Triple Crown Race Announcer: [Secretariat is leading by 11 lengths and still accelerating] Entering the final turn, Secretariat is moving like a tremendous machine!

Pancho Martin: That’s impossible. – Secretariat

I apologize for not updating my blog sooner, but the last day went by fast and there was very little time to do it justice. First, I would like to acknowledge that we added a new staff member, Mike from aspen in the last week to help with the shuttling. Mike was a great addition but arrived in the tour on the Pie Town day which was kind of overwhelming. He is a multi-talented individual who likes cycling and has great musical tastes!

Let’s just say that I ended the Tour on an up note. I have tended to have bad days, good days and some mediocre days. I was disappointed in my overall results and the fact that I didn’t EFI (only 4 did, Peter, Luca, Marco and David). Others came close but Pie Town did them in. I estimate that I did close to the approximate miles but didn’t ride portions of the course. Some days though I put in extra miles.

It was a warm morning in Lordsburg as we ate breakfast and got ready for the shuttle ride to the beginning of the course. It was slowly dawning on us all that this was rapidly coming to an end. The first part of the ride was on a dirt / gravel road and that was about 6 or 7 miles. We rode all together up to the road.

The paved road lasted about 65 miles or so to Antelope Wells. I was feeling very strong that morning and I knew a several things about riding in the desert and today would probably be the most desert-like of the ride. First the secret to riding in the desert is to get done as quickly as possible. Secondly, the quicker one gets done before the day gets hot, the better. Lastly, the wind can be your friend or for but generally kicks up later in the day. If it is a headwind, completing as much of the ride before it gains force is the best alternative. If it is a tailwind, so much the better but don’t tempt fate.

Consequently, when I hit the pave road, I went down on the aero bars and hammered. I expected to see a bunch of riders queued up in my slipstream but there was no one there. It was easy getting to lunch about half way as the heat and wind had not really gained any momentum. Jim told me at lunch that we would regroup about 5 miles from Antelope Wels and ride in as a group. Since it was only about 10:30 or so, I didn’t eat much but replenished my supplies and adhering to my desert-rules started out fast again. As I left about 10 riders rode into lunch.

The scenery was pretty much the same – arid with mountains in the background. I saw some critters like road runners and tarantulas but nothing major. Shortly after lunch, the wind began to pick up and was mostly a headwind. I was averaging close to 17 MPH and that dipped dramatically and I was battling both heat and wind. From that point, the wind varied a bit between hard and gentle but it was a headwind. I counted the miles as they ticked away and figured that I’d see Jim and Mike about 5 miles from the border.

 

From some freak of nature, I turned a few degrees and suddenly I had a tailwind and my speed leapt to over 20mph. I rode a few more miles and there was Jim and Mike with the two shuttle vans. I might also note that for the last 30 miles, my front wheel made a very bad noise because the brake pads were shot. Soon the other riders began to arrive, almost all in groups. A few were incredulous that I rode the whole day by myself and didn’t take advantage of drafting other riders. I may be crazy, but I view drafting the same as riding in the van.  A good pace line will save about 20% of the effort versus riding solo. That is why break-away’s seldom survive the peloton’s relentless advantage.

When all the riders arrived, we rode the last 3 plus miles as a group. I honored my tradition and carried my bike the last 50 yards as it has so faithfully carried me the last 2700 plus miles. There were manys hugs, handshakes and photos taken at the finish. It was both happy and sad as we would soon say good-bye to our new friends, an epic ride was ending but it still was an enormous accomplishment.

We then got into the vans and were driven 240 miles to Tucson, We had a party that evening but a few riders departed in the very early morning. This morning, I took my bike to a bike shop to be shipped to Big Shark in St. Louis and also shipped a bag home to my house. I will have enough to handle at the airport tomorrow morning.

I very much appreciate all those who followed my blog and made encouraging comments along the way. Many times I wanted to pack it in. I also want to thanl the crew fro all their support and help. If it wasn’t for the persistence of Gerdie, I may have packed it in. The same goes to my roommate Steve who persuaded at least twice to stick it out once with the help of David.

I plan on writing at least two more blog, one talking about the other riders and another being more of a wrap-up and final thoughts. It has been an adventure and a challenge. One that I am happy that I stuck with but with a few regrets. Maybe the next ride…..

If you have enjoyed my blog, I would appreciate a small donation to the Backstoppers – a link is on my site!

 Thanks for reading

Tailwinds

Chuck Hardesty – Riding for The Backstoppers.com