Shena-NO-ah-1200K

Well, my attempt to complete the Shenandoah 1200K, failed very miserably a few days ago. When I had to withdraw, one of the first things my wife said to me was.....your still going to write about this in your blog right....., some support.

I arrived in Leesburg VA early Wed. evening of the night before the event, well rested, and ready to go, but scared given the brutal heat wave. It was in the upper 90's on the drive down, with the temp's forecasted to be close to 100 on Thursday, the first day of the event. I tired to be sensible on Wed. night for dinner. Grilled chicken, & grilled veggies, but the 2 small slider burgers seemed to good to pass up as a side dish, given all the miles I would be riding. Bad mistake! I was sound asleep by 8:00, and was awoken at 10:30 by some kids banging on the door and running away. Soon, I was drenched in sweat, but it wasn't from fear, but from the burgers, and I got sick several times during the night. After perhaps 2 hours sleep, the 3:00 alarm came very quickly.

10 of us set out at 4:00 A.M, and my GPS said it was 80 degrees at the start, with very high humidity. As I sweat incredibly, I set off with 2 bottles, and a Camelback, and of course my Endurolyte pills. We made it to the first control, Gettysburg by 9:00, and I had already felt like I had lost 5 pounds before the sun really came out, with a very weak stomach. By 11:30 A.M., I was starting to feel the same exact symptoms that I suffered 3 summers ago in Spain doing a trip across The Pyrenees, very weak, light headed, and very high heart rate. Before we even started any of the big climbs of the day, I was falling off rapidly, and although I tried resting a few times under some trees, I knew that I was in danger, and risked a serious health issue if I were to go on, let alone making some of the controls on time, and riding the rest of the ride potentially alone.

It was really amazing to me that after all of the training, and doing "well" in so many of the brevets this year in respect to time, the additional training all winter and spring, and all of the mental preparation, that I was abandoning this ride at only mile 95. I knew that I had problems riding in severe heat, and I was hoping to make it past that first day, (I never thought that I wouldn't) but really, stopping was the only decision I could make at that point. After informing Janet that I had withdrawn, I started to make my way back to Leesburg, and I thought that I could do so on some easier on flatter roads, but the afternoon heat made it even worse for me. At one point, after resting for 30 minutes, I made it another 5 miles before I pulled into a gas station near a big highway, and asked 4 people in pick up trucks if they were going south and could give me a ride, and finally, the 5th, one of our country's fine soldiers, Joe from Mississippi, drove me 25 miles to Fredricksburg, which was gladly welcomed & needed. After another rest of 30 minutes, I tried riding again, and made it about 4 miles before getting really sick on the side of a busy highway. I sat on the side of a 4 lane highway hoping a police officer would see me & stop, but after 20 minutes with no luck, I ran my bike across the 4 lane highway to get near the left hand split to Leesburg, knowing that I could either take hours to make it back the last 30 miles, or beg another ride (would have been the case), but I looked up, and a fine fellow cyclist in a Subaru wagon with a bike rack had pulled over and asked if I needed any help? Dan drove me back to my hotel, and I cant thank him enough for his kindness. I was also only in the car for minutes before what seemed like a small tornado went by the area.

It has taken me a few days to recover. Of course I am disappointed, but the weather is the weather and I am not sure what I could have done differently. I hope to attempt another 1200K in the future, but for now, back to road cycling for a while before Cyclocross season in the Fall.

I said before I started my 2nd Rando season that I was hoping to learn more and see where the road would take me? Well, I learned a lot this year. I met a lot of great new Randonneurs doing the fabulous Eastern PA Series run by Tom Rosenbauer. I hope that the remainder of the survivors in The Shen 1200k have finished safely by now, and I look forward to hearing about it.

Thanks for reading, and until next time "Keep on Truckin"