A few weeks back, Jeff started talking about the upcoming 1000K being hosted by LSR. At the time, I was still evaluating my new asthma meds and was figuring out if longer rides were in my future. About a week ago, I committed to the ride and sent my waiver, membership form, and fees to Dan (the RBA for LSR).
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Planning for the ride, I went to the grocery store and purchased bread for peanut butter sandwiches, cookies, and a box of Hostess Ding Dongs. I had a coupon for. Hostess and it has been a very long time since I bothered to look at the selection available for snack cakes (I tend to favor the apple pies from Little Debbie or Entemann's instead). I remembered Ding Dongs from my youth and decided to give these a try. Thursday night, I started packing my bag for Greenville. I picked out shorts and jerseys and opted to pack an extra pair of shorts to double up for long days in the saddle. I have found that on rides over 200K, the extra pair of shorts helps to reduce the bruising significantly. I also packed my compression tights, ibuprofen, salt tablets, sun screen, and a box of Gu Rocktane. On Friday morning, I made 8 PBJ sandwiches and filled a big jug with water. I prefer to bring water from home rather than depend on the hotel water or being forced to buy bottled water.
I picked up Jeff around 12:30 and we headed north towards Dallas on I-35. As we got past Round Rock, Google routed us around a huge traffic slow down near Waco. It took us over an hour to travel the 15 miles between Temple and Waco. While we drove, a massive front brought buckets of rain. In several places, the water was high on the road and it was scary to drive the van across these patches. Along the way, we stopped to buy gas and use the bathroom in Red Oak. We stopped here before on a previous trip and I lamented that we didn't get to try the fried pies. On this trip, we found the pie shop open and we bought pies. I bought apple and pecan. Jeff bought a chocolate one. I ate the pecan in the car and saved the apple for breakfast in the hotel on Saturday (start time of the ride was planned for 4:30 AM).
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As we got closer to Greenville, Jeff spoke with Dan about the dinner plans. We originally planned to go to the hotel first, but with the traffic and weather delays, we headed to the restaurant to have dinner with fellow riders. Charlie Martin brought family with him to dinner. It was great to see everyone enjoying themselves ahead of the ride. There were generous portions of food and I couldn't even finish my meal because it was so much food. We had birthday cake to celebrate Pam's birthday. It was great to see Pam after her battle with cancer. She looked great (and she rode very strong).
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After dinner, we stopped by Brookshire Brothers to buy orange juice. We were looking for Ensure Plus, but BB was sold out. We stopped at Wal-mart next and I found my favorite flavor (Strawberry). Jeff picked up some tortillas and vegetarian sausage. Back at the hotel, we met the rider (Alan) from Arizona. He was checking in. I texted Amy to see if I could bring her the birthday gifts I had for her. She said she preferred to wait until Tuesday. I finished prepping the bike. I lubricated the chain and put the bags on the bike. We set the alarm for 3:15 AM. Just before turning off the light, I used the Advair.
Jeff woke up just before the alarm went off and we started doing all the things to get ready to ride. We filled bottles, put on chamois butter, applied sunscreen, and dressed. I put on sun knees and sun sleeves. I added air to my tires. I ran tubeless on both wheels. I made sure my front wheel was spinning freely with the generator hub. I had some issues recently with the disc brake rubbing against the brakes and I didn't want to have this during the long miles of a 1000K. These rides are hard enough without extra work from a disc rubbing on the brake. I drank a Starbucks Frappacino drink and ate my apple fried pie. At 4:15, I grabbed my mask, put on my helmet and gloves and headed downstairs. Several folks took photos at the ride start. Here is one that John took.
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As we rolled north, we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise.
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The weather was cool and I was glad to have my jacket. I needed it for the first couple of hours as we rolled towards Oklahoma. My plan was to see how the pace of the group would evolve. Frequently in LSR rides, the faster riders will push harder and faster than I prefer to ride. I knew that if push came to shove, I would sit on the wheel of Gary and Dana's tandem like I have done so many times before. I didn't have any issues though as the pace remained friendly.
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As we arrived to the border, we had a good laugh with some locals who agreed to take our photo at the bridge. In the photo below, you can see Dan fiddling with his phone trying to get it ready to take a picture using it's timer mode.
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Upon leaving the bridge, we were in Oklahoma. The roads are generally a lot smoother in Oklahoma and I enjoyed the ride up to Durant. As we got close to the town, I fell back a bit because the pace was a bit chippy, but we all arrived to the control store generally at the same time. I ate one of the PBJ sandwiches in my bag and drank soda and had some ice cream. We then mounted up and continued on to Tishomingo which was the turnaround point. The temperature got hotter later in the afternoon.
The rest of the afternoon went on pretty well. Alan (the rider from Arizona) started having some issues with hot foot and he fell back of the group a few times. Jeff and I chatted as we rolled south about solutions for GI issues. Jeff was having some issues and we thought maybe he could find something in the next town. As we arrived back into Texas, we found Tibor on the road (he was finishing the 300K brevet) . We all commented that only a rando would be out on this tough chip seal heading into Bonham. In Bonham, some of us went to Burger King and some went to the convenience store next store. I was placing my order for a Whopper Jr and then found out John was generously paying for all our food. That man has a big heart (and super strong legs too)!
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Alan departed the control first and we followed about 10 minutes later. We caught up to Alan eventually and we also found Tibor again on the road. The final miles into Greenville were flat and the usual problems of feeling the saddle were the biggest for me. My shoulder and neck were also talking to me. The shoulder that was operated on a few years back always gives me trouble on rides more than 200K and this day was no exception.
My favorite memories from Day 1 are the generosity of John at Burger King, the fellowship of the group keeping the pace friendly, finishing with plenty of time to sleep, and the beautiful wildflowers we saw all through Texas and Oklahoma.
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All the photos I have collected for day 1 can be found in the link below. As Jeff wrote on Facebook: "242 miles done in 19 hours." Day 2 promises a double century.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/McRBhXZm2p3zUpyt6
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