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Comments: My gears weren't working quite right when we first started, but I found a mechanic at the 40 mile mark. He said that whoever had done my tune up had lowered the front derailer too far and in the small chainring it was actually touching the teeth on the large ring. He also tightened the bearings in the rear hub (they loosened back up again w/in a few miles, so I just had to deal w/ it for the rest of the day). This was such a cool ride. Saw several bad wrecks in the first 75 miles. One guy got hit by a drunk driver! The support (volunteers) was awesome! Plenty of food stops with excellent food, etc. The chicken/vegetable wraps were incredible! Spent a good share of the day riding in pacelines. Some people get it when it comes to pacelines, but most don't I found out. When you get in a good one, it's an awesome way to make time and have fun doing it! My two brothers, Stan (Flyboy) and Jeff, were riding w/ me and we had such a great time! Jeff just began riding seriously this Spring! What he doesn't have in training and ability, he more than makes up for w/ sheer determination and guts! He's an amazing guy! Stan and I had an unbelievable run that started at the 145 mile mark. We took off the front and ran for just under 30 miles at speeds between 23 & 26 mph on a flat to slightly uphill section of the course. This was after 145 miles were in the books!! A few guys tried to jump on and draft, but no one could hang on! I pulled the majority of the run, but Stan pulled the last several miles. It was SPECTACULAR and EPIC!! ;) Stan is riding stronger right now than I've ever seen him ride. The flat course at IMFL should be trembling to know that FLYBOY IS COMING TO EAT YOU UP!! OK.....so at mile 190 something I pulled another epic jaunt! We were slugging along w/ a long line of riders, most of which were "dying on the vine" w/ only about 10 miles left, but lo and behold here comes 3 consecutive moderate hills to climb! So....what does an insane person do at this point? HAMMER DOWN! I told Stan & Jeff that I'd wait for them at the top and pulled out to the left and SMOKED all 3 hills in a row! I never went under 17.5 mph for 3 straight climbs after 190 + miles in the books!! Jeff said there were people cussing out loud in disbelief behind me!! Don't ask me where all this power & energy was coming from at this point, but Stan & I both felt like we were just getting stronger as the day went on. It was such a cool feeling! So, the 3 brothers (amigos) rolled into Portland, OR together and crossed into the finish line chute riding side by side by side! An unbelievable day, an unbelievable ride! If anybody reading this has not done the STP.......DO IT! You will have the time of your life! What would you do differently?: NOTHING! I had a wonderful day with my best friends who are my brothers! OK...so maybe next year I'll see if I can't average over 19 mph! ;)  Post race
Warm down: We have some good friends who live in Portland that have a gorgeous home (mansion). They treated us like royalty for the night. We ate an unreal meal that they had made up for us, and they followed that up with an unbelievable breakfast the next morning when we woke up. We all had our own guest rooms and Jeff's wife and my wife and girls met us at the finish line and we all spent a wonderful night in Portland. What limited your ability to perform faster: On a ride like this you spend quite a bit of time just trying to stay together w/ the guys you are riding with. But, it's all good.....this wasn't a race. Event comments: I'll say it again......if you have not done this ride before, DO IT! It is extremely well organized and supported and fun, fun, fun! Last updated: 2007-06-26 12:00 AM
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United States
Cascade Bicycle Club
95F / 35C
Sunny
Overall Rank = ?/9000
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Age Group Rank = 0/
OK, so it's about 8pm on Friday night before the ride and while we're sitting there eating dinner my wife says....."hey Logan (my nephew) said that when he moved your bike out to the shed that he felt something clunking in the rear wheel"! WHAT??? I just rode 16 miles on it a few hrs ago and it was fine! So, I go out and grab my bike and sure enough, there's a "clunk" in the rear hub. So, I brilliantly decide to tear it apart instead of taking it to the first mechanic along our STP route the next morning. BAD MOVE!! Why? Because not only could I not fix the issue, I now had some shifting issues when I put everything back together. OK, so now it's closing in on 9pm and we have to be up at 2:30am and we should be in bed. So....now I start monkeying with the front derailer and cannot get the thing to shift correctly no matter what "tweaking" I do. I AM NOT HAPPY AT ALL AT THIS POINT!!!@##@!@#! In a nutshell...........ONE HOUR of sleep after getting only 5 hrs the night before..........and I'm supposed to ride 200+ miles in one day! I could chew nails right now!!
Did I mention that a few days before this I had our LBS mechanic go through my bike completely to look for issues like this??
Started warming up when the ride started. After all, we have 200 miles to go.