FestiVELO Beef that is [The ride (280.6+ miles in 3 days) and experiences]:

Day1:

Overall, the event was an excellent opportunity to get additional miles for the year. I’m currently at 3,467 miles plus [the plus is unrecorded miles]. I’d love to get 4K; but, given the cold temps, I doubt it in the remaining 23 days of this year.  I’m getting wimpy in my older days. Actually, I need warmer gloves or mittens. But, I digress…

I got in some good miles this year and completed my rides without muscle soreness [lactate acid build-up]. That was not the case for FestiVELO. My legs are sore. Plus, I think I would have ridden these routes faster in August.

Did I mention it was COLD. At the start of Day1 Ride, the temperature was 27-degrees.  Generally, you start cold and warm up from exertion. That did not happen for me thru Potty Stop A [13.7 miles into the ride]. Fortunately, the stop was at St. Stephens Episcopal Church with heat. It felt that my fingers were near frozen. It reminded me of the pain I remember as a first and second graded as I walked to school in the early ’50s.

I decided I must ride faster to generate more body heat. That seemed to work. I skipped the next rest stop, hooked up with some great cyclist [Jack Murphy, George, Henry, and others] where we pace-lined to Rest Stop 2, Wesley AME Church, where Miss Mary has some of the best Vegetable Soup, Corn Bread, and Pistachio Cake. After we arrived at this rest stop, we began to peal off layers. I went down to just my short-sleeve Jersey on top. From there, we made good time to Rest Stop 3 for Shrimp & Grits at McClellanville. I was really GOOD.  Jack and I rode together as we began our journey home, although he began to pull away just before our return to Rest Stop 2. This was an out-and-back ride.  I left there [RS 2] before he did and made it about 2 miles after Jamestown, before he, Henry, and another rider reeled me in. I caught up with them at the next stop, Rest Stop 1, Alvin Community Store–never to see them again on this day.

I rode the remaining distance to my villa, just over 100 miles, by myself. Over all, it was a GREAT riding day–just too cold at the start, at least for me.

On return, I took several sunset photos looking west across Lake Moultrie from the Short Stay Villas.

Day2 [part1 ~ part2]:

A two-part ride because it was EVENTFUL. Regrettably, I did not complete a century, although I could have–just mentally drained–no desire after getting in to do so.  The starting ride temperature was warmer than the yesterday, yet in the 30s. The afternoon temperatures were cooler, however.

Got a real good stat riding with Jack Murphy, We cleared Rest Stop 1 and were making good time to Rest Stop 2, when my GPS went off because of the bumpy road. Once I got that resolved [lost Jack's wheel], the next thing I noted was unusual handling from my rear wheel, on checking it, I had flatted. I rode all summer, across the country–no flats. Occasionally, riders must make their sacrifices to the Flat God/Goddess. It just happened to be my turn. I’m pretty good at resolving a flat and riding again. That was not to be the case today.

First, my 5200 kit was home–need long valve stems, medium-length in my Project One Kit that I placed on the cycle for this ride. I managed, but the tire bead did not seat properly–had to release air pressure to resolve. Got another CO2 cartridge from a generous rider. Ultimately, I get SAG support from Jeff, using his pump. I thought I had a good bead seat until I noticed a bump in riding.  I rode on to the next rest stop, where I relieved the pressure to re-seat the bead. Tried a different floor-pump–could not get air in–needed Jeff’s pump. Jeff knew I needed a tube with a longer valve stem. He came with one, but in haste that tube was blown because I did not get to check tire bead seating around the rim–back to the medium stem tube that I put in after the original flat. This time, I got a good seat and Roger Zoul’s assistance in pumping up the tire. At this point, I’m about an hour behind, but ride on. I want my century.

Between 2-3 miles from rest Stop 3, I get the goosey feel from the rear tire. Am I flatting AGAIN–YES! I managed to nurse the cycle into the rest stop by standing and putting the majority of my weight over the front wheel. Normally, I would not do this, but wanted to conserve time by not walking about 1.5 miles to Matthews’ Rest Stop. Once there, he does not have a pump or CO2–must wait for SAG (Dave)–about 45 minutes of so total time. Dave tried hard in every way possible to get me riding. His pump head did not work for the length valve stem we were working with. The solution here is to drive me [A FIRST] back to Rest Stop 2 where there was a LONG-STEM tube waiting for me. BTW, I double-flatted once before on a solo ride [one spare tube & one CO2 cartridge]. In that case, I called to be picked up.

The remainder of the ride is uneventful for me. I tried to catch the riders who departed just as I came into the rest stop–they are fast. I did finally catch them, but only because they flatted. I offered my help. They did not need it. They had a SAG vehicle.  What an amazing day!

I reset my GPS at Rest Stop 2, thus the 2-part ride above–avoiding a straight line from RS3 to RS2. Add the miles together, and I rode 81.11 miles.

I give my gratitude to Charles Fox and his SAG staff  for all their efforts to help this rider. You done good guys and gals. I appreciate it and could not have ridden what I did without you. THANKS!

At then end of the day, I got this:

Day3:

Although I failed to take a picture of my VK2 during the ride, it was a good ride, especially the first hour [just over 3 minute miles, even a 2:55 minute mile] or so. After that I rode by myself. I was back in about 2:25 p.m. and then rode a bit on my trike–almost 100 miles. Had I noted I was as close as I was, I could have done another .94 miles. Oh well…

Day4:

No data for this ride because I opted to not ride. There were only three of us at the start line. Given my cycle of choice–the RANS Stratus XP, the wind and cold, I would likely been riding by myself for the 60 or 85 mile ride. The other two riders [both ladies] were riding the 60-mile route. Had I ridden, I would have only done 60 miles also.

Overall impression: the rides were fun, although there were parts that were not particularly scenic, especially when you are riding solo. Had there been more riders, the spareness would likely have not been as bad. The temps and remote location may well have contributed to just under 200 total riders. I do not think I’ll do this ride again if there are not at least 500 riders. Understand, I did 2 rides this past summer with 10,000 riders and 2 with over 1,000 riders. Mr. Fox provided very good support. We shall see what next year brings…