'bent musing on a wintry day

OK, time for a stream of consciousness. 

In full disclosure, it’s completely within the realm of the possible that at some point in the future either I’ll stop doing 1200K’s or I’ll do them on a recumbent. As I sit here today, 5 weeks after PBP, my hands are a mess and I’m seriously concerned about loss of function/ongoing pain/future surgery; I’ve had nagging back issues for years and despite more than $10K spent over the years haven’t been able to find a saddle that’s not agony for the last 400K. I can’t use aerobars to give my hands a break due to the back issues.

Given how heavily invested I am in conventional DF bikes, that’d be a big step for me. Especially since I’m still fast enough to get good sleep on 1200K’s (I got 7+ hours stopped every night at PBP) but if I make a list of the reasons why I like doing 1200K’s “the bike I ride” isn’t even on it.

The main issue (for me) is it’s relentlessly hilly here in SW Wisconsin and ‘bents don’t climb particularly well, or at least the Bacchetta I have doesn’t. 11% is about the maximum gradient I can handle. I’m investigating other ‘bent alternatives that supposedly are better climbers but have yet to pull the trigger on anything.

With a DF bike, I start off my rides with a general idea of the direction I want to go and then let how I feel dictate the particular route I take and distance I ride. With the ‘bent, I don’t have the freedom to do that i.e., “I’d like to go that way but there are those two big climbs on it so that’s out” – I really dislike being limited in that way.

I freely admit that I don't ride the 'bent often enough to develop my "bent legs" and based on my experience there is definitely a difference in the muscle groups used between a DF and a 'bent. However, in the only objective measure I have to this point, I put the Bacchetta on the smart trainer and measured my power output on some fairly lengthy climbs. My FTP (Functional Threshold Power) on a DF is 254, tested this year. On the 'bent I develop about 20% less power. Note that I didn't do a full FTP test, just a series of long climbs but still, my average power for 5 minutes was in the 200-210 watt range on the 'bent.

That's a lot of power to give up, especially when your shit is weak already like me. I expect that were I to ride the 'bent exclusively for some period of time the power numbers would go up. That leads us to another issue.

I've read on numerous 'bent related internet forums that there's not a lot of crossover between a 'bent and a DF. Based on my limited experience I believe this is accurate. I bought the Bacchetta several years ago when I'd hurt my back. I was hoping to be able to put in some serious miles on the 'bent and then go do a 1200K I'd signed up for. Despite the fact that I put in 400-500 miles per month for three months on the 'bent I was in no way ready to do a 1200K on a DF so I scratched.

In an ideal world I could alternate between the two and be ready to do a 1200K on either depending on the route & my whim. The reality is I'd need to ride one or the other almost exclusively for several months in order to have a chance of finishing. I'm not really ready to ride a 'bent 100% of the time.

Also, I just like DF bikes. I think they're beautiful in their simplicity. I enjoy the finely nuanced differences between the various bikes I own.

Although I have done rides on the Bacchetta that I've enjoyed it's not the same.

Another factor is I like climbing and I like 1200K's with 30K+ of climbing. If whatever 'bent I'm riding can't climb that means I'm constrained to riding in Florida :-(

We’ll see.

Too much, too soon

In general, when people ask me about snow in Wisconsin my answer is always the same. We get our first snow on 7 December plus/minus a couple of days but after that it's cold enough that what falls in December is on the ground until the end of March. We don't get thaws in Jan/Feb like they do farther south. One side effect of this is due to the fact that it's so hilly here and because the sun stays so low on the horizon in the winter there are long stretches of road that never see the sun and end up as several hundred yard sheets of ice. The highways are generally cleared/salted but on the secondary roads (which, given the rural nature of the area, is most of them) the highway depts tend to rely more on mother nature to do the clearing.

At any rate, we got 3" of last night. It'll most likely be gone by noon but we're supposed to get another 3" on Wednesday.

Too much, too soon.

A couple of cold ones

From the forecast, it looked like we were in for a few days of decent weather. Although it was forecast to be unseasonably cold, no high winds or rain were in the outlook so I decided to do a couple of my 100K permanents.

First up was Boscobel. This isn't one of my favorite routes as it involves too much riding on US-60 but the stretch out of town on CR-Q then CR-E which is done twice (on the way out and on the return) is pretty nice so I decided to ride it.

Long story short, as I've noted elsewhere, my back was hurting and I'm trying to strike a balance between riding and letting it relax/heal so I decided to turn North rather than South at the CR-Q/CR-E intersection and head towards home. Ended up with 27 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2816364484

I'd sent a message to my friend Bob Booth about riding my Spring Green perm on Saturday and he was up for it. Uncertain about my back but decided to do it anyway. The day dawned really cold (26 degrees) but the forecast was for light winds and mostly sunny until early afternoon and that's pretty much what we had. The first few miles were really cold until we warmed up from riding but after that we were generally OK. I always feel like in cold weather if I'm hot part of the time, cold part of the time and OK most of the time I've pretty much nailed it as far as dressing for the conditions.

We had a nice brunch at the Spring Green general store and were surprised when John Thier walked in. John and I had exchanged some texts about getting together this weekend - he'd invited me down south to Sinesawa to ride with him and Greg Gabrilson and I'd invited him to do my Spring Green perm. We were both set in our plans so I was surprised to see him in Spring Green. He said Greg had to cancel so he decided to come up and start from Muscoda.

The ride was uneventful. We high fived at the end to celebrate breaking 6 hours (5:50). I usually do this perm solo (including a lunch stop) in about 4:30 but that doesn't include sitting for an hour having coffee and chatting. An enjoyable day. Oh, and the back was mostly OK, a few twinges but nothing more serious. The relaxed pace probably helped.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2819072579

Oh, and here's a shot I took of the mighty Wisconsin. You usually can't see the rock bluffs on the left due to the trees/bushes but they're visible this time of year.

A cold and wet ride

October has really been a bust as far as my brevets and the weather in general are concerned. Usually, the fall is my favorite time of year to ride - cool & crisp days, sunny skies, fall colors - love it!

This year, we went straight from hot to cold. Temperatures in the 40's with a huge amount of rain and high winds. I had three brevets scheduled for October, all 200K's. The first was my "Fledglings Dare" route which is one of my favorites for the fall with a lot of sections up on the ridge tops where you can really take in the fall colors.

This year, I went from 11 riders registered to 6, then 3, then 1 (me). Cold, windy, rainy and solo just wasn't a good time. Got it done but didn't enjoy it much.

Next up was my "Galena Gallop 200K". This is a "Meet in the Middle" ride done in conjunction with Quad City Randonneurs where we start in our respective locales and ride toward each other meeting in Galena, IL where we have lunch then turn around and ride back. As the date approached the forecast got worse and worse - really cold and really windy. Again, I went from 6 registered down to 2, this time not including me. I went over to the start in Fennimore where I spent the night in a hotel before the ride. Got up the next morning to howling winds (gusts to 35 MPH) and a wind chill in the 20's - no thanks. I had two riders start and one finish. A very strong rider who finished with about 4 minutes to spare. Mike Fox in the Quad Cities had one rider start and finish. Marcia and I drove down to Galena and had a nice lunch and chat with Mike and Bob Booth then we all adjourned to the Galena Brewing Company for a beverage. We hung out there until 5 then Marcia and I started for home. On the way, we decided to go to Potosi Brewing and have dinner (pretty good prime rib). So not a good day for riding but the caloric intake was right up there ;-)

The final ride for October and the 2019 riding year was my "Via Viroqua 200K". This is another favorite and a good year ender. It's a hilly route (about 6K of climbing) but quiet roads and nice vistas. This time I had 11 sign up which shrank down to 8 with 7 starters. The forecast didn't look too promising with rain likely.

Intrepid group at the start

Bill and I sporting our Midwest Randonneurs jerseys

Fixing a flat (Photo by Richard Burnside)

We rode as a group the whole day with a nice stop at the Co-Op in Viroqua for lunch. The promised rain didn't happen until after we left Viroqua (51 miles) but rained for the next 50 miles. Not hard but steady with the temperatures in the low 50's.

Nevertheless, it was a good ride. Everyone was prepared for the rain so we were wet but warm enough. My back held up mostly OK. In each segment between controls it would get to where it was hurting pretty bad by the time I got to the control but a little bit of stretching helped. I pushed it a bit in the last 20 miles to see how it'd hold up and how I'd feel the next day. Pretty sore but not any worse so that's encouraging.

And as I write this, it's 42 degrees with winds gusting to 45 MPH.

Sigh.

I'm devastated

Like I'm certain everyone here does, I see the all too frequent posts about cyclists being killed. I don't know them but nonetheless I empathize with them and their families, reflect on my own riding & life and am deeply affected for a period of time. But it passes, life goes on and I continue riding.

I saw this post on FB this morning.

Although the cyclist in question isn't identified in the article I've since learned who it is. He and his wife are friends. In all honesty I have to say they weren't close friends but I've known them for a long time (16 years). I'd see them at rides and we'd chat for a while. Had dinner at RAGBRAI one year. You know, kind of the typical friendships you make with people that you see on rides over a period of years.

They're both active (she does tri's, he does ultra events) and giving people (they've crewed RAAM and RAW several times). Parents and grandparents. Good people.

Just devastated today.

Proof that you can't fix stupid

Regular readers (both of you ;-) ) will know that I've a history of back trouble caused by a bulging disc at the S1/S2. I know this. It's caused me to DNF several rides when I was otherwise riding well. I've learned over the years the things that I do on the bike that cause me problems and avoid doing them.

Then there's off the bike :-(

Two days ago the flood alarm went off on our septic system. The system is a really simple one and the house is about 15-20 feet above the septic field so even if it flooded significantly there's no way the house would be affected. Also, we had the tank inspected and drained last year and we don't really produce that much waste.

So given that, it was really unlikely that it was actually flooding and more likely something simpler like the float was stuck. So naturally, I decided to lift up the really heavy concrete cover so I could have a look. This despite the fact that I have a tractor with a front loader that would have made childs play out of lifting it up and it would have taken me every bit of 5 minutes to walk down to the shed, start the tractor and lift the cover off. Oh, and my loving wife standing there saying "don't do that, don't do that".

Hurt my back. Still really hurts.

You just can't fix stupid.

Oh, and the float was stuck.

2020 Musings

As is always the case at this time of year, I've started thinking about next year. This is generally precipitated by having to submit a ride schedule for my region to the ACP

[rant]One of the things I like least about being an RBA is I have to submit the schedule for my region before the RM schedule comes out so it is inevitably the case that there are 1200K's that I want to do that conflict with rides in my region. Unlike other regions, I'm "an army of one" (well, two if you count my wonderful wife) so finding someone else to run an event for me is difficult. Since no one that does my rides lives anywhere near Richland Center running a brevet involves one, if not two, nights in a hotel. That's a big ask.[/rant]

OK, with that out of the way...

Here are the 1200K's that I know about thus far (most info courtesy of my friend Dave T):

• Jan 18 - to Bangkok
• Feb 2 - Thailand 2020
• Feb 15 - from Bangkok
• Apr - Brazil LGR 1300
• Apr 25 - Japan 1200
• May 23 - Simcoe Devil Week
• Jun 3 - NVA 1200
• Jun 13 - South Korea
• Jun 27 - PBP Audax 1200
• Jul 6 - High Country 1200
• Jul 8 - LOL 1200
• Jul 13 - BC 1200
• Jul 20 - France 1200
• Aug 2 - Manhattan Montreal 1200
• Aug 13 - Iron Porcupine 1200
• Aug 13 - Manitoulin 1200
• Aug 16 - 1001 Miglia
• Aug 29 - Crater Lake 1200
• Nov - Brazil 1200
• Nov 5 - Cracker Swamp 1200
• Nov 8 - Great Southern 1200

At this point, I'm for sure doing the June 3 NVA 1200K (perhaps pre-riding it) and the November 8 Great Southern. I pre-registered for the August 16 1001 Miglia and am thinking about the Nov 5 Cracker Swamp if I can do it as a pre-ride (too close to the GSR otherwise). I'd like to do the Japan 1200K - Marcia has never been to Japan - if I can get in.

Marcia wants to take an extended motorcycle trip next year (read: sit all day, drink beer and eat pub food at night, generally lose conditioning) so the year sort of lays out:

- April 25 - Japan 1200K (conflicts with a regional event but if I get in I'm going to do it)

- April/May:  a brevet series for my region

- June: NVA 1200K, my "Tour of the Driftless" 1000K

- July: motorcycle trip

- August: 1001 Miglia

- October: Cracker Swamp pre-ride (?)

- November: Great Southern

I enjoyed the High Country last time I did it so if the motorcycle trip falls through or we decide on another time of year (September?) I might do that. If I decide not to do the Miglia (I have until early next year to complete my registration) I might do either the Crater Lake or Manitoulin 1200K's.

It's a great time to be a randonneur! Lots of choices.

Testing my resolve

When we bought our house in Wisconsin in 2009, we did so in the knowledge that we'd never spend the whole winter there and ten years later, we never have, instead spending the coldest months of the winter in Fredericksburg, TX.

We typically go down between Christmas and New Years then return the first week of April. Usually the weather here is decent enough until then that it's tolerable.

But not this year. I don't know if my ability/desire to tolerate the cold is decreasing as I get older or if it's the case that I know I've got an alternative so why suffer?

I was set to do a 200K brevet yesterday that started in Fennimore. I drove over the night before and spent the night in a hotel. This despite the fact that it was supposed to be cold and windy the next day. The route went South to Galena, IL for 65 miles then returned straight North to Fennimore.

I got up the next morning and checked the forecast: winds out of the SW gusting to 35 MPH with a wind chill in the mid-20's. The warmest it was forecast to get (wind chill) was 38 degrees and the wind was actually forecast to reverse in mid-day so that there'd be a headwind both ways.

God hates randonneurs.

I decided that didn't sound like a whole lot of fun so I didn't ride. The next day was a little bit warmer and not quite as windy with a high in the mid-40's but I still couldn't bring myself to go outside so I did 32 miles on Zwift. It's forecast to be somewhat warmer tomorrow so I'll see if I can bring myself to get out and ride.

There seems to be a trend here

This year, I wanted to put on 3 brevets in October to give riders the best chance of riding in the Fall. I love riding in the Fall - crisp temperatures, clear skies (usually), beautiful foliage. So I put a ride on the calendar for Fall Colors weekend.

I had a brevet on the calendar this morning - the "Fledglings Dare 200K". It's one of my favorite routes and I typically put it on in October because the fall colors are so beautiful on this route.

They hold a "Fall Colors Weekend" here in Richland Center every October. They have a parade, tractor show, crafts fair, etc. In years past they've had a bike tour that goes to local farms and orchards. You know, typical small town stuff.

I usually hold my brevet for the following weekend. This is so riders who are staying overnight can get a hotel room (there are only two decent hotels here in the big city and rooms tend to fill up on Fall Colors Weekend).

But there's another reason.

It rains on Fall Colors Weekend. Every. Single. Year.

We've been here since 2009 and it's rained every time.

As I write this, it's raining.

Hard.

When we lived in Boerne, Texas there was a group that put on a "Saint Valentines Massacre" motorcycle rally in Boerne near Valentines day in February. It rained that weekend for the 9 years we lived there. Every. Single. Year.

So no brevet on next years schedule for Fall Colors Weekend.

A cold, but dry, pre-ride

I don't normally pre-ride my brevets, I think I've done two pre-rides in the 5 years I've been an RBA. I'll typically ride the route on the motorcycle or drive it if I feel it needs to be checked out or I haven't ridden it in a casual ride lately. I choose not to pre-ride for credit for several reasons:

• I'd rather have company.
• The credit usually doesn't matter that much to me. I'll get the R12/P12 rides done via other brevets or permanents.
• My turnouts are small enough that if only 1-2 people come I'd rather that they have company on the ride. This is especially true if a single person comes out for the ride - if they've made the trip out to the big city it seems a shame that they don't have company for the ride.
• I've got to get up on the morning of the brevet anyway so I might as well ride it on the day.

For today's brevet, the weather forecast was looking dreadful - temperatures in the mid to upper 40's, rain and fairly high winds (gusts to 30 MPH). I had 7 riders advance registered which went to 0 as the day approached and the forecast didn't improve.

For whatever reason, it didn't occur to me to do a pre-ride until the middle of the night on Thursday but once it did I quickly checked the forecast for Friday and it looked fairly decent: same temperatures (mid-40's) but dry and moderate winds of 10-15 MPH.

So I decided I'd take advantage of the respite in the rain and pre-ride the route for credit. I set the alarm for 5:45 and went back to sleep.

5:45 came too soon. As I always do, I woke up about 10 minutes before the alarm went off and briefly considered whether or not I still wanted to do the ride. Once I start thinking "should I or shouldn't I" it's over - I'm awake. So I got up, had a quick breakfast then drove over to the start.

Although I can start at any time on a pre-ride, I got on the road at the normal start time of 07:00. Not really much to say about the ride. The forecast was pretty much right on, it was gloomy all day and company would have been nice but I got it done.

For the "Strava or it didn't happen" folks:

https://www.strava.com/activities/2763070245

Into the Inferno - Hound Dog 1200K

When I signed up for the Hound Dog (I think I was the third person to sign up behind Dan D. and Pam W.) I thought "end of September/beginning of October, temps should be in the mid to upper 80's".

This just goes to show how wrong you can be.

As the date approached I started anxiously, then obsessively checking the weather forecast which basically was the DNF trifecta: hot, humid, windy. More detailed forecast was heat index near 100 degrees, wind gusts 25-30 MPH and humidity in the upper 90% range.

Ouch.

For those who've followed my travails for a while, either here on my blog or in person, you'll know that I don't do heat well. The basic problem is that living in Wisconsin I never really acclimate to riding in high temperatures. When I lived in Texas, I used to run or ride in temperatures well over 100 degrees without a problem but now, any time the thermostat heads north of 90 the line between finishing and not is vanishingly small.

I've done 2 hot rides this year: the Texas 1000K at the end of April had temperatures in the low to mid 90's but it wasn't terribly windy (by Texas standards). I also did the Florida Sunshine 1200K in mid May and it was both hot (mid 90's) and very humid.

I was able to complete both rides with judicious use of fluids, electrolyte replacement (Enduralytes Extreme) and ice socks. Actually, on the latter, I use a sun sleeve that's too big. I tie a knot in one end, fill it with ice then loop it around my neck and tie another knot. The ice lasts about 30 minutes or so with the only downside being it drips down my torso and heads toward my crotch resulting in a perpetually wet seat. Heat, pressure and moisture are the E-ticket to saddle sore land so it's a tough choice between getting sick from the heat or suffering with saddle sores. I opted for the latter on the Texas and Florida ride and finished both albeit with a good deal of pain from saddle sores.

So back to the Hound Dog.

As the date approached and the forecast didn't improve (it actually got worse) I seriously thought about just cancelling. I had purchased non-refundable air fare so I decided I would go and try to be extra careful with fluids/electrolytes.

Because I was worried about the heat and maintaining hydration, I decided to wear a 50 oz CamelBak. On the positive side, I drink more when I wear it. On the negative side, the pressure on my shoulders generally gives me a blinding headache after about 100 miles that I've mitigated in the past with ibuprofen. As anyone experienced with riding in the heat knows, taking ibuprofen when dehydrated puts extreme pressure on the kidneys and renal failure is a very real possibility. Tough choice that...

I also decided to put aerobars on the Hampsten. I've ridden the Hampsten on a number of 1200K's and usually get a bit of numbness in my ring and pinkie finger on both hands but nothing serious and it goes away after several days. For some reason after PBP my hands were just a mess. Those two fingers literally felt like they'd been crushed and this persisted for more than 2 weeks. This was very worrying and I don't want to risk making them worse.

I've used aerobars to reasonable effect in the past, the big concern for the Hound Dog was that I didn't have a lot of time to adjust to riding with them. I'm fairly flexible through my lower back, glutes and hamstrings (I can easily put my palms on the floor with my legs straight) but being in the lower position on the aerobars takes some getting used to which I didn't have time to do. I decided to put them on anyway and vary my riding position on the bike as much as I could to give my lower back a break.

Day One

The route on day one had us going up to Tishomingo OK. The forecast winds were out of the SE so we'd have a screaming tailwind until Caddo at about 90 miles then a mostly crosswind with a bit of a push on the 30 mile stretch out to Tishomingo. After that, a cross headwind on the return to Caddo then a screaming headwind for the remaining 82 miles. The forecast also showed that the winds would build rather than decrease as night fell with the strongest winds at midnight.

Here's the day one route:

Hound Dog Day 1

We left promptly at 07:00 and with the tailwind made great time out to the first store stop at 40 miles in Ector. I bought some Oreo's and ate them as I rode. We continued to have a good tailwind as the heat rose and we rode toward the second store stop at Durant at about 80 miles. I bought a c-store hotdog and drank a Coke there in addition to topping off bottles. I also filled my ice sleeve and put it around my neck.

It was really getting hot now as we rode toward Caddo at 90 miles. I stopped at the c-store in Caddo, refilled my water bottles and did a Skratch Hyper-Hydration in a bottle of water. I left the store by myself for the stretch to Tishomingo. The skies were cloud free and the wind was blowing pretty hard, cross-headwind as forecast and the heat index was close to 100. I arrived in Tishomingo pretty well cooked, did the info control and then went up the road to a Subway where I ate a wrap, bag of chips and drank 3 medium size cups of Coke. I refilled my sun sleeve with ice before I left.

I felt pretty good when I left. Just before I got out of Tishomingo one of the knots on my sun sleeve came untied and I lost about half my ice before I could catch it. I continued on toward Caddo and now it was really hot and more of a headwind. I stopped about every 5 miles or so and dumped water on my head (this was one upside of the CamelBak: I could use one of my water bottles to dump on my head).

I got to Caddo feeling really bad. Up to this point, I'd been taking an Enduralyte Extreme an hour and with benefit of hindsight I don't think that was enough. At any rate, I went to the Dairy Queen and got a large chocolate shake and drank it along with a large cup of water.

After that, I felt pretty good. I was joined by Amy R., Byron W., Jeff L., and Rob T., and we came upon Hamid A., after a few miles. We rode as a group for a good long while but eventually lost Rob and Hamid. 

We stopped at the stores in Bokchito and Bonham. Looking back, I didn't really eat much on that stretch and started to feel it after we left Bonham so I made a brief stop and ate a banana and some Oreos. 

The last store stop was a Kwik-Chek about 23 miles from the overnight and I made it a goal to empty the CamelBak before I got to the overnight to make sure I was fully hydrated. I've found in the past that if I go to bed dehydrated I wake up cramping in the middle of the night. I realize as I write this that I didn't take any Enduralytes from the last store stop on and in fact had reduced my intake of electrolytes considerably - that was a mistake. It was quite warm and humid all the way to the finish. This would come back to haunt me on day 2. Amy, Byron, Jeff and I rode together to the overnight and got there about 1.

I made a microwave TV dinner while I showered (meat loaf and mashed potatoes) and drank a bottle of Coke. I got into bed at about 2 AM with the alarm set for 05:45. I didn't sleep particularly well but did get up a couple of times to pee which said at least I was reasonably well hydrated.

Day 2

The day 2 route went SE for 58 miles then E to the turnaround at 98 miles. The wind was once again SE and gusting to the mid-20's and it was once again forecast to be near 100 degrees. It was also forecast to be overcast for a good part of the day but this would prove false as the sun came out fully at about 08:30. Here's the day 2 route:

Day 2 Hound Dog 1200K

We'd agreed we were going to leave at 07:00. I hadn't really eaten that much on the ride the previous day from Tishomingo all the way to the finish and was really feeling hungry. I had two make it yourself waffles, 2 danish, some eggs, 3 cups of OJ and 2 cups of coffee for breakfast so I left the hotel feeling OK. When I went outside the cars were all covered with water like it had rained but it hadn't - it was just so humid.

Rob, Amy, Byron, Mark M. and I left and headed out into the heat and wind. I started to feel kind of bad right off the bat so I tried to make sure I was drinking a lot and upped the electrolytes to one every half hour. We stopped at the store in Lone Oak and I was feeling increasingly bad. I decided that I should eat more while I still could and had a breakfast taco and chocolate milk.

Leaving Lone Oak there were several long stretches straight into the wind and I was feeling worse by the minute. I knew we'd be going straight into the wind out to the turnaround and that the 70 mile stretch from Mineola to the turnaround and back had the most climbing on that days route. We were on about an 8 mile treeless stretch on FM 2324 and I was feeling pretty bad. I saw a road/driveway to the right with some overhanging trees and called out that I was going to stop and told the others to go on. 

I sat there for a while pouring water over my head and drinking but it wasn't helping. I knew that the stretch out to the turnaround would all be into the wind with temperatures near 100 and would be hilly. I considered the possibility of my getting increasingly sick and quitting - how would I get back to Greenville (besides an ambulance)?

So I decided to call it while I could still get back on my own power. Even now as I write this, I think it was a good decision. It wasn't likely that I was going to recover given the conditions. I'll also add that the idea of riding along sick for extended periods of time wasn't all that appealing (BTDT) so the fun factor had pretty much gone to zero.

As an aside, I mentioned at the outset that I'd put aerobars on the Hampsten. As I was approaching the driveway where I decided to quit my back muscles were really tightening up - to the point of "I've got to stop RIGHT NOW and stretch". This also happened several times on the way back to Greenville so it's possible that even without the heat I'd have had trouble - hard to know for sure.

So bottom line: a DNF. As I write this, a final tally isn't available but I believe half the field on the 1200K quit with two riders going to the hospital for severe dehydration/heat exhaustion (they're both OK). (Update: 41 starters, 13 DNF). Although I'm always disappointed when I fail to finish a ride and will try hard to analyze what I did wrong (first thoughts: didn't take enough electrolytes and didn't take them regularly enough, didn't drink enough on day 2, didn't eat enough at the end of day 1, probably spent too much time on the aerobars and/or wasn't sufficiently acclimated to them) I'm content with the decision and feel like it was the right one all things considered.

I admire those with long strings of 1200K's with no DNF's but at the end of the day I do these to challenge myself and have fun. I've finished a number of very tough rides so I know I have the ability to push myself under trying conditions but I don't want to risk my health or ruin my enjoyment of the sport by doing "death rides".

Kudos to those who continued and are finishing. They obviously did a better job of managing their ride than I did (and in many cases are more experienced at riding in extreme heat than I) and I applaud their ability to finish under such difficult conditions.