Going into this year's Bike Morehead (BM), I was optimistic.
(1) This year, they took out two of the three climbs that we faced in the first 30 miles of last year's BM. This cut the amount of climbing by about 1,000 feet. Total climbing would therefore be comparable to the Redbud Ride.
(2) The thunderstorm threat had pretty much gone away. It was going to be hot and humid, but--then again--any ride in the third week of June in Kentucky is going to be hot and humid.
(3) I was in better shape going into this ride than I was going into the Horsey Hundred. While I still was lacking in really long rides during the week, I had resumed my lunchtime stair-running and hill repeats, and was back to swimming 1.2 miles on alternating days. My strength training was also back to decent form.
In other words, while I certainly was not in the best shape of my life, my condition was on the up-and-up. Especially with two centuries (The Redbud Ride and the Horsey Hundred) completed.
But all that aside, BM was still going to be a challenge.
There are four really long climbs (mile 10, 60, 82, and 91), a lot of short-but-steep climbs to keep you honest, and some really nice, scenic flat rides. Of the Kentucky Century Challenge rides, BM is easily the most scenic of the five.
The night before, I installed two brand new tires, and exchanged my front tube--which had a valve stem that was rusty--with a new one. I decided to keep my two old tires, and my old tube, in my spare bags as backups. Given that I already had two spare tubes, that meant I was carrying two extra tires and THREE spare tubes. (This would turn out to be overkill.)
My riding group--which aimed to go at a slow-medium pace--was very familiar, albeit larger than in previous rides. The leader, TM, was a seasoned rider who has led many century (100+ mile) group rides.
We departed at about 0702.
Barely two miles into the ride, one of our riders flatted out. This was unusual. Adding insult to injury, after he had swapped in a new tube, barely a half-mile later, he flatted out again. He dropped from the ride. Had my tires and tubes been the same size as his, I could have lended him one of each of mine. But, at 5-foot-3 and with short legs, I am one of the few people who ride on 650s instead of 700s.
Other than the double flat-out, the first 10 miles were pretty easy.
Then, the first big climb.
It was easily the toughest of the four big climbs, as my heart rate maxed out at 165. (My average HR throughout was 131, but that included rest stops.)
Here's the thing, though: after that first climb, it's not like the ride suddenly got easy. In fact, the next ten miles were mostly rollers, but with uphills that you could not simply use your downhill momentum to surmount.
The first rest stop, at about mile 17, had water and Gatorade, but no food items. I didn't think that was a big deal, though, as I wasn't hungry. I filled my water bottles and moved on.
The next part of the ride was the easiest part of the course: other than some areas that seem to have been carpet-bombed, it was mostly down-trending rollers, followed by a wonderful steep descent--I maxed out at 43 mph--and some nice, scenic paths into Cave Run Lake. The rest stop at mile 36 was very nice.
From there, it was 17 miles to the next stop, at mile 53. That included some nice climbing as we started feeling the heat and humidity.
At mile 53, a couple of our riders were starting to feel exhausted. I felt pretty good, but was sweating profusely. I made sure to eat throughly but modestly, and hydrate well. I also filled all three of my water bottles, as there was almost 21 miles until the next rest stop.
That section was brutal. We had a short-but-steep climb followed by very long climb at mile 60. The two riders who were exhausted at mile 53 were now about TKOd. This was a first: one of those riders was a seasoned ride leader. He was reduced to walking his bike up that hill. And he wasn't the only one.
I started to realize how tough the conditions had become.
While I felt like I had plenty in the tank, I was determined to ensure that I stayed hydrated and maintained a conservative pace to finish.
As a new father whose wife was at home, I had two jobs:
(1) Finish.
(2) Don't crash.
I was doing well, but--with two guys dropping--I made extra sure to play safeball.
Going into mile 74, I had used up ALL THREE of my water bottles. THAT's how hot it was.
We lingered quite a bit at that stop. I made sure to eat and hydrate. I also downed some pickle juice to guard against cramping. I drank more than usual. I refilled my water bottles. I stood in the shade.
Then off we went, heading for the next rest stop, at mile 89.
In that stretch, the riding wasn't bad, minus one tough climb at 82. I rode with TM, who was a regular in our group. He had dropped from a faster group to ride with us. I told him, "I'm slow as molasses; you can ride with me."
Going into mile 89, we were all elated and tired.
We knew we were going to finish. There was one tough climb remaining--at mile 91--but it was going to be easy-peasy after that.
We took our time, ate, hydrated, filled water bottles, cooled off.
Then we all decided to go slow and finish together.
Going into that last climb, I uttered the old Animal House line: "Assume the position!" During the climb, I yelled, "THANK YOU, SIR, MAY I HAVE ANOTHER!" It was tough, but I had fun with it.
I took that climb easy, and my body thanked me for it. My HR maxed out at 142 on that one. At the top, everyone congregated in the shade, got some fluids down, and then headed down the hill.
Once we got to the last main road--U.S. 60--we decided to ride together as a pace group. It was relatively flat the rest of the remaining ~4 miles.
It was by far the toughest of the 18 century rides I've ever done, although I was pleasantly surprised at my Garmin numbers.
It's not because of the climbing--I've had rides with harder climbs. In terms of total climbing, every Horsey Hundred I've ever done has had more climbing than yesterday's Bike Morehead.
It was the combination of what I call the 4 Hs: Heat, Humidity, Hills, and Headwind.
Those four elements--combined--made it really challenging. This is the first time I've ever seen a seasoned rider--two of them--drop due to heat. This is the first time I've seen someone drop early in the ride (due to tire/wheel issues).
Overall, this was a wonderful course. A very scenic route. Every seasoned rider should consider this ride.
A note of caution: I DO NOT recommend it for less-seasoned riders. DO NOT do this ride if you do not have significant endurance experience. I recommend some long bike rides, preferably in the heat, before trying this one. Otherwise, stick to the short distance options.
My only criticism for the organizers: they should have had an extra rest stop between mile 53 and 74. That 20.5-mile stretch was very brutal, and, in spite of having THREE water bottles, I went through all of them on that stretch. Almost everyone I spoke with had run out of water.
I honestly believe that, had there been an extra rest stop on that stretch, those two riders we lost would have been able to finish.
Still, I would do this ride again.
Next stop: The Bourbon and Bluegrass Ride, in Owensboro, KY, on August 5.
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