June 4th 2006
Introduction
Unfucking believable – Can you readers believe that I have been officially biking for ten years now. Ten years! I have done numerous bike tours in the past ten years, I have race professionally for about a year and then competed in an Ironman Triathlon (Arizona). Looking back on my life – Unequivocally, this is exactly where I expected to be in my biking career even though the only thing that has eluded me is the Ironman Hawaii Triathlon.
Well, as you have surmised readers I have not written in two years since I went into training for the Ironman Arizona. Yes, I have done a few events, but nothing that I wrote about nor probably could recollect anymore. I might have to check my laptop computer, but I do not think I have any notes saved, but I will check and who knows I might entertain you with a short story.
Anyway, I am here to declare that I have reemerged into the cycling world. I said I was retired, but I came out of retirement and I have come back with a vengeance, so far. I trained myself pretty darn good in the past six months. Andrea, Tracy, Heidi and yes even Sarah have gotten some mileage this year with me. When I take one of these women with me on my training rides, it seems like old times. One would say that it is like riding a bike, you never forget.
For the readers who do not wish to proceed with me into my world – “Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out!”
Finally, in the past I have always used a movie quote to start off my epic biking adventure stories. However, this time I am going to use a partial music lyric from the opening song of The Sopranos.
Sunday, June 4, 2006 Castle Rock, Colorado - Elevation 6,989
Note: This here story is about my bike riding and nothing else. Maybe some surprises other than that strictly all about me. Me, me, and me. If this is not your cup of tea then read no further. Remember, if you do not like what you are reading you do not have to read any further.
The re-awakening of the fallen athlete and not a hero.
One may say that waking a sleeping giant may be a cause for alarm. However, in the case of this particular cyclist that is the farthest thing away from the truth. It is the beast you have revived and he is fucking pissed off.
The Elephant Rock is a bike tour event that Daryl does not schedule during any of the years of his cycling season and/or training. The main reason is that the event is too fucking crowded to begin with. With the tour event having over 7000 cyclist each year there are just too many riders to begin with. The other reason is he really can not justify paying money on where he does most of his training rides.
Only the seasoned and long distance riders endure the ill-effects of this tour event. The veteran riders have to deal with the newbie riders, which number in the thousands and then with all the new riders in the tour they take the shorter route through the event; therefore raiding all the rest stops from the starting line to the finish line. How that impacts the hardened riders is that the majority of them opts for the longest route, which in the case of the Elephant Rock, is the century route (100 miles). When these riders roll into the aid stations there is usually nothing left but the food that the riders do not want to eat and then only plain water is left to drink.
According to Daryl’s beliefs he would rather eat nothing than eat food that is essentially shit to him. Why suffer with something that you do not want nor like to eat. Then there is the water issue. Depending on how far into the ride that Daryl is he has already converted over to a Gatorade, Cyclomax, Powerade, or Creadrive supplement drink, which means that his body has switched to processing sugar and the consumption of just plain water is basically a waste of hydration and energy.
Centennial, Colorado - Saturday Morning - 4:15 AM
Awakening from a slumber or a nap, one could not tell. However, if you happen to be in the same room you may be asking yourself why Daryl has not hit the snooze button on the alarm, which has been beeping for the past twenty minutes. Falling off the couch is the only way that he is going to get moving. Daryl literally rolls off the couch and then pushes play on the VCR. Soon the theme song of the Sopranos starts up and who could not get motivated listening to that song. The song hooks you by the opening lyrics and not to mention the melody rift that defines the Sopranos.
Approximately four hours earlier he had finished getting Andrea ready for the Elephant Rock and they eventually went to bed a little after midnight. So getting up after four hours of sleep was a bit of a concern, but this has not been the first time that he and Andrea did a ride involving very little sleep. In the long run it gives them both more mental power to know that the other riders are probably more rested, but will most likely fall behind Daryl and Andrea sometime during the ride today.
Mile 0 – Douglas County Fairgrounds – Castle Rock, Colorado – 7:05 A.M.
Returning to the cycling world once again feels like home to Daryl. Or one could say it was like returning to the one you liked/loved in your life that was gone for a while. Nothing can parallel to the early morning start of a bike ride. In this instance, nothing like doing a century ride. A century ride is something that gets him stirred up. Like seeing an exquisite woman who catches his eye – damn exciting. The early morning colors of the day, the cool morning air and the silence of the day which will soon be disturbed by the noise of the world waking up in the next hour or so. The morning belongs to Daryl and every now and then to the birds that reside outside his bedroom window near his porch where he occasionally enjoys breakfast on the balcony.
Well, since he monitored the weather reports throughout the week Daryl was optimistically hoping for a favorable day. Hoping for no rain, no wind and for the fucking sun to shine ever so bright in the heavenly skies.
Mile 1 – Castle Rock, Colorado - Even though Daryl has logged in twenty-two miles since leaving Denver this morning he is getting ready for the official Elephant Rock 2006 century ride. He singled a few bikers that were riding together and decides to use those bikers as pacers through the beginning of the Elephant Rock Ride.
Mile 1.5 - “That’s a cool jersey!”
Mile 1.6 - “Look! Cartman.”
Mile 1.61 - “Oh man! You guys suck” someone yelling, then group laughter ensued after this Cartman saying.
Mile 1.7 – “Sweet bike jersey man.”
Mile 3 – (Approx.) - The commencement of the first hill climb of the day. Daryl recollects that this climb is sort of steep in the beginning, but does not remember how long the climb is. He is still with the group of riders he chose to group with himself.
The time is about 7:15 AM and as customary to the Elephant Rock the tour is abundant with riders riding into their destiny.
Daryl is reminded of the new law that the Colorado State Patrol are trying to get into effect. Basically, the state patrol want a cap, a “limit”, on the number of riders in any bike tour in Colorado. The last numbers that Daryl read was 2000 riders, which is perfectly fine for him. It is a good limit for any bike tour.
At the time of this journal entry the proposal has been “sidelined”, so to speak. Daryl does not know if this is mostly because of the Lance Armstong benefit ride scheduled for later this year, which gave notice not to participate in Colorado if this proposal of a cap limit gets approved. Again who really knows the reason. In Daryl’s opinion this was probably a determining factor. Readers, Daryl will address this topic in a future journal, since getting into this issue could be just as lengthy as this story and that would not be fair to entertain you readers with news regarding the state government of Colorado.
Getting back to the story…
Mile 5 – (Approx.) - “I bet that you were riding up that steep part in your big gear, right?”
Daryl laughs at this. “Sorry, saving my strength for later” Yet, Daryl was not holding out. He was looking for the opportunity to drop the group he chose to follow along with as a fifth wheel. He also used the prior five miles to get the feel of the bikers around him. This may seem irrelevant to the ordinary rider, but to Daryl that makes him attuned to the attitudes of the riders.
As he came over the crest of the hill he saw another long climb and concludes this was the time to make everyone take notice of him. Especially true this year since the back of his jersey says…
“Oh, Man, you guys suck” by Cartman
Anyone who watches Southpark faithfully knows that this phrase uttered by Cartman means just what it says. “You Suck!” Or in Cartman’s hidden undertones – Fuck you – You Fucking suck! Enough said.
All Daryl wants to hear this day was laughter behind him and the others riders saying what a cool jersey he is wearing as he rides by them. He wants to be in the limelight again since he took off a year and went into retirement last year. With him acquiring this bike jersey a couple of months ago – Daryl is absolutely in love with the jersey. Any opportunity he gets this year he will sport this bike jersey. To the grocery store, the shopping mall, his weekly city rides and any place he thinks he will get noticed he will don the beautiful, the spectacular, Southpark jersey.
The young, the old and the unknowns. They laugh. They say such things like “cool jersey” “fucking awesome” “dude where did you get that?” “Cartman” “Southpark rules” “Timmy!” and so forth. Whether it is from the cashier, the bagger, the shopper, or a cyclist or better yet – a gorgeous woman cyclist – woo baby! Any nice comment puts a smile on Daryl’s face, not to mention a set of nice legs.
Returning to the bike ride, Daryl decides this is the time to make his move and the time to demonstrate to the world that he is not too old nor lost his touch.
Mile 6 - (Approx.) - Rider after rider were falling victim to Daryl’s hill climbing ability. One rider tries passing him on the long climb, but lo and behold the rider could not maintain the tempo that Daryl was dictating up the hill. The funny thing, if you want to call this funny, Daryl was not even raising his heart rate that much. Yes, he was out of his saddle, but not breaking a sweat pedaling in his big gear ring.
This is the sort of thing that gets Daryl’s motivation going even more. He knows that his ability lies within each hill climb, whether he is using his 8, 9 or 10 gear bike.
Uh-oh. Picture time. Click.
Mile 8 - (Approx.) – Aid Station One - Daryl has no intention of stopping at the first aid station. Especially, after the first climb. This Aid station is also situated on a downhill curve, which is not a very ideal location. This being the first aid station of the day a lot of riders are going to stop. Everybody and their grandmother will be at this Aid Station. The seasoned riders are going to pass by this aid station for those reasons.
There is also another reason why he will not stop at this Aid Station. The wind. The ever oh so fucking wind that plagued the Elephant Rock Ride two years ago. The wind that particular morning came hard and blowing directly in from the south. The headwind was very strong that day and Daryl’s goal was to put some miles into the ride just in case that wind shows up for this year’s ride.
Mile 10.5 – Junction Lake Gulch Road / Highway 83 - So far so good. The riders have considerably dispersed out through the course and Daryl has found his “sphere of tranquility.” The wind that he was hoping not to show up is not present. Daryl has used the past ten miles to warm up for the course and now knows the next segment of the route is going to be particularly flat until mile 24.4. The other thing that Daryl can look forward to is the open fields of Douglas County. Not. Unfortunately, this is the scenery he has seen many times over and nothing else can describe the vast, endless fields of Douglas County.
Mile 12 – (Approx.) - “Alright, the road is pretty flat for the next ten miles or so”
A volunteer yells to the riders. Which he is right. The road has leveled out and now was the time to put some speed into his riding in order to get to the Douglas / El Paso County Line as swiftly as he could without actually breaking his Lactose Threshold limit.
Usually Daryl has nothing to contemplate about except looking at the riders he rides by and the occasional few riders that pass him. You have to remember Daryl is a very good rider, but not the finest rider by no means. Nor will he ever make that claim.
The wind that Daryl has been worried about is not even present. The nod to the gods this morning and the “for he is fallible” that he uttered to himself early this morning before dawn has once again not let him down.
The riders have sort of spread out along Highway 83, but there is still an unending line of riders in front of Daryl and behind him.
Daryl has been riding solo for a couple of miles. So far, he has not seen a rider that he could use as a pacer.
Mile 14 (Approx.) – Daryl glances behind him very quickly and unbeknownst to him he has his own follower. A rider was following in his wake and this was something that motivated Daryl to increase his pedaling. He started to pedal a little harder, since he was already in his big gear ring. He needed to make this rider earn his keep. Daryl was keeping a pace that was okay for him since technically he was already ridden twenty-two miles further than any of the other riders.
Mile 18 – (Approx.) – Daryl and his follower have been pedaling a good clip. Both of them were passing rider after rider and they were only pass by a few other riders who are probably on the same mission as them.
Mile 22.4 – (Aid Station) – Well, the riders have come to the second aid station on the bike ride, but this will be the aid station that Daryl will stop at. He needs to get some food into his body. He saw the fruit that is usually offered to the riders and decides that he is going to have some of that fresh fruit, but then he saw some kind of nutritional bar on another table. He grabbed two of the same kind of bars that were offered and then headed back to his bike.
The bars were Nature Valley – Sweet & Salty Nut Granola bar – Peanut (naturally favored) – God damn! This was one damn good tasty bar he was biting into. Something about the flavor and texture of the granola bar ignited his taste buds. He positively needs to get some more of these scrumptious bars.
As Daryl was walking back to his bike, he notices the wind was blowing considerably. “Fuck me” he uttered softly with a smile on his face. Damn his luck the wind was blowing from north to south. Go figure. Daryl got a few more comments on his jersey as he walked to his bike. Now was time to mount up and get to the century route turn-off as soon as possible.
Two reasons why, the wind will eventually change direction during the day and the other reason why is that Daryl needs to get through the century route as quickly as possible in order to get back onto the main route of the shorter route riders (50 and 65 mile routes) since those riders will literally empty those aid stations of the “good stuff” and leave behind “the shit” that nobody will want unless you absolutely have to have.
Mile 24.4 – Highway 83/County Line road – The last option to take the 100 mile route or take the shorter 65 mile route. As Daryl always thinks to himself this is the point where the route separates the men from the boys and the women from the girls. There are many riders who take the 100 mile route, but since the Black Forest has trees and hills riders never really get to see how many riders are actually taking the 100 mile route.
Mile 24.7 – (Approx.) – After the “hard core” riders made a left turn for the 100 mile course the riders have thinned out considerably. This is the only part in the bike course that Daryl was not looking forward to. Heading into the Black Forest, which is located just north and a bit east of Colorado Springs. Daryl can not really recall the bike route from memory, but he remembers some hills and some turns. Other than that his mind is blank as a chalkboard.
There is nothing arduous about the Black Forest that Daryl would consider difficult for him. Just a few short, steep climbs here and there, but what he dislikes about the bike route is the ride east. Each rider has to bike east – all the way to Bradshaw Road. The route unfortunately is not straight as Daryl is. The route goes east, then south, east, south, east, south, east, north, east and then finally the riders come eventually to Bradshaw Road. As you readers can kind of assume the route is as crooked as the current president of the United States.
Mile 29 – (Approx.) – Daryl has been playing “your turn, my turn.” Basically, he would pass a few riders on a hill and then on the down slope the riders would pass him. Again, he had to conserve some energy since he technically is biking one hundred and fifty miles today. There were about five riders with Daryl who were sort of traveling together.
The reasoning is that if you keep the others riders in sight of you, there is some indication of how you are riding. Whether you need to pick up the pace a bit or catch up since you may be starting to pedal slower than the other riders.
Mile 31 – (Approx.) – The wind has been non-existent since entering the Black Forest. With all the trees and little hogbacks in the forest the wind has been shut out by the Black forest terrain.
Mile 36.9 – (Aid Station 3) – The next aid station that was on the agenda was this third Aid station, which was stationed in the middle of nowhere. This aid station was fairly packed with riders and most of them were in line to use the port-o-potties that were available. Luckily, Daryl did not have to stand in line and wait for the port-o-potty. The line was at least fifty riders long and all waiting their turn to use on of the three available port-o-potties
Therefore, he bypasses the port-o-potty line and heads for the line of food and drink.
“Do you know what my favorite episode is?” Daryl turns around and then she says “Cripple fight!” Daryl could not help to smile and laugh. Daryl says loudly “Timmy!” Then they both laugh out loud. Next then you know another person said they liked the episode with “the Crips” Soon there was a group of them having a nice conversation about Southpark in the middle of nowhere at the third Aid station on the Elephant Rock Ride. Each of them took their turn mentioning some episode that made them laugh, which was basically every episode those creators Matt and Trey have done. Timmy, Jimmy, Token, Cartman, Kenny, Ike, Mr. Hanky, Butters and Towlie, The only character that was not mentioned was Chef.
Mile 38 – (Approx.) – Daryl’s CD player suddenly plummets from his bike and tumbles in the air to the pavement of Eastonville Road at about the velocity of twenty-three miles per hour. Daryl looks at the oncoming demise of his CD player, which more than likely will be shattered in several pieces all over the El Paso County Road. In the next second he saw the aftermath of what happens when a CD player hits the pavement from the height of about two feet and traveling about twenty-three miles per hour. He can recall the image with such clarity. His CD player falling and then the compact disc flew out of the player, like a bull rider being thrown from “yellow jacket”, as well as did the batteries and battery cover. That was all he saw in that second. He immediately pulled off to the right side of the road and applied the brakes quickly and hard.
Daryl ran back about fifteen yards and found his CD player miraculously in one piece. He also found both batteries and the battery cover littered across the hot, black top country two lane road. Daryl spent about two minutes more trying to locate the compact disc that was in the player. He hesitantly put his CD player back together and yes you guessed right – the player still fucking worked. Sony still produces the best compact players and with this particular player, which by the way cost him a “Franklin” about three years ago, is his baby. This CD player has been through so many accidents and yet to this day she still puts out the music and still brings a smile to Daryl’s face. Another thank you to the biking gods, which Daryl did give a nod to this morning
Mile 44 – (Approx.) – Sweet Road / Bradshaw Road junction. Daryl was approaching the junction that he has been looking forward to all morning. Unfortunately, with Daryl’s gladness also came someone’s misfortune. There was the aftermath of a tragic accident. This is the sort of accident that he witnessed two years ago in almost the same location of the bike course.
An elderly man was laid out on the corner of the junction and appeared to be unconscious. Blood was here and there, but did not appear to be serious. A couple of others bikers were with him and told us riders that everything is okay and the ambulance was on route He also pointed to the sand on the road that resulted in the rider’s accident “be careful”.
Mile 45 – (Approx.) – The ambulance passes Daryl in the opposite direction hopefully to the casualty at the junction.
Mile 48.3 – (Aid Station 4) – Well, the last few miles since turning onto Murphy Road the wind has been blowing steadily from Northwest to Southeast. Not just steadily, but also very gusty. Ever since Daryl rode past Elbert Road the wind has been blowing and making his life and the other riders pedaling laborious.
Daryl had to stop at this Aid Station to gather himself. The wind for the past three miles has been relentless and his speed dropped to an average of ten miles per hour. Even though his bike odometer and the map indicated 48.3 miles the mileage for Daryl is 70.3 miles. With the added mileage and blowing wind the distance so far appears to have taken a toll. In addition, dropping below ten miles per hour has had an effect on Daryl’s psyche.
Daryl heads over to the drink station and refills one water bottle with Gatorade and then gets into line for the port-o-potties.
Ten minutes later and probably a few ounces lighter Daryl grabs a couple of energy bars and heads to his bike.
He was not quite ready to say goodbye to the aid station so he takes a seat next to Andrea and watches the riders come and leave. He was looking at all the bike jerseys, specifically scanning for anyone else wearing a Southpark jersey. While recuperating he struck up a conversation with another rider who had the same exact model bike he was riding today. The only difference was that this rider bought his bike used from a bike store that rented out the bike for excursions around the Cherry Creek Reservoir.
They had a pleasant talk for about ten minutes – about other bike rides, the Leadville 100 and what is left of the Elephant Rock Ride.
Mile 50 – (Approx.) – The crossroads of Meridian Road and Murphy Road. This is the beginning of what should be a fairly easy ten miles to the next aid station. A short downhill descent and then a steady uphill incline on Burgess Road.
Mile 53 – (Approx.) – Daryl has found another group that he is has been playing “your turn, my turn.” There are about ten riders in this group
Mile 54 – (Approx.) – Daryl has been passing rider after rider on the hill ascents and then on the downhill he pedals conservatively while the other riders pedal like bats out of hell and pass him on the descents. This is the usual routine for this group of riders
Mile 60 – (Approx.) – Finally, Daryl has come to the point of the course that he looks forward to – to bike north. Yet, even with his delight of riding back to Castle Rock he will be tackling the many steep, rolling hills for the next ten miles. The hills are steep in this portion of the course, the weak will falter and Daryl will ever so fucking demolish any cyclist on the hill ascents in the next ten miles. This is his time to twinkle. Twinkle?! Get the fuck out of here! This was his time to shine and be remembered for the guy with the Southpark jersey who rode by them with “attitude” imprinted on the back of his jersey.
Mile 60.75 – (Approx.) – Oh, how the “mighty” unsubstantial cyclists have fallen to the wayside. Daryl was being an exhibitionist. No ifs, ands or buts, Daryl was dominating on this hill before the next aid station at mile 61.2. Sure at the start of the climb other riders were attempting to stay in front of Daryl, but little do they know whom they were fucking with. With about a quarter of the hill climb remaining any rider that was maintaining pace with him was instantly left behind as he dug into his reserves and left those pacers and wanna be king of the hill climbers in his wake.
Mile 61.2 – (Aid Station 5) – No need to stop at this aid station, since the next aid station is only seven miles down the road. He must also keep the riders that he dropped on the hill climb behind him. No need to give those riders any signs of hope or glory in riding Daryl down.
Mile 64 – (Approx.) – Highway 83 / Shoup Road – Things sure have transformed in the past two years, the highway construction is finally completed on this section of the highway. Four lanes, a wide shoulder, and even those annoying rumble strips are present. At least there is a shoulder to ride on since the last time Daryl came through this area he was riding in the road. At that time the road was only two lanes wide and packed with traffic on that particular day.
Mile 66.50 – (Approx.) – Highway 83 / North Gate Road – Another milestone has been reached. This is the portion of the course that the 100 mile century riders will join the 65 mile course riders.
Mile 67 – (Approx.) – Roller Coaster Road / North Gate Road – Those would be entrepreneurs have shown their faces once more. The entrepreneurs were offering icy, cold refreshments for a price. Daryl almost succumbs to the lure of an icy, cold Gatorade for the sweet, low price of $ 2.00. Almost, but not! He decides to gamble and makes his second nod to the gods and puts his conviction into the hands of the biking gods once more knowing that he could provoke the biking gods for making a second request in one day. Tempting the biking gods is no laughing matter to him.
Mile 68.2 – (Aid Station #6) – This aid station is located about thirty yards from the top of a very steep hill. Not the ideal place to make an Aid station since this aid station is situated on a very steep hill ascent. Never-the-less, Daryl will make this an honorary custom and stop for any sports drink and food that might be available.
Daryl gets lucky and gets the final pitcher of Gatorade that this aid station has available. How fucking fortunate?! No such thing. The nod to the gods provided the Gatorade for Daryl, but not without consequences. No “good” food is left at the aid station.
Only one type of energy bar was available at the aid station – Larabar – Pecan Pie – Raw natural food for health. For life. For fun. Uncooked. Unprocessed. No sugar added. Non-GMO. Gluten free. Dairy fee. Soy free. Vegan. Kosher.
After Daryl reads this piece of information on the wrapper he smiles and thinks to himself “What the fuck?” There must be some pretty fucked up people who must meet and/or need all these criteria’s listed on this Larabar snack bar. What he means is that this aid station is located on the 65 / 100 mile route and riders are not looking for “fun” food, or for “health” food or “Kosher” – get the fuck out of here! Hah hah. This bar’s net weight is 1 oz has 140 calories, which 13 % of the bar is total fat. If the riders are taking the 65 / 100 mile route the 140 calories is nothing to worry about and whether or not it is this healthy matters not, riders are looking for something tasty, salty, and maybe some sugar for energy since there is basically thirty one miles left in the bike tour. If any of the riders have been riding hard their body has probably switched over to processing sugar and sweating out salt. Today was moderately hot and the body may need one or the other or both in order to function safely.
By the way readers, the bars taste like how the wrapper advertised, like shit. Daryl compares the bar to the inside core of a fig Newton with more of a firmer body. There was no Pecan Pie taste, only the taste of a healthy food bar - bland. He does not recommend this energy bar, have a power bar instead you will thank him later.
Mile 72 – (Approx.) – County Line Road / Roller Coaster Road – The 100 mile and 65 mile riders join the 50 mile course riders.
Mile 75 – (Approx.) – What a different outlook on the second time of his journey through this part of the Elephant Rock’s course. Two years ago Daryl knew he struggled on this little part of the course. A short, steep hill climb before the down hill descent into Palmer Lake. Now, this time around he had no difficulty what so ever climbing this hill.
Mile 77.6 (Aid Station – Palmer Lake) – Daryl’s bike odometers indicate that he has officially reached 100.7 miles for the day, but knows that he still has another twenty three miles to the finish line and about fifty four miles to bike home.
This Aid station is quite busy and jam-packed with riders. Live “hippie” music was being performed by some unknown group nearby a gazebo where there was a variety of food to choose from. Not necessarily the “good” stuff, but subsistence that Daryl could stomach. He made up his mind to have two peanut butter sandwiches and take a brief break at the gazebo near a stream. While eating he thinks about the next twenty three miles and how this will be the last aid station stop for him even though there is one more aid station located at the 88.8 mile marker.
The weather has been good so far and there was no sign of any rain clouds in the sky or on the horizon. The time to get a move on has come and to put another century ride into the books and to congratulate Andrea on another expedition with his journey of a hundred and fifty mile day.
Mile 79 – (Approx.) – This is the start of a downhill descent to about the 89 mile marker. There are a handful of hills in the next nine miles, but nothing to be fearful about. Riding along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains is so exhilarating to Daryl. Whether riding in this part of Douglas County, or near Lockheed Martin, or near the Boulder Reservoir the feeling is indescribable.
Mile 88.8 – (Aid Station #8) – Daryl once again bypasses this aid station. No need to stop since the finish line is in twelve miles.
Mile 90 – (Approx.) – Tomah Road / Perry Park Road – The beginning of a two mile hill climb. Unfortunately, the last hill climb is long and gets steep shortly before the summit. The hill is not tough, but after biking ninety miles or with the case of Daryl biking one hundred and ten miles, this ascent becomes a monster to reckon with and not to be taken lightly. Otherwise, one may well be walking one’s bike in shame.
Mile 93 – (Approx.) – He has reached the summit of the hill. Daryl has demonstrated once again to himself that he is a remarkable climber. He was ruthless in his pursuit of riding down a lot of riders to the top of this final hill. Only one rider tried passing him, but Daryl rode by him in the last quarter mile of the ascent. Daryl did not just barely pass that rider; he left that particular rider way behind. No chance in hell was he going to be overtaken so close to the peak of this hill.
Mile 94 – (Approx.) – I-25 / Tomah Road – CastleRock can be seen in the distance north of Tomah road and every rider can now ascertain how far the finish line is to the eye.
Mile 100 – Finish Line – The bike’s odometer time yields 7:44:00 total. Nothing majestic about this finish, except Daryl has completed one hundred and twenty-two miles as opposed to a straight one hundred miles which probably all other 100 mile route riders did. He also knows that he has another twenty eight miles to achieve his odyssey.
“No rest for the wicked” – Daryl mutters softly and half smiles to the world.
Epilogue
Alright, another century ride down and you know what readers this time around I still felt fresh at the finish of this Elephant Rock Ride. Granted, I still had to bike to Denver, which meant that I still had twenty six miles more to bike until I got home and yell “Boo Yah!”
I thoroughly enjoyed this ride. I think that out of the 7000 plus riders I was the only rider with the SouthPark Jersey, Riders were coming up to me and saying how much they loved my jersey. Or they spotted me at one of the aid station along the bike course. Those comments really made my day during the Elephant Rock ride and worth the $ 60.00 entry fee. I guess what I mean is that I was looking for attention this day, but I did not realize that I would get as much notoriety as I did. I got the respect I wanted or if this was the Boondocks – I got “street cred.” Hah hah! I was in the limelight for the entire day – ever so fucking sweet.
The Southpark bike jersey so far has paid for itself this year. I guess I never realize how many people out there know SouthPark. Not just the town Southpark Colorado, but the show Southpark.
Nothing much else to write about on the finish line ending of my day. I parked my bike outside the fairgrounds main building and went in to grab my well deserved paid lunch. This time around I decided to get one lunch instead of two lunches as I did two years ago. I thoroughly stayed hydrated and well nourished during the entire century ride so food and fluids were not necessary to replenish my body’s nutrients.
I grabbed a table that was empty and was soon joined by three other riders who saw my jersey and decided to sit with greatness. Not. Only kidding. I am not that great, but I often do hold myself in that position in my mind and sometimes in my fantasies. I also grabbed a beer that was supposedly brewed in Durango, Colorado. Lunch was good and we all talked for about an hour and then said our farewells, goodbyes and best of luck.
On that note, I have to say goodbye to this year’s Elephant Rock Ride 2006.
Author’s Note
Alright – final numbers 150.60 miles – total time 9:36.30, 15.7 mph average speed and with the maximum speed of 42.0.
As you readers know this is the part of the epic tale that I get to write anything that might be of interest. Or may not be – depending on your point of view.
Okay, about nine months ago a cyclist I knew got into an accident with a vehicle. I do not know the specifics nor did I inquire about the nature of the accident. Yes, it was pretty bad – Probably worst than one of my many accidents, since I never lost a few teeth and got really fucked up. Well, let me rephrase that... hah, hah, I have gotten fucked up drinking, but not getting really fucked up on a bike with a vehicle. I have had a concussion, bruises everywhere, scratches on the face, a cortisone shot in order to relieve a post-accident inflammation in the shoulder area. I could have lost an eye, but I ever thank my Oakley sunglasses. Besides all the physical scars I have endured there are the mental scars, which played havoc in my first couple major accidents on a bike.
Anyway, in the days following her accident I had many people come up to me and ask me “Did you hear?” How is she?” “Are you okay?” and the same sort of questions. Then, after those initial questions now came the questions of how and why? This was something that I absolutely could not comment on. Again. I do not know the nature of the accident. Also, I really do not know her. We did the same things, so to speak, but I would not consider us really friends. That was my choice, after I met her in the beginning and then backing off. From that point, I kept my distance and basically avoided her. So, my apologies to anyone who thinks I knew something at that time, but truly I did not. Nor was it for me to assume who was at fault in this accident, only she can tell what happened.
Being in several accidents myself, with half of the accidents involved with vehicles, you have to remember regardless whether you have the right of way and doing everything by the book, you have to be conscious of the drivers around you. By the numbers, I have several bikes that weigh basically 15 to 25 pounds and the vehicle that you may think needs to heed to you weigh over 1500 hundred pounds and is made of steel and not carbon fiber. I / you will lose the “you want to play chicken” battle hands down. I would become another grease spot on the road of life.
I felt for her, but I did not offer my condolences. My number one concern was giving her the privacy. You could call me heartless, you can call me selfish and you call me thick headed, but I did what was right to me. I am superstitious when it come to biking and when knowing, even seeing the aftermath of a terrible accident, those things could effect me immediately or sometime later when I least expect it. Sort of like Tony Soprano and “Those god damn ducks.” He never knew when those ducks would come back.
I did buy a few gifts for her, but from where I am writing this epic story the bag still sits on my bookcase with all the gifts still in the bag. The card I bought is also still in the bag. There is one item, which is in the refrigerator, that I was planning to give, but someone talked me out of including in the gift bag. I bought it because one of her close friends made a comment about it and well I decided to go with it. I bought some… never mind. Better left unknown. Yes, it was meant to be a joke, but by no means did I come up with idea. I guess you can chalk this up in the “I am glad I didn’t” column. The gift bag still resides on the bookcase. The gift is unique, but I am sure that I could I give this to some other woman who may appreciate my thoughtfulness.
Well, to this day I still do not know the nature of the accident; therefore I am still happy to say no comment. I can not say it was her fault or the driver.
Has my riding changed because of her accident you wonder? No. I still do not wear a helmet on my rides, I still ride with my CD player and earphones and I still ride on the streets as opposed to sidewalks. There is a vehicle out there in the world with a name, my name, on its bumper, but for now I am still here and still giving you readers another chronicle in my life.
Considering the addition of a new circle of friends that I have met in the past few years that will be reading this latest journey, I hope this does not piss you off since we both may know this person. I often write and express what I feel in my stories since I do my best tale telling in my writing. I wrote what needed to be told since I had to hold my voice until the time was right for me.
Until the next time
w-i-t-h-u-t-m-o-s-t-s-i-n-c-e-r-i-t-y
Daryl
aka CalSeti
June 19, 2006
Englewood, Colorado
Introduction
Unfucking believable – Can you readers believe that I have been officially biking for ten years now. Ten years! I have done numerous bike tours in the past ten years, I have race professionally for about a year and then competed in an Ironman Triathlon (Arizona). Looking back on my life – Unequivocally, this is exactly where I expected to be in my biking career even though the only thing that has eluded me is the Ironman Hawaii Triathlon.
Well, as you have surmised readers I have not written in two years since I went into training for the Ironman Arizona. Yes, I have done a few events, but nothing that I wrote about nor probably could recollect anymore. I might have to check my laptop computer, but I do not think I have any notes saved, but I will check and who knows I might entertain you with a short story.
Anyway, I am here to declare that I have reemerged into the cycling world. I said I was retired, but I came out of retirement and I have come back with a vengeance, so far. I trained myself pretty darn good in the past six months. Andrea, Tracy, Heidi and yes even Sarah have gotten some mileage this year with me. When I take one of these women with me on my training rides, it seems like old times. One would say that it is like riding a bike, you never forget.
For the readers who do not wish to proceed with me into my world – “Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out!”
Finally, in the past I have always used a movie quote to start off my epic biking adventure stories. However, this time I am going to use a partial music lyric from the opening song of The Sopranos.
Sunday, June 4, 2006 Castle Rock, Colorado - Elevation 6,989
"Woke up this morning
got yourself a gun"
The Sopranos
Note: This here story is about my bike riding and nothing else. Maybe some surprises other than that strictly all about me. Me, me, and me. If this is not your cup of tea then read no further. Remember, if you do not like what you are reading you do not have to read any further.
“If I could only stand and stare in the mirror would I see
One fallen hero with a face like me”
W.A.S.P.
The re-awakening of the fallen athlete and not a hero.
One may say that waking a sleeping giant may be a cause for alarm. However, in the case of this particular cyclist that is the farthest thing away from the truth. It is the beast you have revived and he is fucking pissed off.
The Elephant Rock is a bike tour event that Daryl does not schedule during any of the years of his cycling season and/or training. The main reason is that the event is too fucking crowded to begin with. With the tour event having over 7000 cyclist each year there are just too many riders to begin with. The other reason is he really can not justify paying money on where he does most of his training rides.
Only the seasoned and long distance riders endure the ill-effects of this tour event. The veteran riders have to deal with the newbie riders, which number in the thousands and then with all the new riders in the tour they take the shorter route through the event; therefore raiding all the rest stops from the starting line to the finish line. How that impacts the hardened riders is that the majority of them opts for the longest route, which in the case of the Elephant Rock, is the century route (100 miles). When these riders roll into the aid stations there is usually nothing left but the food that the riders do not want to eat and then only plain water is left to drink.
According to Daryl’s beliefs he would rather eat nothing than eat food that is essentially shit to him. Why suffer with something that you do not want nor like to eat. Then there is the water issue. Depending on how far into the ride that Daryl is he has already converted over to a Gatorade, Cyclomax, Powerade, or Creadrive supplement drink, which means that his body has switched to processing sugar and the consumption of just plain water is basically a waste of hydration and energy.
Centennial, Colorado - Saturday Morning - 4:15 AM
Awakening from a slumber or a nap, one could not tell. However, if you happen to be in the same room you may be asking yourself why Daryl has not hit the snooze button on the alarm, which has been beeping for the past twenty minutes. Falling off the couch is the only way that he is going to get moving. Daryl literally rolls off the couch and then pushes play on the VCR. Soon the theme song of the Sopranos starts up and who could not get motivated listening to that song. The song hooks you by the opening lyrics and not to mention the melody rift that defines the Sopranos.
Approximately four hours earlier he had finished getting Andrea ready for the Elephant Rock and they eventually went to bed a little after midnight. So getting up after four hours of sleep was a bit of a concern, but this has not been the first time that he and Andrea did a ride involving very little sleep. In the long run it gives them both more mental power to know that the other riders are probably more rested, but will most likely fall behind Daryl and Andrea sometime during the ride today.
Mile 0 – Douglas County Fairgrounds – Castle Rock, Colorado – 7:05 A.M.
Returning to the cycling world once again feels like home to Daryl. Or one could say it was like returning to the one you liked/loved in your life that was gone for a while. Nothing can parallel to the early morning start of a bike ride. In this instance, nothing like doing a century ride. A century ride is something that gets him stirred up. Like seeing an exquisite woman who catches his eye – damn exciting. The early morning colors of the day, the cool morning air and the silence of the day which will soon be disturbed by the noise of the world waking up in the next hour or so. The morning belongs to Daryl and every now and then to the birds that reside outside his bedroom window near his porch where he occasionally enjoys breakfast on the balcony.
Well, since he monitored the weather reports throughout the week Daryl was optimistically hoping for a favorable day. Hoping for no rain, no wind and for the fucking sun to shine ever so bright in the heavenly skies.
Mile 1 – Castle Rock, Colorado - Even though Daryl has logged in twenty-two miles since leaving Denver this morning he is getting ready for the official Elephant Rock 2006 century ride. He singled a few bikers that were riding together and decides to use those bikers as pacers through the beginning of the Elephant Rock Ride.
Mile 1.5 - “That’s a cool jersey!”
Mile 1.6 - “Look! Cartman.”
Mile 1.61 - “Oh man! You guys suck” someone yelling, then group laughter ensued after this Cartman saying.
Mile 1.7 – “Sweet bike jersey man.”
Mile 3 – (Approx.) - The commencement of the first hill climb of the day. Daryl recollects that this climb is sort of steep in the beginning, but does not remember how long the climb is. He is still with the group of riders he chose to group with himself.
The time is about 7:15 AM and as customary to the Elephant Rock the tour is abundant with riders riding into their destiny.
Daryl is reminded of the new law that the Colorado State Patrol are trying to get into effect. Basically, the state patrol want a cap, a “limit”, on the number of riders in any bike tour in Colorado. The last numbers that Daryl read was 2000 riders, which is perfectly fine for him. It is a good limit for any bike tour.
At the time of this journal entry the proposal has been “sidelined”, so to speak. Daryl does not know if this is mostly because of the Lance Armstong benefit ride scheduled for later this year, which gave notice not to participate in Colorado if this proposal of a cap limit gets approved. Again who really knows the reason. In Daryl’s opinion this was probably a determining factor. Readers, Daryl will address this topic in a future journal, since getting into this issue could be just as lengthy as this story and that would not be fair to entertain you readers with news regarding the state government of Colorado.
Getting back to the story…
Mile 5 – (Approx.) - “I bet that you were riding up that steep part in your big gear, right?”
Daryl laughs at this. “Sorry, saving my strength for later” Yet, Daryl was not holding out. He was looking for the opportunity to drop the group he chose to follow along with as a fifth wheel. He also used the prior five miles to get the feel of the bikers around him. This may seem irrelevant to the ordinary rider, but to Daryl that makes him attuned to the attitudes of the riders.
As he came over the crest of the hill he saw another long climb and concludes this was the time to make everyone take notice of him. Especially true this year since the back of his jersey says…
“Oh, Man, you guys suck” by Cartman
Anyone who watches Southpark faithfully knows that this phrase uttered by Cartman means just what it says. “You Suck!” Or in Cartman’s hidden undertones – Fuck you – You Fucking suck! Enough said.
All Daryl wants to hear this day was laughter behind him and the others riders saying what a cool jersey he is wearing as he rides by them. He wants to be in the limelight again since he took off a year and went into retirement last year. With him acquiring this bike jersey a couple of months ago – Daryl is absolutely in love with the jersey. Any opportunity he gets this year he will sport this bike jersey. To the grocery store, the shopping mall, his weekly city rides and any place he thinks he will get noticed he will don the beautiful, the spectacular, Southpark jersey.
The young, the old and the unknowns. They laugh. They say such things like “cool jersey” “fucking awesome” “dude where did you get that?” “Cartman” “Southpark rules” “Timmy!” and so forth. Whether it is from the cashier, the bagger, the shopper, or a cyclist or better yet – a gorgeous woman cyclist – woo baby! Any nice comment puts a smile on Daryl’s face, not to mention a set of nice legs.
Returning to the bike ride, Daryl decides this is the time to make his move and the time to demonstrate to the world that he is not too old nor lost his touch.
Mile 6 - (Approx.) - Rider after rider were falling victim to Daryl’s hill climbing ability. One rider tries passing him on the long climb, but lo and behold the rider could not maintain the tempo that Daryl was dictating up the hill. The funny thing, if you want to call this funny, Daryl was not even raising his heart rate that much. Yes, he was out of his saddle, but not breaking a sweat pedaling in his big gear ring.
This is the sort of thing that gets Daryl’s motivation going even more. He knows that his ability lies within each hill climb, whether he is using his 8, 9 or 10 gear bike.
Uh-oh. Picture time. Click.
Mile 8 - (Approx.) – Aid Station One - Daryl has no intention of stopping at the first aid station. Especially, after the first climb. This Aid station is also situated on a downhill curve, which is not a very ideal location. This being the first aid station of the day a lot of riders are going to stop. Everybody and their grandmother will be at this Aid Station. The seasoned riders are going to pass by this aid station for those reasons.
There is also another reason why he will not stop at this Aid Station. The wind. The ever oh so fucking wind that plagued the Elephant Rock Ride two years ago. The wind that particular morning came hard and blowing directly in from the south. The headwind was very strong that day and Daryl’s goal was to put some miles into the ride just in case that wind shows up for this year’s ride.
Mile 10.5 – Junction Lake Gulch Road / Highway 83 - So far so good. The riders have considerably dispersed out through the course and Daryl has found his “sphere of tranquility.” The wind that he was hoping not to show up is not present. Daryl has used the past ten miles to warm up for the course and now knows the next segment of the route is going to be particularly flat until mile 24.4. The other thing that Daryl can look forward to is the open fields of Douglas County. Not. Unfortunately, this is the scenery he has seen many times over and nothing else can describe the vast, endless fields of Douglas County.
Mile 12 – (Approx.) - “Alright, the road is pretty flat for the next ten miles or so”
A volunteer yells to the riders. Which he is right. The road has leveled out and now was the time to put some speed into his riding in order to get to the Douglas / El Paso County Line as swiftly as he could without actually breaking his Lactose Threshold limit.
Usually Daryl has nothing to contemplate about except looking at the riders he rides by and the occasional few riders that pass him. You have to remember Daryl is a very good rider, but not the finest rider by no means. Nor will he ever make that claim.
The wind that Daryl has been worried about is not even present. The nod to the gods this morning and the “for he is fallible” that he uttered to himself early this morning before dawn has once again not let him down.
The riders have sort of spread out along Highway 83, but there is still an unending line of riders in front of Daryl and behind him.
Daryl has been riding solo for a couple of miles. So far, he has not seen a rider that he could use as a pacer.
Mile 14 (Approx.) – Daryl glances behind him very quickly and unbeknownst to him he has his own follower. A rider was following in his wake and this was something that motivated Daryl to increase his pedaling. He started to pedal a little harder, since he was already in his big gear ring. He needed to make this rider earn his keep. Daryl was keeping a pace that was okay for him since technically he was already ridden twenty-two miles further than any of the other riders.
Mile 18 – (Approx.) – Daryl and his follower have been pedaling a good clip. Both of them were passing rider after rider and they were only pass by a few other riders who are probably on the same mission as them.
Mile 22.4 – (Aid Station) – Well, the riders have come to the second aid station on the bike ride, but this will be the aid station that Daryl will stop at. He needs to get some food into his body. He saw the fruit that is usually offered to the riders and decides that he is going to have some of that fresh fruit, but then he saw some kind of nutritional bar on another table. He grabbed two of the same kind of bars that were offered and then headed back to his bike.
The bars were Nature Valley – Sweet & Salty Nut Granola bar – Peanut (naturally favored) – God damn! This was one damn good tasty bar he was biting into. Something about the flavor and texture of the granola bar ignited his taste buds. He positively needs to get some more of these scrumptious bars.
As Daryl was walking back to his bike, he notices the wind was blowing considerably. “Fuck me” he uttered softly with a smile on his face. Damn his luck the wind was blowing from north to south. Go figure. Daryl got a few more comments on his jersey as he walked to his bike. Now was time to mount up and get to the century route turn-off as soon as possible.
Two reasons why, the wind will eventually change direction during the day and the other reason why is that Daryl needs to get through the century route as quickly as possible in order to get back onto the main route of the shorter route riders (50 and 65 mile routes) since those riders will literally empty those aid stations of the “good stuff” and leave behind “the shit” that nobody will want unless you absolutely have to have.
Mile 24.4 – Highway 83/County Line road – The last option to take the 100 mile route or take the shorter 65 mile route. As Daryl always thinks to himself this is the point where the route separates the men from the boys and the women from the girls. There are many riders who take the 100 mile route, but since the Black Forest has trees and hills riders never really get to see how many riders are actually taking the 100 mile route.
Mile 24.7 – (Approx.) – After the “hard core” riders made a left turn for the 100 mile course the riders have thinned out considerably. This is the only part in the bike course that Daryl was not looking forward to. Heading into the Black Forest, which is located just north and a bit east of Colorado Springs. Daryl can not really recall the bike route from memory, but he remembers some hills and some turns. Other than that his mind is blank as a chalkboard.
There is nothing arduous about the Black Forest that Daryl would consider difficult for him. Just a few short, steep climbs here and there, but what he dislikes about the bike route is the ride east. Each rider has to bike east – all the way to Bradshaw Road. The route unfortunately is not straight as Daryl is. The route goes east, then south, east, south, east, south, east, north, east and then finally the riders come eventually to Bradshaw Road. As you readers can kind of assume the route is as crooked as the current president of the United States.
Mile 29 – (Approx.) – Daryl has been playing “your turn, my turn.” Basically, he would pass a few riders on a hill and then on the down slope the riders would pass him. Again, he had to conserve some energy since he technically is biking one hundred and fifty miles today. There were about five riders with Daryl who were sort of traveling together.
The reasoning is that if you keep the others riders in sight of you, there is some indication of how you are riding. Whether you need to pick up the pace a bit or catch up since you may be starting to pedal slower than the other riders.
Mile 31 – (Approx.) – The wind has been non-existent since entering the Black Forest. With all the trees and little hogbacks in the forest the wind has been shut out by the Black forest terrain.
Mile 36.9 – (Aid Station 3) – The next aid station that was on the agenda was this third Aid station, which was stationed in the middle of nowhere. This aid station was fairly packed with riders and most of them were in line to use the port-o-potties that were available. Luckily, Daryl did not have to stand in line and wait for the port-o-potty. The line was at least fifty riders long and all waiting their turn to use on of the three available port-o-potties
Therefore, he bypasses the port-o-potty line and heads for the line of food and drink.
“Do you know what my favorite episode is?” Daryl turns around and then she says “Cripple fight!” Daryl could not help to smile and laugh. Daryl says loudly “Timmy!” Then they both laugh out loud. Next then you know another person said they liked the episode with “the Crips” Soon there was a group of them having a nice conversation about Southpark in the middle of nowhere at the third Aid station on the Elephant Rock Ride. Each of them took their turn mentioning some episode that made them laugh, which was basically every episode those creators Matt and Trey have done. Timmy, Jimmy, Token, Cartman, Kenny, Ike, Mr. Hanky, Butters and Towlie, The only character that was not mentioned was Chef.
Mile 38 – (Approx.) – Daryl’s CD player suddenly plummets from his bike and tumbles in the air to the pavement of Eastonville Road at about the velocity of twenty-three miles per hour. Daryl looks at the oncoming demise of his CD player, which more than likely will be shattered in several pieces all over the El Paso County Road. In the next second he saw the aftermath of what happens when a CD player hits the pavement from the height of about two feet and traveling about twenty-three miles per hour. He can recall the image with such clarity. His CD player falling and then the compact disc flew out of the player, like a bull rider being thrown from “yellow jacket”, as well as did the batteries and battery cover. That was all he saw in that second. He immediately pulled off to the right side of the road and applied the brakes quickly and hard.
Daryl ran back about fifteen yards and found his CD player miraculously in one piece. He also found both batteries and the battery cover littered across the hot, black top country two lane road. Daryl spent about two minutes more trying to locate the compact disc that was in the player. He hesitantly put his CD player back together and yes you guessed right – the player still fucking worked. Sony still produces the best compact players and with this particular player, which by the way cost him a “Franklin” about three years ago, is his baby. This CD player has been through so many accidents and yet to this day she still puts out the music and still brings a smile to Daryl’s face. Another thank you to the biking gods, which Daryl did give a nod to this morning
Mile 44 – (Approx.) – Sweet Road / Bradshaw Road junction. Daryl was approaching the junction that he has been looking forward to all morning. Unfortunately, with Daryl’s gladness also came someone’s misfortune. There was the aftermath of a tragic accident. This is the sort of accident that he witnessed two years ago in almost the same location of the bike course.
An elderly man was laid out on the corner of the junction and appeared to be unconscious. Blood was here and there, but did not appear to be serious. A couple of others bikers were with him and told us riders that everything is okay and the ambulance was on route He also pointed to the sand on the road that resulted in the rider’s accident “be careful”.
Mile 45 – (Approx.) – The ambulance passes Daryl in the opposite direction hopefully to the casualty at the junction.
Mile 48.3 – (Aid Station 4) – Well, the last few miles since turning onto Murphy Road the wind has been blowing steadily from Northwest to Southeast. Not just steadily, but also very gusty. Ever since Daryl rode past Elbert Road the wind has been blowing and making his life and the other riders pedaling laborious.
Daryl had to stop at this Aid Station to gather himself. The wind for the past three miles has been relentless and his speed dropped to an average of ten miles per hour. Even though his bike odometer and the map indicated 48.3 miles the mileage for Daryl is 70.3 miles. With the added mileage and blowing wind the distance so far appears to have taken a toll. In addition, dropping below ten miles per hour has had an effect on Daryl’s psyche.
Daryl heads over to the drink station and refills one water bottle with Gatorade and then gets into line for the port-o-potties.
Ten minutes later and probably a few ounces lighter Daryl grabs a couple of energy bars and heads to his bike.
He was not quite ready to say goodbye to the aid station so he takes a seat next to Andrea and watches the riders come and leave. He was looking at all the bike jerseys, specifically scanning for anyone else wearing a Southpark jersey. While recuperating he struck up a conversation with another rider who had the same exact model bike he was riding today. The only difference was that this rider bought his bike used from a bike store that rented out the bike for excursions around the Cherry Creek Reservoir.
They had a pleasant talk for about ten minutes – about other bike rides, the Leadville 100 and what is left of the Elephant Rock Ride.
Mile 50 – (Approx.) – The crossroads of Meridian Road and Murphy Road. This is the beginning of what should be a fairly easy ten miles to the next aid station. A short downhill descent and then a steady uphill incline on Burgess Road.
Mile 53 – (Approx.) – Daryl has found another group that he is has been playing “your turn, my turn.” There are about ten riders in this group
Mile 54 – (Approx.) – Daryl has been passing rider after rider on the hill ascents and then on the downhill he pedals conservatively while the other riders pedal like bats out of hell and pass him on the descents. This is the usual routine for this group of riders
Mile 60 – (Approx.) – Finally, Daryl has come to the point of the course that he looks forward to – to bike north. Yet, even with his delight of riding back to Castle Rock he will be tackling the many steep, rolling hills for the next ten miles. The hills are steep in this portion of the course, the weak will falter and Daryl will ever so fucking demolish any cyclist on the hill ascents in the next ten miles. This is his time to twinkle. Twinkle?! Get the fuck out of here! This was his time to shine and be remembered for the guy with the Southpark jersey who rode by them with “attitude” imprinted on the back of his jersey.
Mile 60.75 – (Approx.) – Oh, how the “mighty” unsubstantial cyclists have fallen to the wayside. Daryl was being an exhibitionist. No ifs, ands or buts, Daryl was dominating on this hill before the next aid station at mile 61.2. Sure at the start of the climb other riders were attempting to stay in front of Daryl, but little do they know whom they were fucking with. With about a quarter of the hill climb remaining any rider that was maintaining pace with him was instantly left behind as he dug into his reserves and left those pacers and wanna be king of the hill climbers in his wake.
Mile 61.2 – (Aid Station 5) – No need to stop at this aid station, since the next aid station is only seven miles down the road. He must also keep the riders that he dropped on the hill climb behind him. No need to give those riders any signs of hope or glory in riding Daryl down.
Mile 64 – (Approx.) – Highway 83 / Shoup Road – Things sure have transformed in the past two years, the highway construction is finally completed on this section of the highway. Four lanes, a wide shoulder, and even those annoying rumble strips are present. At least there is a shoulder to ride on since the last time Daryl came through this area he was riding in the road. At that time the road was only two lanes wide and packed with traffic on that particular day.
Mile 66.50 – (Approx.) – Highway 83 / North Gate Road – Another milestone has been reached. This is the portion of the course that the 100 mile century riders will join the 65 mile course riders.
Mile 67 – (Approx.) – Roller Coaster Road / North Gate Road – Those would be entrepreneurs have shown their faces once more. The entrepreneurs were offering icy, cold refreshments for a price. Daryl almost succumbs to the lure of an icy, cold Gatorade for the sweet, low price of $ 2.00. Almost, but not! He decides to gamble and makes his second nod to the gods and puts his conviction into the hands of the biking gods once more knowing that he could provoke the biking gods for making a second request in one day. Tempting the biking gods is no laughing matter to him.
Mile 68.2 – (Aid Station #6) – This aid station is located about thirty yards from the top of a very steep hill. Not the ideal place to make an Aid station since this aid station is situated on a very steep hill ascent. Never-the-less, Daryl will make this an honorary custom and stop for any sports drink and food that might be available.
Daryl gets lucky and gets the final pitcher of Gatorade that this aid station has available. How fucking fortunate?! No such thing. The nod to the gods provided the Gatorade for Daryl, but not without consequences. No “good” food is left at the aid station.
Only one type of energy bar was available at the aid station – Larabar – Pecan Pie – Raw natural food for health. For life. For fun. Uncooked. Unprocessed. No sugar added. Non-GMO. Gluten free. Dairy fee. Soy free. Vegan. Kosher.
After Daryl reads this piece of information on the wrapper he smiles and thinks to himself “What the fuck?” There must be some pretty fucked up people who must meet and/or need all these criteria’s listed on this Larabar snack bar. What he means is that this aid station is located on the 65 / 100 mile route and riders are not looking for “fun” food, or for “health” food or “Kosher” – get the fuck out of here! Hah hah. This bar’s net weight is 1 oz has 140 calories, which 13 % of the bar is total fat. If the riders are taking the 65 / 100 mile route the 140 calories is nothing to worry about and whether or not it is this healthy matters not, riders are looking for something tasty, salty, and maybe some sugar for energy since there is basically thirty one miles left in the bike tour. If any of the riders have been riding hard their body has probably switched over to processing sugar and sweating out salt. Today was moderately hot and the body may need one or the other or both in order to function safely.
By the way readers, the bars taste like how the wrapper advertised, like shit. Daryl compares the bar to the inside core of a fig Newton with more of a firmer body. There was no Pecan Pie taste, only the taste of a healthy food bar - bland. He does not recommend this energy bar, have a power bar instead you will thank him later.
Mile 72 – (Approx.) – County Line Road / Roller Coaster Road – The 100 mile and 65 mile riders join the 50 mile course riders.
Mile 75 – (Approx.) – What a different outlook on the second time of his journey through this part of the Elephant Rock’s course. Two years ago Daryl knew he struggled on this little part of the course. A short, steep hill climb before the down hill descent into Palmer Lake. Now, this time around he had no difficulty what so ever climbing this hill.
Mile 77.6 (Aid Station – Palmer Lake) – Daryl’s bike odometers indicate that he has officially reached 100.7 miles for the day, but knows that he still has another twenty three miles to the finish line and about fifty four miles to bike home.
This Aid station is quite busy and jam-packed with riders. Live “hippie” music was being performed by some unknown group nearby a gazebo where there was a variety of food to choose from. Not necessarily the “good” stuff, but subsistence that Daryl could stomach. He made up his mind to have two peanut butter sandwiches and take a brief break at the gazebo near a stream. While eating he thinks about the next twenty three miles and how this will be the last aid station stop for him even though there is one more aid station located at the 88.8 mile marker.
The weather has been good so far and there was no sign of any rain clouds in the sky or on the horizon. The time to get a move on has come and to put another century ride into the books and to congratulate Andrea on another expedition with his journey of a hundred and fifty mile day.
Mile 79 – (Approx.) – This is the start of a downhill descent to about the 89 mile marker. There are a handful of hills in the next nine miles, but nothing to be fearful about. Riding along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains is so exhilarating to Daryl. Whether riding in this part of Douglas County, or near Lockheed Martin, or near the Boulder Reservoir the feeling is indescribable.
Mile 88.8 – (Aid Station #8) – Daryl once again bypasses this aid station. No need to stop since the finish line is in twelve miles.
Mile 90 – (Approx.) – Tomah Road / Perry Park Road – The beginning of a two mile hill climb. Unfortunately, the last hill climb is long and gets steep shortly before the summit. The hill is not tough, but after biking ninety miles or with the case of Daryl biking one hundred and ten miles, this ascent becomes a monster to reckon with and not to be taken lightly. Otherwise, one may well be walking one’s bike in shame.
Mile 93 – (Approx.) – He has reached the summit of the hill. Daryl has demonstrated once again to himself that he is a remarkable climber. He was ruthless in his pursuit of riding down a lot of riders to the top of this final hill. Only one rider tried passing him, but Daryl rode by him in the last quarter mile of the ascent. Daryl did not just barely pass that rider; he left that particular rider way behind. No chance in hell was he going to be overtaken so close to the peak of this hill.
Mile 94 – (Approx.) – I-25 / Tomah Road – CastleRock can be seen in the distance north of Tomah road and every rider can now ascertain how far the finish line is to the eye.
Mile 100 – Finish Line – The bike’s odometer time yields 7:44:00 total. Nothing majestic about this finish, except Daryl has completed one hundred and twenty-two miles as opposed to a straight one hundred miles which probably all other 100 mile route riders did. He also knows that he has another twenty eight miles to achieve his odyssey.
“No rest for the wicked” – Daryl mutters softly and half smiles to the world.
Epilogue
Alright, another century ride down and you know what readers this time around I still felt fresh at the finish of this Elephant Rock Ride. Granted, I still had to bike to Denver, which meant that I still had twenty six miles more to bike until I got home and yell “Boo Yah!”
I thoroughly enjoyed this ride. I think that out of the 7000 plus riders I was the only rider with the SouthPark Jersey, Riders were coming up to me and saying how much they loved my jersey. Or they spotted me at one of the aid station along the bike course. Those comments really made my day during the Elephant Rock ride and worth the $ 60.00 entry fee. I guess what I mean is that I was looking for attention this day, but I did not realize that I would get as much notoriety as I did. I got the respect I wanted or if this was the Boondocks – I got “street cred.” Hah hah! I was in the limelight for the entire day – ever so fucking sweet.
The Southpark bike jersey so far has paid for itself this year. I guess I never realize how many people out there know SouthPark. Not just the town Southpark Colorado, but the show Southpark.
Nothing much else to write about on the finish line ending of my day. I parked my bike outside the fairgrounds main building and went in to grab my well deserved paid lunch. This time around I decided to get one lunch instead of two lunches as I did two years ago. I thoroughly stayed hydrated and well nourished during the entire century ride so food and fluids were not necessary to replenish my body’s nutrients.
I grabbed a table that was empty and was soon joined by three other riders who saw my jersey and decided to sit with greatness. Not. Only kidding. I am not that great, but I often do hold myself in that position in my mind and sometimes in my fantasies. I also grabbed a beer that was supposedly brewed in Durango, Colorado. Lunch was good and we all talked for about an hour and then said our farewells, goodbyes and best of luck.
On that note, I have to say goodbye to this year’s Elephant Rock Ride 2006.
Author’s Note
Alright – final numbers 150.60 miles – total time 9:36.30, 15.7 mph average speed and with the maximum speed of 42.0.
As you readers know this is the part of the epic tale that I get to write anything that might be of interest. Or may not be – depending on your point of view.
Okay, about nine months ago a cyclist I knew got into an accident with a vehicle. I do not know the specifics nor did I inquire about the nature of the accident. Yes, it was pretty bad – Probably worst than one of my many accidents, since I never lost a few teeth and got really fucked up. Well, let me rephrase that... hah, hah, I have gotten fucked up drinking, but not getting really fucked up on a bike with a vehicle. I have had a concussion, bruises everywhere, scratches on the face, a cortisone shot in order to relieve a post-accident inflammation in the shoulder area. I could have lost an eye, but I ever thank my Oakley sunglasses. Besides all the physical scars I have endured there are the mental scars, which played havoc in my first couple major accidents on a bike.
Anyway, in the days following her accident I had many people come up to me and ask me “Did you hear?” How is she?” “Are you okay?” and the same sort of questions. Then, after those initial questions now came the questions of how and why? This was something that I absolutely could not comment on. Again. I do not know the nature of the accident. Also, I really do not know her. We did the same things, so to speak, but I would not consider us really friends. That was my choice, after I met her in the beginning and then backing off. From that point, I kept my distance and basically avoided her. So, my apologies to anyone who thinks I knew something at that time, but truly I did not. Nor was it for me to assume who was at fault in this accident, only she can tell what happened.
Being in several accidents myself, with half of the accidents involved with vehicles, you have to remember regardless whether you have the right of way and doing everything by the book, you have to be conscious of the drivers around you. By the numbers, I have several bikes that weigh basically 15 to 25 pounds and the vehicle that you may think needs to heed to you weigh over 1500 hundred pounds and is made of steel and not carbon fiber. I / you will lose the “you want to play chicken” battle hands down. I would become another grease spot on the road of life.
I felt for her, but I did not offer my condolences. My number one concern was giving her the privacy. You could call me heartless, you can call me selfish and you call me thick headed, but I did what was right to me. I am superstitious when it come to biking and when knowing, even seeing the aftermath of a terrible accident, those things could effect me immediately or sometime later when I least expect it. Sort of like Tony Soprano and “Those god damn ducks.” He never knew when those ducks would come back.
I did buy a few gifts for her, but from where I am writing this epic story the bag still sits on my bookcase with all the gifts still in the bag. The card I bought is also still in the bag. There is one item, which is in the refrigerator, that I was planning to give, but someone talked me out of including in the gift bag. I bought it because one of her close friends made a comment about it and well I decided to go with it. I bought some… never mind. Better left unknown. Yes, it was meant to be a joke, but by no means did I come up with idea. I guess you can chalk this up in the “I am glad I didn’t” column. The gift bag still resides on the bookcase. The gift is unique, but I am sure that I could I give this to some other woman who may appreciate my thoughtfulness.
Well, to this day I still do not know the nature of the accident; therefore I am still happy to say no comment. I can not say it was her fault or the driver.
Has my riding changed because of her accident you wonder? No. I still do not wear a helmet on my rides, I still ride with my CD player and earphones and I still ride on the streets as opposed to sidewalks. There is a vehicle out there in the world with a name, my name, on its bumper, but for now I am still here and still giving you readers another chronicle in my life.
Considering the addition of a new circle of friends that I have met in the past few years that will be reading this latest journey, I hope this does not piss you off since we both may know this person. I often write and express what I feel in my stories since I do my best tale telling in my writing. I wrote what needed to be told since I had to hold my voice until the time was right for me.
Until the next time
w-i-t-h-u-t-m-o-s-t-s-i-n-c-e-r-i-t-y
Daryl
aka CalSeti
June 19, 2006
Englewood, Colorado
