NEC 2006 Day 1
[Backdated to the day]
Mike K. from NJ and I shared a room at Red Roof last night in order to save some cost. I made the reservations. All they asked was “smoking or non-smoking?” so I said “non-smoking”. We ended up in a single bed. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t too keen on that idea, being the manly man that he is, but it was a king size, so it was okay.
I could barely get out of bed in the morning. I back and shoulder were so painful, I couldn’t sleep or do much but think about how much it hurt. I went to the chiropractor earlier in the day and it helped get some range of motion back, but didn’t do much for the pain. My ability to do this ride is very much in doubt. Ran a bunch of hot water on my back and took an Ibuprofin (in spite of it being on my banned drug interaction list) and hoped for the best.
Up at 6:00 am to get to the start. Mike took my gear to the start in his car, and I had earlier found a back way short cut to the starting line that cut almost a mile off of the route. I wish I’d known about that last year. It’s gated, so you can get a car through, but it’s easy on a bike.
Got water and air and listened to the safety speech and we were on our way. There were 44 seven-day riders and about 75 two-day riders. By mile 20, either I’d warmed up enough or the endorphins had kicked in or something, but the shoulder and back pain were manageable. Every bump in the road still hurt, though. A lot. And there were a lot of bumps. But even that got better over time.
One of the riders has a lot of family cheering in Amesbury. They were handing out water and oranges.
I ate well and drank well, so there were no problems in spite of the oppressive heat. I don’t think I’ve ever been so hot. First rest stop was in Boxford, MA, the we crossed into New Hampshire at Salsibury/Seabrook where the second rest stop was. We followed the coast north and headed inland to Durham for the night.
I felt pretty good at the end of the day, in spite of being off the bike for about two weeks because of my back. It was time to renew some acquantances and see who was here and who wasn’t. I was disappointed to find out that Bela C. was only doing two days, and Andy M. wasn’t here at all. The Forbes brothers didn’t return, and Denise B. was only doing two days. OTOH, the entire Wilson clan was going to be there for the whole week, which was good. Team Adipose (”Powered by Pork Fat”), with all new jerseys and shirts, were back for their usual two-day ride, and three would continue on for seven. Markedly absent was Team UPS who supplied a very large team last year. Barb is here, Jeanne is not, Roland is and brought his sister Sloan for the two-day portion.
But probably the most welcome return is Bob Priestly from Trek’s “Ride the Best” tour. One of the best mechanics I’ve ever seen. “Ride the Best” is an advertising campaign from Trek where they send out bikes for free test rides. We were lucky to get him again this year, as this ride is much smaller than their minimum requirement. I heard he’s supposed to give at least 30 test rides per day, but there are only 44 seven-day riders total, so that’s really not possible. If you remember from last year, it was one of his lender bikes that was destroyed in a crash in Barre, VT. The guy that crashed that bike was back this year, but only for two days, and the first day out, he broke a spoke. His had specialty spokes and he hadn’t brought any spares, so the bike wasn’t really rideable. Yet Bob lent him another one, even after last year (the crash had been the rider’s fault). I seriously doubt we’ll be able to get him next year, though.
Thanks, Bob.
UNH/Durham again proves they have one of the best cafeterias in modern American collegedom. It was strangely quiet, though. I think partly because the rider numbers were down again and partly because everybody was so exhausted from the heat. Shoulder and back notwithstanding, I felt really good. Because of all the rain and flooding, I haven’t been able to get in as many miles as I’d liked, but things seem to be working. If it would only cool off a bit.
Roomed with Mike K. again. He has a two-digit number but is only doing two days, so I supposed I’ll have someone different tomorrow.
[ride log]
