The theme for today, for me at least, was “Hills and Headwinds Again”. After 5 days of relatively flat ride profiles, today we started climbing again. I guess that “muscle memory” is a real thing after today, or maybe it’s really just muscle fatigue that is setting in after 36 days in the saddle. Either way, for me and I think most of our group, today was harder than we expected it to be – it felt longer than 80 miles for sure!
We had a little bit later of a start given the length of today’s ride and the historical experience of getting into hotel rooms before 4 PM at our scheduled Newbury Hotel – the Punderson Manor. Rolling out at 9 AM, our group was split up a few times by the traffic lights as we headed east out of Oberlin into a partly cloudy sky with splotches of blue sky in between. The weather for the day looked promising so the arm warmers stayed in my back left jersey pocket with my lip balm and spare packet of Butt’r. The first 20 miles were easy enough and we had semi-organized into mixed pace lines to make our way faster to the first SAG stop.
The route talk we had before departing an hour and 15 minutes earlier included the veiled warning that eastern Ohio “may surprise you”. We soon found out why! Even though most of the early climbs this morning we relatively easy “rollers” – just a few miles after the mile 20 stop, those rollers became deeper and steeper – and the headwinds only made us grind a little harder. I was a little surprised at my deep breathing and heart rate as the morning got later, so I started to pace the climbs with the same strategy that has worked before – “pick your spot and stick with it” – meaning settle into a cadence and heart rate zone that you can sustain for the length of the climb and don’t “rest on the crest”. You know you have another roller on the other side, so accelerate down the hill to get the momentum you need to slingshot as far as you can up the next hill.
After our mile 41 SAG stop, the sun was finally out again and we were in the low-70’s. I can’t tell you how much better things are with the sun shining on our faces – our attitudes are better and more positive and we actually hydrate more effectively. As we headed to the lunch stop at mile 62, we had pretty much given up on any semblance of group or pace line riding – the climbs would break it all up but some might regroup on a mild descent. We had a great lunch with choices of salad and accompaniments along with 2 choices of pasta with proteins of chicken or meatballs. I would say that all of us have gotten more efficient at our lunch stops and most are in and out within 15-20 minutes. You’re not going to recover any better if you’re there for 30 minutes – so just wash, eat, pee and get out of dodge so you can get to the next stop or the hotel.
While today wasn’t a really hard day, it was a wake-up call to let us know that we had better get our climbing gear back on. The landscape has changed yet again and we are definitively out of the mild slopes and open spaces of the agricultural Midwest. We’ll cross into Pennsylvania tomorrow and then we have our final 2 consecutive 100+ mile rides into Rest Day in Corning, NY. Tomorrow will be another milestone day –Â we will cross the 3,000 mile mark after just 10 miles of pedaling. That’s a long way!
Tonight we are lodged at the Punderson Manor at the Punderson State Park in Newbury, OH. It was named for Lemuel Punderson who was the first settler of the Newbury Township in the early 1800’s. It turns that the lake I can view outside my window here was made possible by the dam constructed by him and others to power a local grist mill to attract other settlers. I bet old Lemuel would be happy with how it all turned out.
As I get ready to turn in tonight, I would like to thank my close friend Rick “Gus” Kellar and his wife Sherry who were here to welcome me and others as we rolled in this afternoon. It was great to catch up over dinner and it is so encouraging to have that kind of support from friends who go out of their way to cheer you on.
I would also like to give as huge “shout out” to Judi and Manny Naft who are from the local area and who provided us with a delicious home-baked flourless chocolate cake and chocolate raspberry brownies for our post-ride recovery table. The Nafts are supporters of Teach My People in Pawleys Island, SC given their close relationship with members of the Staff and Board of Directors. They learned of this ride and wanted to cheer us on as well. Speaking on behalf of my 23 other P2P’ers, thank you from the bottom of our hearts – there were only a few crumbs left at the end of the day!
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