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Journal Entry Sep 16, 2002 BentLovers 9, DFs 90 . . . that's 10%! BentLovers 9, DFs 90 . . . that's 10%! Excellent turnout for the Curing Cancer Century Tour down the Natchez Trace! It is good that so many could make it! We should have some group photos for the web site (coming soon!) at the start. And what a start it was! We found ourselves at the front of the pack when the escort patrolman began leading the way. Don (Stratus), Karen (V-Rex), Lane (V-Rex demo), Steve (Kett Wiesel trike), Bill (V-Rex), Press (Stratus), Bob McGuire (Stratus), Pard (V-Rex) and myself (Bacchetta Strada demo) made a formidable bent group indeed! The route out of Clinton wasn't posted or marked, so we had to slow for the patrolman to stop traffic at the first few turns. Bill was on a roll with his joke telling and riding as he left Bob, Press and myself laughing, and led the pack of upright roadies for the first 10 or 12 miles! We hung on at the back of the pack, climbing hard up the hills and braking down the hills to slow to their speed. It made this rider wonder how effective a bent group could be if we drafted each other like the less aerodynamic upright riders! I have seen this done by eight or ten bents screaming down a hill, nose to tail, well over fifty mph! Check out this site http://www.recumbents.com/hpra/ If we could find a suitable track maybe we could sponsor a race here!? Bill and Bob turned around at the 50 mile turnaround points so they could get back for afternoon plans. Press was still going when I turned at the 60 mile turnaround, nursing a slight cramp in my calf. On the way back I saw Steve powering up a hill coming toward me. I checked my mirror for traffic and contemplated riding with him a minute to get an update on the rest of the group. About that time I heard tires on pavement rapidly approaching from behind, almost on me! I quickly moved right to the white line and then heard two roadies screaming by, down the hill, almost hitting me. I don't know if they were looking at Steve on the trike or what, but I am glad I heard the tires or there could have been a nasty accident. Lessons learned: Always announce yourself before passing riders and pull completely off the road if you are stopping. Lane & I hooked back up at the 25 mile rest stop and rode the rest of the way back in together. After an adjustment of her heart rate monitor, she took off at a fast clip and we made it back about noon for some Pizza at the finish. We discovered that Pard and Stacy Jo had a flat prior to the start, missed the first turn and rode through the country, west of Clinton. That is easy to understand as there were no signs at the first two turns! Although the south Trace is a good place to ride, the back road getting there is terrible! Too many bumps and too much traffic! We are contemplating an early ride Round th' Rez on Saturday and possibly one more Wednesday ride, beginning at 5:30 from Holmes CC in Madison. On the Saturday ride, we can take the new low road across the spillway and avoid the traffic. On another topic, we are looking into supporting the Mississippi Bicycling Advocacy Group. They are doing a ride around Lake Washington, near Greenville, this Saturday as well. If anyone is interested in more info, or has more info, please call the Ride South Shop. View All Journal Entries |
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