The 1000K riders took off at 7 am this morning from Greensboro (at least one 200K and a couple of 300K riders among them) under almost clear skies. I will add more to the blog as the ride progresses, but will have limited exposure as I will be focused on areas between Greensboro and Henderson. Meanwhile, here are some pictures from check in last night and the departure this morning.
9/4 0800 UPDATE:
The 600K group started at 7 am, with several 200K and a few 300K and 400K riders. As of 9 pm last night, there were 3 DNFs from the 1000K. Tony reported that the first group reached Fayetteville (approx 400K into the 1000K ride) around midnight. Today's temperatures should be more moderate than yesterday's (the high temperatures contributed to the cramping suffered by those who decided to end the ride).
More pictures have been posted HERE
Now it is off to Fayetteville to deliver 600K bags and pick up 1000K bags, then on to Henderson with the second set of 1000K bags.
LAST UPDATE (timeline 9/4 through 9/5)
I picked up John Guth at the first control after Fayetteville, and we had plenty of time to chew the fat due to a 40 minute traffic jam on I-40 near Clinton.
We stayed the remainder of Saturday (9/4) at the Henderson control (Scottish Inn), and Maria drove up from Raleigh after work on Saturday to help at the control. Thank you Maria! Your coffee was much appreciated by everyone. The first riders came into Henderson around 1:40 am on Sunday and the last group of three arrived a little after 2 pm. DNFs were up to 6. Patty from Flemington NJ drove in sometime before noon in her "mobile motel" (motor home), bringing us the latest updates from the "back third" of the riders. John Guth was now rested, rehydrated, and raring to ride the last 200K with his wife Nancy.
Ian Hands was suffering some bad right knee pain, and had removed his shoe cleat to try and get some relief. I drove down the road to Wal Mart (the Henderson phone book doesn't list a single bike shop in its yellow pages) to try and purchase some cheap flat pedals, but the store was all out of them and the clerk wouldn't let me buy a set off an assembled bike. So it was over to Lowe's for a roll of duct tape and some scrap wood in an attempt to fashion a temporary flat pedal out of an SPD. By the time I got back to the Scottish Inn, Rob D and Ren had arrived and gotten a shower. Ian was icing his knee and refueling. Meanwhile, Tony called to tell me Kevin K had decided to bail out at the control after Henderson, and needed a ride back. So I picked up the remaining drop bags and cleared out, leaving Patty to give any final help to Rob, Ren, and Ian.
Kevin and I got back to Greensboro around 6:20 pm and thankfully none of the first riders had departed yet (they got in about 5:15), so drop bags were available for pick up in time. Tony was at the control (Best Western) and had plenty of food set up in the room. I hung around for maybe an hour, so missed the opportunity to congratulate the final riders in person.
Congratulations to everyone who completed their first 600K or 1000K. All of the pictures I took have been uploaded HERE
Thanks to Tony G for the great amount of work he put in to bring this set of rides to the NC brevet calendar.
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