2011 Old Kentucky Home Tour

It's my third time riding OKHT, having first tackled the course on my Jamis. I bonked around mile 84, to the point I was riding off the side of the road. I rolled to a stop and the bottom of Pottershop, and walked nearly every inch of the road, but I did make it to Bardstown under my own power...in about 11 hours.

Last year I hit it on the Motobecane, and cramped. It had started raining on the way into the Lincoln Homestead SAG (Sarcasm and Grief) stop. Pouring actually It was like someone turned on a hose inside my shoes. I had been hot, and hammering to make decent time. Turning onto the decent into the SAG, I realized I had less than zero brakes. I seemed to actually go faster with them on. I waited at the SAG for it to stop, of course they were out of everything. So with suddenly cold muscles, wet feet and no nutrition, I tried to take off for Pottershop, and both calves cramped. I made it 80 miles. I called a friend for a ride.

This year my Motobecane and I have already visited Pottershop, and climbed it successfully. We've done many more centuries this season, and I've gotten much better at fueling. It should be an awesome ride.

The night before I rode up the the registration on Beast, with all my camping gear in tow to put it in a friends vehicle. I was having some neck problems. Not the normal right side neck/shoulder I've been struggling with, but the left lower neck/spine. I return home descending HWY-42 after dark on Beast. flat out..and slow. The panniers, my baggy clothes and an unwillingness to really go for it kept me under 40mph. Aerodynamics are the key on that descent, even something like knickers can drop 3-4mph easily...back to the ride.

I wake early Sat to get ready for the ride, I want to be out of the house and riding to Sawyer for the start by 6:15 at the latest. Minor problem. My neck won't bend enough to let me look out over the bars, much less get into a tuck. About 10 minutes while the coffee is brewing with a tennis ball and a wall and I get my neck into position. Still can't turn it much, but it's good enough to ride. By the time my neck is made workable and breakfast, shower and such are ready I'm already late out the door and I still need to get bottles and such on the bike. I finally get out at 6:45.

My morning wakeup is Wolf Pen Branch, with is the lowest traffic way to get to Sawyer Park. Still pitch black and quite cool and damp compared to what we've had lately. I feel strong on the climb. I'm just easing up it, not hammering, but my legs are working well and feel great. I continue on my way and roll by Sawyer thirty minutes later than I really wanted to. I had really wanted to stop and hang for fifteen minutes or so and roll out at 7:15, but 7:27 will have to do.

I have a simple way of knowing if I left soon enough: if I roll past the Lilly Pike SAG before they open. They open at 9:30 and are 29 miles away. Pretty much I need to average 15mph over 2 straight hours non-stop. My GPS is showing me splits every 6 miles,  15.4, 14.7, 15.0...averaging 15 over the first 18 miles...no room for error, must pick it up. I see people in front of me peeling off and visiting each of the SAGs, I'm not stopping, pretty soon I realize that other then the racers who are heading up to open Lilly Pike, I'm the first rider. The 12-18 miles split comes in 18mph! Just bought myself 4 minutes! I'm awesome! Then come the 18-24 miles split,  13.9. I just lost almost half of my gain! I end up passing the sag in 1:58:43, meaning I beat the opening time by just under 5 minutes. I keep going on to lunch, and get there 19 minutes later, the first one. As I eat others start showing up, the Scouts know this and despite the fact that they're not officially open until 10, they're ready for us 15 minutes early. I'm later shocked to find I spent 27 minutes eating a sandwich and chips. Despite the massive waste of time, I'm still the first to roll out.

Continuing on to the next SAG, which my friends the MAD PUPS put on at Mt Zion church, which is the point where you have to finally decide on the 70 or 100 options. On the way some faster riders finally start passing me by, a group of racers I know about 7 in total, and a pair of riders who were lunching next to me and left right after I did. I knew I would spend a bit of time here, and a pleasantly surprised to find it was only 24 minutes, of quality eating and socializing. I make sure everything is full and I carry on.

It's 28 miles to the next SAG, Lincoln Homestead, and from the moment you make the turn onto the Century course it starts punishing you. after the first 3 you begin to wonder if you made the wrong choice. The punishment continues for the 6 more after that. A few lazy miles travelling through Willisburg and Mackville, and you soon arrive at what is probably my favorite section of road, a flowing slightly downhill section of patched up concrete called Mays Creek Rd. which you get to enjoy for 6 miles. I tend to get feisty on this road and will hammer for a bit if there is anyone to chase or drop. This year it was a tri-tool of some sort, who I saw out of my mirror having his aerobars pointed at my back in full tuck. I can guess he was going to ovetake the big guy with the fenders and bags in short order, but I ever so subtly put some more effort into it, not getting out of the saddle to make it look like I was working but powering a gear higher, pushing on the downhills and soon I'd dropped Mr. Carbon not to see him until a couple roads later coming into the SAG.

I dropped down the hill into Lincoln Homestead and arrived at 1:26, putting me at 5:59 for 78 miles, with 51 of that so far at SAGs, that number was about to go up a bunch. I was going to fuel up here for the final push to Pottershop. 38 minutes. I had a sandwich, some fruit, gorp, M&Ms, Payday. Bottle of Gatorade.

Lots of people telling stories of previous attempts at Pottershop. I tell someone to take it easy and rest in the miles coming up to get ready...of course I don't bother to mention that the next 10 miles are pretty punishing. He later passes me and asks how exactly he's supposed to rest up. I mention the 6 miles leading up to it as being fairly easy, which they are and quite welcome at that point. I take it easy, taking 1:20 to cover the 18 miles to the HILL!!!

Time to climb. I still have my neck bothering me, any out of the saddle efforts aren't going to be fun. I slide forward on the saddle, lean into the bars and press my palms into the drops. Stay to the right and just go. I'm really shocked that it's only a 5 minute climb up the first. I only have to paperboy it a couple times at the bottom. I spend way too long at the top of Pottershop. I feel good, but have been riding alone all day and want to socialize. 28 minutes for no reason.

The rest of Pottershop continues as before, just go, I know I've gotten up these hills before, so there's no point in thinking I'll have to walk this time.

I finish up in 9:07 total, with a 14.1 av rolling speed. I'd say I'm not overly thrilled with those numbers, but heck I finished OKHT and feel great, like I could ride more miles. I was stopped for 1:53, I could probably do better, but it's supposed to be social, and not having anyone to ride with, my social times are stopped.

Pain, Pottershop. Pottershop, Pain.

Pottershop. A nasty section of road leading into Bardstown, KY. 3 major climbs and two bonuses, peaking at 24%. I've failed to successfully climb this road twice. I would not fail a third time. From a stop sign the road goes about 50 feet and then become a wall.

Yesterday was the clubride version of Pottershop. Unlike the Old Kentucky Home Tour version, where Pottershop is placed at mile 96, on the clubride version it comes before lunch at mile 46.

For the first leg, I took it easy, falling in with the second pack of riders and enjoying some light conversation, talking up some of the upcoming roads with people who didn't know the area "No, we haven't actually been on any hills yet" "You, sir, have been misinformed"

After the first store stop, as we roll out I take a position in the front of the pack and start getting the legs warmed. I want them to be used to putting out some extended effort. Myself, another solo and a tandem start creeping away from the pack and then separating from each other. The other solo glides off the front and, despite our yelling, misses a turn, leaving the tandem and myself as the front two bikes. A series of rollers has the tandem slip out of sight, and checks in my mirror show no signs of the pack behind me.

I spend about ten miles traveling alone on my way to meet my foe. Steady effort keeping the legs working, a few out of the saddle efforts on climbs. I stop for a minute to flip and refold my cue sheet. Three more miles.  A sudden realization that I'm actually coming to the road from the opposite direction than I had expected. Cool.

Quarter mile. Downshift and glide in. Right turn. HILL! Ease into it. Don't attack. Keep the cranks turning over. Half way up the first hill, false flat (it's still actually 8%), pick up a mph or two, keep the power steady. Top of the first climb. That's the second hardest one. Pick up speed to help carry you over the first bonus. Downhill. Work the legs a bit to loosen them. Second climb. keep it steady, don't work it too much. That's the easy one, it only peaks at 18%. Long downhill. Don't bother bombing it. Stretch the back and shoulders. Climb three. It only peaks at 22%, but is the longest, with a half mile 3% false flat splitting the two steeper sections, curving around hiding what's coming next. My legs are tired, my back is aching, I'm climbing this hill, dammit! I get passed right before the final crest. I tell him I was beginning to hope that I would be the first solo bike to make the end of the road, and then call him a skinny bastard. The final bonus is nothing at this point, just a 5% grade to get up to the main road.

Heavy traffic on this road. small climb. then bomb down hill...what is that? what is that! The road ahead looks weird. It's been torn up to repave! traffic behind me, can't slow down. this is gonna hurt....Blllahluhluhluhluh! It's only a quarter mile section. Catch the tandem ahead. and go to lunch. Other riders pull in right behind us so we have a good size lunch group.

As we roll out from a decent paceline works into a headwind to get out of town. a series of stiff rollers splits the group again. I join in chatting with another rider for a few miles and then get joined by a couple more, including the guy who passed me back on Pottershop. We're rolling on having a nice conversation and beginning to look forward to the final stop and begin talking of ice cream and hopes that there will be some to be had. I quip that there won't be any to be had if I get there first, which get slammed with a reminder of there being another hill between us and the store. Challenge accepted! A quick dash in a futile attempt to catch a green sign gets a good head of steam going to the hill. The one rider outpaces me, but mirror checks confirm that I'm keeping the other two at bay. At the top, a long flat is laid ahead with the other rider about a quarter mile up. spin, spin, spin. 23, 24. I think I'm gaining. 25, 26. He's within reach. We scream into the parking lot at 27 mph. I'm up maybe half a wheel length. We all eat some ice cream. Other riders join us at the store and we all gather up and ride the last 12 miles as a group.