Sufferfest..........

Complete and total SUFFERFEST!! My day was a bit of everything. Some fun, some pain, some wind, some pain, some doubt, some regret, and some pain.

I met up with 6 other BFNIC'ers around 7am at the ride start. It was cold and it was windy and it was only 7am. Part of the attraction for this ride is near the begining you get to do a loop around the Joliet Speedway. Yes, the race track where they run the big Nascar Event! It was cool. With a little help (wind) I took the final turn at 35 mph.

Then at mile 20 we turned East into the wind and I went dead. Yep, mile 20 and I was out the back with no hopes of ever seeing the great BFNIC again. Riding solo into a 20 mph headwind is NOT enjoyable. WAIT! A BFNIC'er flats and I am back in the mix. Yeah for me! :) !

Mile 35ish, after the first rest stop, had us back into the wind. We had seven strong riders all lined up in a tight single file paceline. Problem, it was into the wind and we were rolling at 12 mph.........yikes that hurts. At this point I am back at the end of the group trying to hang on for dear life. I am thinking there is no way these guys let me bail on them, but I just might have too. I may have to opt for the 5o mile option, the SAG wagon, or even worse, call the wife to come and get me. I was a mess.

As the route progressed southward we began to get a little break here and there. The crosswind was a toughie, but much better then the headwind. We started to get more tailwinds and the legs started to come out of their coma. At some point a couple of us stopped for a quick potty break and figured with the upcoming tailwind we could catch up. I had some issues though. My bike fell over while I was, uh, going and the seat post turned sideways. I had to fix it and this put me way back off the group. However a 35 mph pace (thanks wind) had me back with the group in no time.

The last 25 miles involved a wrong turn, getting dropped while spinning at 23 mph, and putting an attack in at mile 95 on the MUP. It's just how I roll.

The edge says it was 102.9 miles & a 16 mph avg with a 35 mph max. The winds were blowing at 17 mph on average with gust up to 23 mph. It felt stronger. See all the stats by clicking the link below.

Sudden SufferFest

The ride leaves me with questions; Why did I pop at mile 20? How did I manage to hang in there and actually finish strong? Why do I love the suffering?

Later.