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Hot August Day
Metamora '09 |
We left Sleep Inn in Washington at 4:30 AM, Saturday heading for Metamora,
Illinois. There had been several downpours the day before and the temperature at
this early hour was already a muggy 75 degrees. Looked like what had been hailed
as one of the coolest summers on record was about to break stride and warm
things up a bit. A steaming parking lot, and the flags that snapped in the wind,
provided a preview of the day to come.
The road to Black Partridge Park was aptly described as a 'minefield' by one of
the riders. Pavement for about a mile on either side of the start/finish was
chunked out and the gaps packed with white rock; rough but rideable. However,
the rest of the fifty mile loop was in good shape, with no repairs in progress
and not much traffic. The riders were sent off at 6AM, a flurry of last minute
registrations had brought the roster up close to 100, of which 88 started. There
were several teams; Bluetop from Indianapolis, Bachetta from wherever John
Schlitter gets them, Jay Yost's team Wild Card, a group of triatheletes from St
Louis, and ultramaniacs from across the midwest, including a handcyclist from
Nashville who decided to take a stab at the 100.
The morning was warm and windy, a south wind that blew relentlessly all day, but
the sky remained overcast for several hours so the racers rode in relative
comfort until about 10 o'clock. And then the sun came out.
The lead pack, which had started as a group of about 15 riders doing 22 miles an
hour or better, was reduced to a group of six and then a broken string of 2 or
3. The 25 mile rest stop was visited by participants drenched with sweat,
sucking down Coke and Dew and Gatorade and popping Endurolytes like candy. 30 to
40% of the 200 milers chose to quit at 100 or 150 miles. The temp was over 90
degrees with a heat index of 103 (humidity at 80%) with winds gusting to 25 mph.
But the race went on!
Outstanding rides were made by Joe Mann, winner of the mens 25-49 age group and
overall leader on standard frame bikes. David Haussler turned in a 20 mph avg
speed in the 50-59 group and Kral Bernd maintained a 16 mph average for + 60.
Stephanie McCreary was feeling the heat and could not repeat her record setting
ride of 2008, but she finished in first overall fir the women - 16 mph avg -
followed by Susan DeSotel in the 50-59 age group.
The recumbent winners were all Bachetta. John Tanner beating out John Schlitter
for first place - and fastest ride of the day at 20.66 mph. And then there was
Sara Kay - passing the rest stop all day with her arms in the air and the MP3's
blaring through the high corn. As the first woman bent to finish the 4X50, Sara
set a record this year with 14.87 average.
The tandem team of Robert Beaury and Dessa Paris also set a record - first
tandem to finish with an avg speed of 16.64.
And then there was or lone hand cyclist, Scott Edgerton - who stopped at 50
miles after cranking out almost 6 hours of riding; an unofficial record, but a
first for this race!
Congratulations to the ginishers and to those that did not! And thanks to every
one of you! |
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