is comprised of endless rollers, some steep, serious chipseal, and endless headwind. But today, the headwind wasn't that strong and it felt refreshingly cool. it was the only time I could say I enjoyed this section, ever. Enjoying is one thing; keeping up with the others is another. I dropped off with 15 miles to Desdemona. The previous day's trouble was rearing its ugly head. I'd done something different for this 600k. The first day I rode the recumbent. The recumbent makes my back sore on ultra long rides, so I decided to bring the road bike for the second day, if needed. I could chose that option on this Sunday morning. I did, and it proved to be a good decision. The road bike is easier to climb on. I was exercising an option to make it easier to complete the second day if I needed it at some point during the second day. 30  miles in and I was needing it. The last solid food I was to eat during that day was the sandwich at Strawn. After that,  I couldn't eat anything solid - the nausea was center stage.  Our turn at Desdemona toward Gorman was none too soon - that put an end to the steep rollers for awhile. I was counting down the miles to Gorman. I reached Gorman and was feeling seriously wasted, as the nausea was beginning to interfere with my ability to drink. But, like a trooper, I hurried to get ready as the other 3 were already nearly ready to go on. I left with them and immediately fell off. There were a lot of turns in this stretch, from Gorman to Ranger. Fortunately, I had it all programmed using RWGPS and that greatly helped navigate the turns. This section is not flat but I managed OK on the hills - they weren't as steep as the stretch on Hwy 16.  Once I reached Ranger, I no longer needed RWGPS. I knew all the rest of the turns, landscape, geography and therefore knew how difficult it would be. I could not drink anything at Ranger, let alone eat. I topped my containers with ice and spent my time napping, or trying to. When the group was finished with their Subway sandwiches, we all rolled. Again, I was dropped immediately. It was not a surprise and not a disappointment. I needed to endure my misery on my own. I was beyond soothing, by well meaning words, at that point. Once I headed north beyond Ranger, the feeling of needing to vomit became ever more urgent. I stopped three times in 3 miles as the urgency became immediate. Each time, it didn't happen. Finally, the 4th time that happened, the turgid stuff spewed. After 5 minutes, I was ready to go on. I felt better of course - normally that is the case. But the heat was growing intense and while I was able to drink again, and ride, the heat would become a major factor in how I felt. Heat sickness was eminent. It was 35 miles from Ranger to Gordon. There are only a couple serious climbs in this stretch, but 90% of it is in the open and the time of day minimized the amount of shade crossing the road from nearby trees. In this stretch, whenever I saw a spot of shade on the road, I stopped. 4 or 5 minutes would go by and I would get going again. I was averaging about 12 mph - good for 3 hours to cover this section, made longer by several shade stops.  I met the group as they were headed toward the final leg after their stop in Gordon. I was 3 miles from Gordon - 1 massive hill to negotiate, and I'd be there. They said I should go on to Gordon, take some time to nap and feel better, and start later, when it was cooler. They would finish the ride and bring a dynamo wheel back to me. I had a cheap battery headlight with me but that would be inadequate for serious night riding. So I went on and hung out at Gordon for a couple hours. It was too hot to nap outside. I went inside, had a couple pints of milk, sat in the restaurant in the AC and sipped some sweet tea. Time/temp on the sign outside registered 96° for the entire 2 hours - it was not cooling off. Finally, I got things ready and got underway. I did feel better, for awhile. I rode north 8 miles, uphill, to the turn toward Lake Palo Pinto. Shortly after making the turn, 2 of the other riders were heading toward me in their truck, to switch wheels with me - dynamo wheel with a strong headlight on the hub, for a regular wheel. That would be a big help. Fortunately, I already had tail lights and reflective gear. I went on and it took forever to reach FM 4. That was in part because I was going so slowly due to the hiccups I incurred while trying to drink a little. It was making it difficult to breathe. It was well past 9PM and still in the mid 90s! The hiccups were intolerable. I reached the store at Lone Camp and decided to get horizontal. The hiccups would go away if I got horizontal. Unexpectedly, I fell asleep almost immediately. The sound of a car stopping in gravel, nearby, woke me up. Not sure how much time had passed. I got back on the bike and continued toward Cherry Pie Hill, the other main climb up the escarpment toward Hwy 180. I didn't dare drink - hiccups were lurking. I climbed Cherry Pie Hill, a 3 kilometer hill which felt so much steeper than it had ever felt before. I chalked that up to being severely wasted. If I'd been on the bent, I'd have walked the whole thing. As it was, I was in my lowest gear on the road bike (39/26) and was giving it all I had. I did not put a foot down until I crested the summit and took the long, gradual downhill to Palo Pinto. Here I put a foot down and took a few swigs of water - the first since my stop at Lone Camp. I rode through Palo Pinto and started up the next long climb - just 9 miles to go. I took a couple swigs of water and the hiccups returned. I didn't have time in the bank to take anymore potential sleep breaks. I had to gut it out. It took all the time I had left to reach Mineral Wells. I was sick, miserable, unable to drink, and smelled bad! I got a room and spent the night - no shower - just stripped off, turned the AC on, crashed on the bed, and slept til dawn. I couldn't believe I had finished the whole thing with all the bad things that were going on with me, especially on day 2. This ride was a monument to will power, but not to superior intelligence!