Penultimate Control - Morrisville 400K

The Snow Camp store serves as the next to last control point on the 200, 300, and 400 Morrisville brevets, and since I was still nursing a boil I decided the better part of wisdom was to serve as a volunteer rather than possibly end up as a casualty needing assistance, or at best trying to ride the last half of the event standing on the pedals. The store closes at 9 pm so I offered to hang around and sign/stamp control cards until the last riders came through.

The first group of randonneurs came in a little after 8 pm, and were all business as they quickly refilled bottles, grabbed some food, and prepared for night riding. Jerry and Mike D cautioned me that it could be a long night as some riders were 45 or 50 miles back.

Wes rolled in about 20 minutes after the lead group had taken off. I admire his tenacity as he was struggling with leg cramping issues. The first "distress" call came around 10 pm - Sridhar called to say he had abandoned but needed a ride from Seagrove back to where he had parked his bike in the woods somewhere on Flint Hill Road (the passing motorist who gave him a ride didn't have room for his bike). So I started down the road to Siler City but within 2 miles a group of 4 riders appeared, necessitating a turn around on my part. No sooner had I returned to Snow Camp but Sridhar called again to tell me Maria had picked him up at Seagrove and they were on their way to retrieve his bike. Sitting tight at Snow Camp, I continued to sign cards, give out V8 and snacks, and wait for Sridhar to call when he got back to Siler City with Maria. Meanwhile, Mike O drove up with Byron, bringing the last of the pizza. It was good to see them. Another group of riders including Joel, Branson, Keith, and Glenn also arrived. Mike was in contact with Alan, and eventually decided to drive back to Siler City with Byron and pick up Sridhar and his bike, then take the shortest route to Morrisville.

My mode of operation was to sit in the car and wait for riders. When Ron arrived on his recumbent, I opened the door only to set off the car alarm. I'm sure I startled Ron as I frantically tried to silence the pulsating horn and lights. It probably only lasted 10 seconds but it seemed like 15 minutes. Ron wryly commented "What a way to be welcomed to a control." This was a rental car and I think I had pressed the lock button on the remote while inside, then used the door lock to get the door open. I'm still pretty low tech when it comes to auto electronics.

Martin (skiffrun) rode up around 2:30 am, followed a few minutes later by Sara and Gary. Martin said that it had been a tough day from the outbound Siler City control, and he needed to stop every 10 miles for a short break. The three of them left together just after 3 with the goal of arriving at Alan's house at 8 (and they made it!).

Congratulations to everyone who participated in this demanding ride.