I was fairly confident about finishing the 300K—barring a mechanical problem. The 200K took less than 10 hours so that meant there were more than 10 hours left to do another 100K. I was hoping to finish in around 14 hours. Since the route was 186 miles I also planned to do enough bonus miles after the finish to make a nice round double century (200 miles).
Tom picked me up at 3:50am to head over to Edwardsville for the 5:00 start. I was glad that Tom was giving me a ride so that my wife would not have to get up to drive me to the start so early in the morning. Once we arrived, I put on my reflective gear. It wasn’t very cold, but it was damp so I decided to start out wearing my jacket. We started rolling at 5:00. I did not get a count of how many riders there were, maybe 15 to 20.
The first part of the route was the same as the 200K. It was dark and foggy so all I could really see was the other riders and the area of the road illuminated by our headlights. The fog made everything damp. One of the other riders commented that this was the wettest ride he had ever been on where it wasn’t actually raining. After 20 minutes or so, the paced started to pick up. I knew that I would not be able to hang with the fast group for the whole way, but it’s nice not to have to worry about navigation, especially in the dark. There was one brief detour at about mile 26 when whoever was in front started to follow the 200K route rather than the 300K route. We got this straightened out quickly and were back on the road. A little while later, I took advantage of another brief stop to take off my jacket.
By this point I was looking forward to the first checkpoint in Breese so that I could use the facilities. Then I looked at the route sheet and noticed that while the first checkpoint was in the same place as the 200K, the route was different so it was at mile 51. I managed to hang with the fast group until the first checkpoint. By this time we were down to 10 riders. This checkpoint was a convenience store and there was a sign on the door: restrooms out of order. Drat. It was amazing to see how quickly a group of riders could get their cards signed, buy food, and refill water bottles. I also learned that the phrase “Is everybody about ready to go?” actually means “goodbye”. I was a little late leaving the checkpoint, but by drafting behind anther rider in a Hammer Gel jersey, I was able to catch back up to the main group. Total time at the checkpoint: 8 minutes.
We continued at our 20-mph pace towards the second checkpoint in Okawville at mile 77. I was having trouble keeping up after a while. The guy in the Hammer Gel jersey was pulling and he was strong. I was starting to fall back and then had to work to catch back up to the rider in front of me. I really wanted to hang on until the second checkpoint, but I decided that I wouldn’t be able to last. It also wasn’t fair to the riders behind me. I dropped off the pack at mile 75.
I did meet up with the group at the checkpoint, but I told them not to worry about waiting for me. I knew that I couldn’t keep the pace so I took my time at this stop and said goodbye to the other riders. I figured that I wouldn’t see them again. I also knew that it was unlikely that any of the riders behind me would catch up to me, so I would be riding the next 109 miles alone.
The route branched from the 200K route again at this checkpoint, so I was into the great unknown. The route sheet was very good (with one exception) so I had little trouble navigating. The route sheet was also good about telling where you could buy food as well. Of course, for this to be useful, you have to pay attention. There were services marked for New Minden at mile 88 but this soon after my last stop I didn’t need anything. I did not notice that the next services were not until mile 120.
In Hoyleton, I made my first navigational mistake. The route sheet said to turn right at a hardware store onto county road 11. I saw a lumberyard, could that be what it meant? There was no county road 11, so I kept going. Before long, I was out of Hoyleton so I turned around and started looking for county road 11. Eventually I noticed that the route sheet said count road 11/Main St. I saw a sign for Main Street and then noticed the hardware store, which appeared to be out of business.
At mile 108 I passed a cemetery. I looked at the tombstones and noticed that one of them said “Bonk”. I was a little short on water, but I certainly hadn’t bonked yet.
I made it to Oakdale (120 miles) and started looking for the third checkpoint. The route sheet said “General Store”. I rode all the way through Oakdale and saw two candidates: the “Oakdale Market” and the “Country Kitchen”. I tried calling the RBA on his cell phone but I was out of range. I went into the Oakdale Market and bought some supplies. I asked if any other bicyclists had been through. Nope. Then I asked if the clerk knew what the General Store was. Well, the Country Kitchen used to be a general store. Okay, I headed over there and that was the place. Or it least it was the place that all of the riders ahead of me had gone. This was the furthest point south and the last checkpoint. I was pretty proud of my progress so far. This was almost 200K and it was only 12:38 when I got to Oakdale. This meant that it only took 7:38 to do almost 200K. Two weeks ago the 200K had taken me 9:23.
I stopped again in Lively Grove 8 miles later. I wanted to top off my water and to re-apply sunblock. I should have done this sooner since the clouds had cleared out a while ago. It had also warmed up into the low 80’s. I went into the grocery store and bought some water and snacks. I asked if they had a bathroom and was told it was outside next to the gas pump. I went out and saw it: an honest to goodness outhouse. It’s times like this that make me glad to be a man.
I was feeling tired at this point and was wondering why. Was I dehydrated? Not eating enough? Sunburnt? This was now the longest ride I had ever done but I don’t think that was the problem. Whatever the cause, I had at least a slight bonk. My brain was definitely not working at peak efficiency.
I made another stop in New Baden at 155 miles to drink a coke and get more water. The route had already joined with the 200K route so I was back on familiar ground. I made another stop at 170 miles. I bought more water and called my wife to let her know what time I expected to finish. When I left this stop I manage to head east on US 40 instead of north on county road 13. The first thing I noticed is that there was a headwind. Then I realized that I didn’t remember riding on a road this busy on the 200K. After about a mile, I figured out that I was on the wrong road and turned around. Since I was planning on doing bonus miles after the 300K, this detour did not get me down. It just meant that there were fewer bonus miles that I needed to do.
Somewhere around this time, the fingers on my right hand started feeling very weak. It was actually difficult to shift. I also freaked out briefly because I though I had reset my bike computer. The elapsed time had gone back to zero. After a few seconds I figured out that it rolled over after 10 hours.
The last 20 miles were hard. Every small hill seemed to take a lot of energy to get up. I was very glad that the route was so flat. It also helped that the last 10 miles or so were headed west so I had a tailwind. It got to the point where I was thirsty but didn’t feel like drinking. I made it to the finish with a time of 13:07. I saw that the fast riders had finished about two hours ahead of me. With my detours, I was at 193 miles. I decided to ride back out on the route for my bonus miles. I did not see any other riders, but it would have been surprising if I had. I made it back to the start and my wife arrived to pick me up a few minutes later.
Can I do the 400K? Well, even though I bonked pretty hard at the end, I had plenty of time. If it were the 400K I would have had 14 hours left to do another 62 miles. I am certainly going to attempt it. I realize that the routes here are very flat and I would have more difficulty on a hillier route. But for my first brevet series, I’m willing to take it easy.
Final Stats (300K)
193.17 Distance (miles)
10:52 Rolling time
13:07 Clock Time
Double Century
200.42 Distance (miles)
11:23 Rolling time
13:49 Clock Time
193.17 Distance (miles)
10:52 Rolling time
13:07 Clock Time
Double Century
200.42 Distance (miles)
11:23 Rolling time
13:49 Clock Time
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