I woke up at 2:30 am, and ready to head out to be there at 4 am. I get there early enough to get a spot in the first parking lot (albeit in the dirt). Ok, first order of business, put the lights on. Ok, camelback, backpack with my miscellaneous gear, and where is the bag that I put my lights in ... Holy shit! Can't find it ... my worst fears, I left them in the house. Damn it! This time, I'm not late ... I have the right clothing on ... but no lights. At this point, I'm not sure if I can ride 200 miles in complete daylight ... I've never done that before, and I didn't want to risk being caught out in the dark. In the back of my mind, I'm thinking if I really need to, I can just ride the double metric.
Oh well, time to put on my shoes and ride to registration. Shoes ... okay, put on my left shoe, check ... now where's my right shoe. Damn, I can't see anything in the dark. If only I had my lights ... check everywhere, no right shoe. Holy crap! WTF! I only have one shoe! How the heck did that happen? Maybe I was shuffling around too much before I left the house ... I don't think I took the shoe out before leaving, but I now have to face the fact that I'm not riding today ... that sucks, because this is the one double I have really been looking forward to. All my So Cal friends are on this one.
So I go up to registration, meet Rick, tell him I'm not doing the ride. I see Lynn, and I had to break the news about my lights and my shoe. I let everyone know I'm registered, but I am a DNS (Did Not Show). I made it all the way this far, am I just going to go home? Nah, if anything, I'll see if they need any help. Kermit says they always could use another SAG driver, so that's what I'll do.
So I'm off to drive the double course (with intentions of driving the highland double course). About 15 minutes after I take off, Kermit calls me on the phone. "Do you wear Sidi's? We think we found your other shoe" ... oh boy! I make a U-turn, and then I find out it is my shoe. WTF! Someone found it in the parking lot ... perhaps it rolled around in the parking lot, and I wasn't able to find it ... IN THE DARK! Well, I already said I would SAG, so no riding for me today.
Actually, they do need help with the triple century route, so I guess that's what I'll be SAGing today. SAG support for this isn't until after 12 pm, so I've got some time to waste.
So I drove up to Carpinteria, take the bike out for a little 20 mile spin before doing some actual work. At least I was able to get some riding in. It turned out it was a gorgeous day. Too bad I had to have such a brain fart today ... and my senility is intensifying. At least I got to enjoy a part of the day.
The triple century riders would be the stronger riders, so I hung out at Rincon for a while. I figure that the 300 and 400 mile riders would be first to arrive at Rincon, and as soon as the bulk of the 200 mile riders came by, then most of the 300 mile riders would have passed.
One of the most unique riders had a trike with a shell. Very unique looking ride. He was doing the 300 miler.
I went ahead and drove the triple century route after Rincon. I didn't see very many riders as I was driving along. I did pass a few that I recognized that passed through Rincon, but there weren't too many. I know a bunch came through before I got there.
I hung out a while at the next rest stop in Goleta, waiting for more riders to come through. A handful of riders came through, and after awhile, I decided to just drive up to the turnaround point at Mariposa Reina. I went ahead and followed the route, but as I was following it, it led me to a dead end. A few other riders also wound up in the same place. The route mentioned to make a left at the T to Calle Real ... well, there was no T, but a dead end gate. What we were supposed to do was hang a right over the freeway, which then is a T, and make a left on Calle Real. Oops! I guess they need to drive the route next time.
Onto the freeway, for another 17 miles before the turnaround at Mariposa Reina. They did mention a few people commenting about the missed turn, but the thought was most people are familiar enough with the route, they would know how to get there. Let's hope that's true.
Ok, back to the Goleta rest stop. We find out there are still a handful of 15-20 riders still going to Mariposa, and they don't have much water left. Yikes! They wanted me to grab 3 gallons of water, so off I go to 7-11, then delivering it to Mariposa. However, by the time I get there, someone else had delivered several gallons of water. Oh well, scenic route for me ... :)
On my way back, I found my friends Roland and Teresa (aka Tiger) on the tandem with a flat. I pull over to help out. As I was helping, I heard a big loud thump by my car. I remember passing one rider who had his head down, not looking at the road ahead. Well, that was the same guy who ran into my car. Damn ... I guess 200+ miles can cloud someone's better judgement. Mental note to everyone ... no matter how straight and isolated a road may be, always look up after a few seconds if you bend your head down. You never know what may be ahead of you ... like a car! Thankfully, the rider was okay ... we had to tweak his derailleur a little bit, but other than that, no real injuries or mechanicals. I would never have thunk someone would run into a parked car!
That was the most eventful part of the day. For the most part, by the time I came around the course, everyone was doing fine, no mechanicals and no flats. I guess the guys ahead of me already took the brunt of that. I did have to sag one rider to the next rest stop, but at least he kept me company for the next 40 miles or so.
Ironically, my day finished later than if I had actually done the route. I've gotta say kudos to all the 300 and 400 mile riders. 200 miles is enough for me, but these guys needed more time in the saddle. I have all the respect in the world for all these guys and gals. That takes a lot of mental discipline.
So this year's Grand Tour was a fail for me, but at least I got karma points for volunteering for the ride. Now I see it from the other side. I have already gotten the brunt of all the jokes, with the "what happened to the other shoe" comments. I'm not sure what it is ... most of the issues with not bringing anything, or forgetting something, always happens at Grand Tour. Maybe I should room with someone next time, so that I ensure I have everything.
2 comments:
What a good attitude. Way to step up and do support when your plans tanked. And, as a bonus, or karma, you good your pricy shoe back.
Sometimes things are meant to happen and things go off track. It's like getting served the wrong meal at a restaurant...savory but different and a forced into a different but rewarding perspective.
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