Evening before mixer at Gran Fondo Cycles
Night before dinner at Finezza Italian Bistro, and a fortuitous photo of John
Natchez Trace 1000k Brevet, Sep 23-25, 2010
presented by the Harpeth Cycling Club
Well, several people have asked how it was, so I'll write up the Full Story once, and post it to the web. You may ignore the parts you find boring! If those of you that were there have changes/corrections/additional information, please let me know, and I'll put them in. Send them to me at: pdusel@sprintmail.com This is partly written as an aid to straightening out my memory of the event, so it rambles a bit, but then again, so does a brevet! You know how these things rush by at a snail's pace! This is probably best read with a cue sheet , and park map at hand.
Well, here's the full story, as best as I recall.
Overall background.
After my miserable showing on my LOL 1000k this year, although the web site said the ride was full, I decided to apply for the Natchez Trace 1000k. The start is in Nashville, TN, the northern terminus of the Natchez Trace Parkway, a 442 mile long two lane road nestled in a narrow national park. The parkway is mile posted, with 0 being at the south end, and 442 the northern terminus. The route was simple, except for a few miles for the start/finish and controls, follow the Natchez Trace Parkway to Red Dog Road at mile post 140, and return. With my good luck (?) two things happened about the time I applied. One of the LOL riders, who completed LOL-2010, offered me his confirmed spot on the Natchez Trace 1000k, and the rider cap was raised. At the same time, I asked Marcia Swan if she'd like to come on a road trip with me, do some sight seeing on the parkway, and provide me with some personal support. I guess in a way, Marcia and I have some history. She's provided support on many of the cycling events I've done. Including four PBP trips with me, a raft of Quadzillas and most recently she did support on my Lap Of the Lake 1000k. She thought a week's escape was a good idea, and plans were made. After some discussion we decided I didn't need that much support from her, remember on a brevet personal support is only allowed at controls, and as the Harpeth Cycling Club, the organizers, were short of volunteers, she offered to do general support.
The Natchez Trace Parkway is a lovely place to ride. Not terribly hilly, but generally rolling enough to keep it interesting. A great tandem route. Traffic very light, and except for the Tupelo vicinity, the drivers are very well behaved, giving us a full lane when passing, and waiting patiently when they couldn't pass. Not a pot hole the entire length we rode and, in general, the pavement in excellent condition. No stop signs, and except for a few tiny roads in Mississippi, no cross roads at grade. They're all handled with overpasses. Being that far south, there are no shoulders on the road either. Like many of these linear parks, locations are generally given relative to the Mile Post markers, and I do that here, such as Red Dog Road (MP 140).
The downside is that there is not so much as one soda machine on the parkway. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zip. There are rest rooms here and there with flush toilets, mostly open all night, and drinkable but generally foul tasting warm water, likely from a heavy mineral content. The restrooms were all clean, but most had a strong odor, likely from the cleaning chemicals. Picnic stops are here and there too, giving nice spots for a nap, along with plenty of pull offs with historic markers etc. Other than that, you must exit the parkway for anything else, and long stretches have nothing to exit to. Except for a couple of places, the towns next to the Parkway close up completely from about 10PM to 6AM, so best be stocked if you're going all night.
As Marcia was a volunteer, she needed to be at the ride start early, so we were up by 01:00 after about three hours sleep, or I should say three hours of tossing and turning on a sore hip, banged a couple weeks before doing, well, something, and still sore if I moved it the wrong way, like getting onto a bike seat. I was a little concerned about that, as well as a very sore knee on my last 200k training ride about 10 days before the ride start. That, and discovering a rust through on the bottom of my top tube a few days before, left me a little more apprehensive than usual at the start of one of these rides.
The ride start was at 04:00 23 Sep. 2010.
First, the official high for Nashville - Tupelo and south on the first two days was 94. I showed that on my bike, along with one spike up to 101. The temp was about the same as LOL this year, and a bit cooler than the GRR (2001). This was the first long hot ride I've ever done end of summer, and as heat acclimated as I ever get living up here on the Canadian border. Having said that, the temp was surprisingly tolerable, and I was a lot more comfortable than I'd been on GRR(2001) and LOL(2010). I've been doing a lot of riding since LOL, and trying all the Hammer products that were left over. Heed and Sustained energy seem to work for me, and, although I didn't use any enduralytes this trip, I was aggressive with the Heed. Bottom line, no cramping, and only one case of stomach "distress", likely caused by a spicy chicken fried steak sandwich I ate late the first day, after carrying it in my pocket for about six hours, and the water at Pharr Mounds, rather than the heat. While I recovered from that, I was still able to drink Heed and Sustained energy, so energy level was good. By the last day, I was fully recovered, and eating everything in sight, a habit I'm working hard to break now...
We rolled into The Collinwood control at about 10:40, to find a group of cyclists still there. The folks at the Collinwood Exxon greeted us warmly, with good food and a cyclists special.
We did make use of the optional store stop in Tishomingo, MS (MP 302.8). That was "Patties One Stop", and they were very pleasant. It was the heat of the day, and I was in search of cold water. The cooler case was empty of all but pints, and 2 1/2 gallon jugs. They weren't marked so I asked the clerk how much they were. She said bring one over to scan and she'd check it. Clumsy me, lifting it from the case I knocked a Pecan Pie onto, well, pretty much all over the floor. Sheepishly I picked up the pieces, and the water, and carried them to the register. I was more than happy to pay for it, but the clerk wisked it away, and wouldn't take anything for it. About then I also noticed I had punctured the water jug. She scanned the ice water, when it didn't show as being on file, she looked at me and said "is $2.50 OK?" I happily payed, and offered again to pay for the pie. Once again she refused. I'll add some extra to my next charitable donation.
I also remember there was a gentleman sitting at a table outside collecting signatures on a petition, for what, I'll never know. Just another flash of something that sticks in my memory.
Where I did lose a lot of time was Tupelo at about mile 190. I rolled in there with Dave Buzzee, who I'd ridden all day with, at about 20:00. There was already a group of riders there, and they were talking motel. Dave had been slowing down a bit in the late afternoon, and needed a few naps. Dave joined in the conversation, and after a bunch of hemming and hawing, and me calling Marcia (she was a general support volunteer) for them to figure out how they'd get back, and me deciding what to do (This was during the stomach unhappy time, late in the day with the next stretch being 80 desolate miles in the dark), I'd burned up over two hours there. As I was getting ready to leave, the Lantern Rouge came in, and we decided to ride together, that is, after he ate. So, I blew over two hours in Tupelo. I can probably blame the heat for another hour or so, and the bottom line is I was running behind my planned schedule before the first 200 miles.
To add insult, on the way out of town back to the Parkway, on a four lane stretch of Main Street, Tupelo, with little traffic and the Lantern Rouge ahead of me, a semi did a tight swing around us and almost toasted my riding partner with the back of his trailer. For no apparent reason. One of only two less than pleasant experiences I had with motorists on the entire ride.
Avoid Tupelo on a bike at all costs!! Even the traffic on the Parkway is miserable near Tupelo! And I even saluted in the direction of the King's childhood home! Heck, just avoid Tupelo!
After spending the time waiting for him to eat, I shortly separated from the Lantern Rouge, as our energy levels came and went on different schedules. I did meet up with a few others, but same story. By then I was pretty exhausted from the short sleep the night before, etc, etc, and I took frequent naps on the side of the road. I did meet up with Marcia twice. She was doing a sweep checking on us slow pokes. She filled me with nice cold fresh tasting water, and I referred her to a couple of “dead bodies”, Andy and another, that I'd left at a water stop back up the road, probably at Jeff Busby. After picking them up, she checked again on me as she went by, car full of the sick and dead DNFs, and agreed to look for me if I blew the next control, where she was working.
Someplace on this stretch I saw my first Armadillo. I never knew they liked to “sleep” in the middle of the road with their feet in the air, but this one seemed to be enjoying it in his quiet way, although, now that I reflect on it, I think he was bleeding a bit here and there. No matter. Soon a live one sort of waddled across the road ahead of me. I decided it would likely be a Bad Thing to hit one, and kept a careful watch for them from then on.
During the dark along this stretch I was also greeted with one of the joys of an out and back course. The first rider passing me going the other way. Here I am, not even to the first overnight, and here he is too, nearly 100 miles ahead of me. He shouted encouragement, which I took to heart, and returned him the favor. It would be about ten hours before I returned to that point.
To keep me company, Orion burned in a clear sky to my left. My "wingman" keeping me covered at my 10 o'clock.
During one of my naps in the dark, I was awakened to lots of lights and commotion. As I struggled back to consciousness, I found a slightly frantic gentleman with a bright flashlight pointed my way. He had seen my taillight and reflective gear as he went by and was afraid I'd been hit and run'd and left for dead. He was very happy to discover I was just napping! Ahh, but luck, sunrise, and the spicy chicken fried steak working it's way out of the critical zone conspired to pick up my wakefulness and energy levels, and A slightly frantic Marcia greeted me at the first overnight control, French Camp, MS, 267 miles at 08:08, a full 32 minutes ahead of closing! (See, the 80 minutes at the finish means I was picking up time for the whole rest of the ride!)
Day 2, French Camp, MS to Red Dog Road and Tishomingo State Park, MS
I took a quick shower, and not wishing to risk solid food, passed on breakfast, but thanked the cook who'd been waiting for me, and saving it for me, restocked the bike with the days Heed, Sustained Energy and batteries and, saying good bye to Marcia, was back on the road by 08:45, sucking, er drafting, John's wheel. John was from Boone, NC, and having had about 5 hours sleep was fresh. He had decided to get lots of sleep and leave about control closing time, by chance, about the time I was ready to go. A fortuitous set of choices!
I followed John on his 5 speed Nishiki, let's call it a "classic" bike, until it was time for my morning nap, and quietly fell off the back. I caught up with him again before the turn around at Red Dog Road, which we hit about 12:40. After that, we rode together, off, and mostly on, till the finish. Splitting up when our nap schedules didn't mesh, but always meeting up again later. Day two temps where about the same as day one, mid 90s, and we decided to take several hours of our day's sleep time during the heat of the day. It was on this stretch that I found my favorite park table in the shade, which I used heading south to the turn around, and several hours later on the way north from the turn around. On the way south, we met with Bill Glass, who was heading back north. Sadly, the next time I saw him, he was in the back of the support van, with a broken bottom bracket. Also, along this stretch between Red Dog Road and French Camp fresh paving was underway. The crews were very pleasant and let us proceed while the cars were stopped. Unfortunately, this had us sinking into the fresh asphalt on a hot day. Took a while to scrape that off the tires! Twice. Once going south, once coming north.
During the night, we took short sleep stops again at the rest stops, such as Jeff Busby (MP 193) and Witch Dance(MP 233). As we had already decided we wouldn't be at the overnights during normal sleep periods, we took our sleep time in one hour chunks at the rest stops.
At some point, John and I separated, probably me taking an extra nap, and we agreed to meet up at the McDonalds in Tupelo.
I rolled into the Tupelo McDonalds at about 02:15 9/25/10. I saw John's bike leaning against the wall, but no John. When I tried to go in, I found the door locked, but folks inside working. They directed me to the drive in lane, the only thing still open. John and I did a bit of a comic dance, as we stayed on opposite sides of the building from each other until finally coming to rest. The people working the night shift were friendly, curious, and happy to help. We took another hour's sleep. When I woke up, John was fiddling with his phone looking at local motels. After a short chat, we left at about 03:30, about thirty minutes before closing. I'd had my heart set on more ice and good tasting water, but alas, the line at McDonalds was long, and nothing else was open. We hit the Tupelo visitor's center on the parkway to top off water. Although the fountains were still running, the rest rooms were locked up. The only locked ones we came across on the entire ride.
A few hours later, around 05:30, we started feeling rain drops. When we were pretty certain they weren't going to stop, we did, and donned rain gear. I recall doing a power nap or two in the drizzle along this stretch, usually leaning against a bridge guardrail.
We reached Pharr mounds (MP 286) around 0630 in the pouring rain. Pharr Mounds has a concrete area with benches and a roof over it, with no walls. Time for another hour's sleep while it poured. One thing I'd discovered on this trip, was that the concrete pads nicely held heat all night, and although a bit hard for my taste, made wonderful warm beds!
Being mindful of the ever ticking clock, we set off again in the rain at about 0723, headed for Tishomingo, the official overnight. It rained, we got wet, what more can I say? During this stretch my Schmidt Edelux headlight pooped out on me. I'm not at all happy about that, and it will be on its way back to Peter White shortly. Luckily, like a good boy scout/randonneur, I carry a back up headlamp, a CatEye EL530 1W LED lamp, that still had lithium AA batteries in it from PBP 2007. Although not nearly as illuminating as the Edelux, it saw me faithfully through the rest of the ride.
On a climb here, we passed a woman on a heavily laden recumbent. Full camping gear, and just as wet as we. She looked surprised to see us passing her. Actually, about then, I think we were surprised to be passing anybody!
We reached the Tishomingo control at about 09:15, nearly 1:45 ahead of closing, we were gaining on the clock! On the way in we passed a couple groups of riders heading out, and exchanged pleasantries. After looking at the cue sheet, I remember John remarking he couldn't believe the distances in the park were correct. Mississippi couldn't have a park large enough for that long a road, and if they did, they probably didn't have the resources to pave it! Well, John was wrong. The road, in addition to its length, also had a couple nasty grunts to climb.
The volunteers at the control fed us, batteried us (AA's, not fists), encouraged us, and sent us off toward drop bags etc. My stomach feeling better, I decided that now was the time to start back on solid food, and I made as much of a dent as I could in what was available. I noticed a Fine Woodworking tote bag at the control, one of the volunteers obviously has good taste, and must enjoy things other than cycling! There were still a few folks sleeping, so in a way, we had rejoined the pack, or at least a small packet of the pack. It was still pouring, so John and I decided a shower and clothes change would just be a waste of time. Luckily, I had a couple pair of dry socks in my drop bag, along with dry gloves. These went on the bike for later and were much appreciated! We left at about 10:40, a full 18 minutes before the control closed! Over 20 hours to cover the last 147 miles! What could be easier!
Most of this day was uneventful. The rain tapered off shortly after leaving Tishomingo, but too late to go back for dry clothes. Temperatures where more moderate, 70 at Colbert Ferry, for example and mid 70s in the afternoon. We crossed into Alabama and the cotton fields at 11:30, Colbert Ferry at 13:15 and reentered Tennessee at 15:25.
Ahh, Collinwood! True southern hospitality at the Exxon station! Milk shakes made with the real thing! A double meat roast beef sandwich washed down with the milk shake! Folks talking cows, although I never did ask if the discussion was dairy or beefers. We met up there with the folks just ahead of us, and the Lantern Rouge, Miwa, met up with us. We rolled in at 16:05. John and the rest decided to sleep. I asked John to check at the next rest stops for me and, down to my back up headlamp, and a bit noisy for me in the Exxon, I pushed on alone wanting to make the most of the daylight. The food and rest pushed me up to strong cycling mode, and I flew along this section. At Sunset I stopped to take a few photos.
As we started to near Nashville, the terrain began to start rolling again, and John and I began waiting after the climbs for Miwa to catch up. After one of these climbs, I believe through the Cumberland Mountains, John and I stopped on the side of the road for a nap. Miwa woke us up when he caught back up.
On we pushed through the night, napping as the mood struck us. On one of our naps, well off the road, a car stopped and the couple came over to check on us. They had seen our blinking taillights and reflective gear, and were afraid we'd been hurt, and told us they had come past a motorcycle accident scene a bit south of us. They wanted to know if there was anything they could do for us, and warned us about the numerous deer on the northern sections of the Parkway.
I found out later that they had stopped and checked in with Marcia. Marcia had a taillight blinky out by the road where she was running the last water stop, and they put blinkey and blinkey together. Marcia said they offered to go back and let us know, run us stuff etc. She declined the kind offer.
Marcia had been sitting at a water stop at Jackson Falls (MP 404) since about 10:30 that morning, before we even left Tishomingo. We where the last riders, and rolled in at about 23:45. Not wanting to ruin our record, we ate, filled with fresh water, and come on, you know it's coming, took an hour's nap. Heck, we only had forty miles to go! We hit the road again at about 00:53. Over six hours to cover about 40 miles! What's the rush?
On we trudged through the night, seeing many deer, and other wild life. At one time John and I were riding side by side, and I looked down to see a skunk on the road between us. He flashed by in the lights, and we were gone before he knew what to do. Thank God, or your favorite deity! A bit further down the road, John was ahead and to my left. I passed an armadillo heading to my right on his left. John had passed him on the other side, and never seen him. I want my Edelux back!
All to soon, Marcia was waking me up at about 07:45. We packed the car, said our goodbyes to Sametta, who wasn't going to breakfast, and headed off to the Loveless Cafe for the post ride breakfast. And a great meal it was too!
After breakfast Marcia poured me into the car, and we headed north. Sometime on the way home, I came to and we had a discussion. Although finishing the 1000k wasn't a requirement for PBP '11, completing it makes me ready to commit to it. Since PBP '07 I've had some real health issues, causing me to cancel on riding both the Gold Rush and the Granite Anvil last year. Although I have more training to do to finish recovering, and a few more pounds to loose, finishing a full series, a fleche, and a 1000k this year gives me the confidence to commit to PBP '11. Marcia and I will be in Paris again next year! Look for us at the 90 hour start!
So how do I think I did? Before the start I set my "aim point" to finish between 01:00 (69 hours) and 07:00 (75 hours) on Sunday, to get a tolerable amount of sleep, see the Natchez Trace Parkway, and enjoy myself. I finished about 1:40 slower than the middle of my window, and probably could have made that up had we abandoned the Lantern Rouge, but why leave somebody alone on the Parkway in the dark? I suspect he wouldn't have carred, but it seemed a rude thing to do. Looking at the heart rate monitor log I got plenty of sleep, although none was at the overnights, and I had a great time! Other than knees that didn't like being folded up in the car all day a few hours after finishing, I've recovered well. Bike commuting to work a few days after finishing, and riding a 200k the Saturday after the Natchez Trace. Other than that, I have a little pealing from some sunburn, and few tinglees in my little fingers. Funny thing is, the only sunburn I got on the ride, is where the sun don't shine, if you know what I mean. As for the tinglees, I was trying a full carbon FSA K-wing flat top sculpted bar on this ride, first time past 150 miles for it, and the tinglees are less than I suffered on this year's 600k riding a round bar. The final test will be how long they last, but I think the K-Wing is a keeper.
Will I do the ride again? I don't know. The HBC is talking about running the full length of the Parkway in 2012 as a 1450km RM ride, but I suspect that may be a few hundred kilometeres past my "fun" point. It might be nice to come back and ride at a tour pace, and the 1000k version is always an option in the future.
Well, this report has been a bit of a ramble, but looking over the cue sheets, GPS track, and time stamps in the photos, writing it has helped me put the memories in focus and in order. If you've enjoyed it, or learned something reading it, so much the better!
If you've enjoyed this, you may want to read my account of dealing with the French medical system at PBP '99. It appeared in the RUSA annual edition after PBP '99, and is also available here:
http://www.distancerider.net/PBP1999.HTML
Also, a story I wrote about PBP 2003 is here:
http://www.distancerider.net/PBP2003.php
Of course, if you ever want to ride my 1000k Lap Of the Lake (Lake Ontario), start from my main page here, and follow the link in the schedule:
http://www.distancerider.net
Natchez Trace 1000k web page:
http://www.harpethbikeclub.com/index.php/nt600k
Official times:
http://www.harpethbikeclub.com/index.php/ultraarticles/136-natchez-trace-brevets-rider-status
Cue sheet and route map:
1000KR1.pdf
A blog from Robert, chief volunteer, with photos:
http://randoboy.blogspot.com/2010/09/because-betsy-told-me-to.html
Park Map:
NATRmap.pdf
Foulest water on the Parkway has to go to Pharr Mounds at milepost 286.7
Nicest sleep stop is a tie. During the day, Holly Hill, milepost 154.3, a nice park table in the shade.
At night, it was Jack's branch, mile post 377.8, a warm men's room clean and large enough to bring the bike inside, and stretch out on the floor. The hot air hand dryer helped too!
Last change, October 5, 2010, clarified restrooms, water and added Patties One Stop story