Kudos to all who stuck with it for the TOSRV (Tour of the Scioto River Valley). 210 miles in 2 days.
Marisol, I think I saw you in a flash - but then again, not ONE bike EVER passed me (typical tour riders mostly)!!! First 25 miles in the freezing rain was awful (I actually stopped in a goodwill store with a friend and we bought some stuff, stripped, changed in the store and away we went). Second 25 there was a huge paceline/peloton of about 50 bikes (about 3,000 total riders) - lead was rotating nicely, steady at around 22 mph. On my turn (the ONLY guy on a tri bike mind you), I decided to turn it up and see who could hold on (knowing that a break was waiting at about mile 52). Held 24-25 mostly with a little 23 in some rollers and 30+ on some slight hills. Near the break: get up off the aerobars, look around - 5 others remain! Lost my buddy as well. What fun. Suffered badly though on the last 25 in a bad headwind and right quad cramping (marathon 6 days prior).
I was also looking for Kittycat on the celeste Bianchi …
“Second 25 there was a huge paceline/peloton of about 50 bikes (about 3,000 total riders) - lead was rotating nicely, steady at around 22 mph. On my turn (the ONLY guy on a tri bike mind you), I decided to turn it up and see who could hold on…”
And triathletes wonder why they get a bad rap from roadies. Rule # 1 of a paceline is that you maintain the pace - not increase it (unless it’s a race, of course).
As an oft/previous roadie - tri guys get a “bad rap” because of their usually poor bike handling skills and riding in the peloton on their aerobars, not their intensity. ALL the roadies that I bike with love to drop people and see where they/others are at.
well, I was out there, but not going near your pace. I finished in a little under 3 hours, and this was coming from Chillicothe only. Unfortunately I mixed my gatorade wrong and it made my stomach so sick! It took me 3 hours after finishing to feel better. But, aside from that I had a great time and was glad to do it. Next year I’ll start from Columbus.
Was it my imagination, or was it windy? Towards the end, I was happy to pack up during the last 10 miles or so…I was certainly tired, but then had to pull the pack for the last 5–damn, that sucked.
I cannot imagine putting another 55 miles (or more) on tope of that, and then running a marathon afterwords. You iron people are nuts!
hey, TOSRV was definitly a good ride. But the first 30 miles were very hard for me… That rain… I am not sure what happened but i shivered so bad that the medics came and got me at that first stop. i must of satyed in the “buckeye” van for 45 min warming up… I finshed the day but was tired at the end. sunday was great. I pulled a lot since I wanted to be aero. I actually had a group with me and pulled very steadily… you think you saw me? I had a good time overall (minus the first 30 miles)
hey sorry to miss you guys at the tent. when i finished my husband got me a coke and i wanted to leave because i felt pretty bad from the gatorade i mixed. so, i’ll see you next time ;).
but then again, not ONE bike EVER passed me. The ONLY guy on a tri bike mind you. Held 24-25 mostly with a little 23 in some rollers and 30+ on some slight hills.
Who cares who passed or didn’t pass you and how fast you can roll along? Thanks for telling us how good you are. Way to kick all those tour riders asses!
did you camp out afterwards? lord, I kept thinking of the people on gym floors and camping. i cannot imagine…especially a gym floor. i would prefer a tent and a sleeping bag to a gym floor anyday (had enough of that with collegiate rowing).
Yes, the first 2 hours were awful Marisol. I couldn’t unzip my jersey to go to the bathroom at the first stop my hands were so frozen and my riding partner couldn’t hold his coffee still enough to drink! I saw the “Buckey” RV and wondered what that was. That must have been a nice med tent! I wondered how many just bagged it after that. Kudos for finishing! Hard to believe it made it to 80 with wind shortly thereafter. Should be good training for your ride up the Queen K in October Marisol
After re-reading my initial post, I’m not surprised at some of the replies - sorry guys for sounding like I needed my ego stroked. It was mainly meant for others who were there. Gotta love the context police in cyberspace :0 Hopefully I’ll come across them in a “race” instead
well, i knew what you were getting at. personally i missed the freezing rain, but got plenty of winds and thought that was pretty tough in and of itself. with freezing rain i would have thought about bagging it (but then would have felt guilty and wouldn’t allowed myself to quit).
and freezing hands? that’s the worst. i hope you had a good beer when you were finished…i know you earned it!
I didn’t mean to be the context police, but ya have to admit, it did sound a bit arrogant…and I was one of the others that was there! I was freezing in the rain and battling the winds too…chilling with the ‘tour riders’ enjoying the tour for the full 200 miles. Sure we ramped it up to 26-28mph for a little bit in the last 25 miles of day one in the strong winds and passed a line of triathetes all in their arrow bars… but who cares. Just seems silly to detail out in that way…RACE or TOUR, IMHO.
Unless you are on the road, racing with the ladies, I probably won’t be near by
The rain was cold and it took quite awhile for me to warm up also. It was good motivation to ride faster though. The worst part for my Dad and I was finding out that our school had no shower upon our arrival in Portsmouth. After being covered with road spray and sweat we were less than fresh. Not to mention, it was also the out in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, the church with the lasagna dinner was providing shuttle service to their meal and were kind enough to drop us at another school to take a shower. Needless to say, we returned the favor by eating their delicious dinner!
I felt really sorry for the folks rolling in around 7-8 p.m. and not being able to shower! Luckily, I didn’t have to sleep close to any of them:)
My only other complaint is how I managed to sleep right next to the only guy that was snoring in an entire school full of guys.
They had a accomodations with no showers? Oh man, what a bummer. If there was any ride that you needed a shower after, that was it! Glad you found one! Maybe make a mental note of which gym that was and let us know so no one stays there in the future! Marisol was kind enough to remind me to bring ear plugs for the gym…I can’t thank her enough for that piece of advice
Yes, this was only our 2nd trip on the TOSRV and I will definitely request a specific school next time. Looks like not picking all male accomodations is the way to go. The 2 all male schools are furthest out. We even signed up early so I’m especially surpsrised that we ended up with such a poor place to stay. It sounds like the Life Center is the best place to stay. We ended up showering there and they had T.V.'s to watch while you were waiting in line for the shower! The guy driving the bus said that their new church would be open next year and they would host people and it would also be a nice place to stay. I also heard that they were going to put a lot of people at the new high school when that is finished.
In my opinion, there is no better way to do back-to-back century rides. It’s so fun and interesting to see the mix of people, bikes, etc. as you move along the route.
Hey, I saw you on the road a couple of times. Some friends have been riding to Portsmith, then back to Waverly and staying in the Hotel the first day (about 140 miles), then riding back to Columbus the second day (70 miles). Hoyels are much more availible and you don’t have to get up too early on Sunday.
You aren’t so tough TGR. Getting awful sassy on this site huh? It brings out the best in you doesn’t it!!! Glad you and Marisol had a good time. When are you coming to Flagstaff to do some riding??? Hope to see you guys soon. I am getting fat and further out of shape…
That’s actually a good idea if you have someone to drop off your stuff in Waverly. I actually know some people who go down and back on the same day too! It would be nice to have a hotel to sleep at instead of a gym floor.
