Cyclist's Lament and Other Stuff

Wow, where to start? I have not posted for a long time. I will try to do better and I hope everyone else will do the same. I, for one, love reading what you have to say - and it does not have to be about cycling.

The days are getting shorter. Way shorter. I think we MadCyclists have called it a season for our weekday rides. By 7 p.m. it is too dark to be on a bike without lights. Most of us cannot get to the starting point before 5:30 at the earliest and this week that only gives us about an hour. Now, you may say an hour is better than nothing - and you are right - but selfishly, I could manage an hour and a half or a little more if I just came straight to Moonshine Mountain & rode from there. That's my plan for the time being and anyone who would like to join me is welcome.

On the positive side of this time of year, the temperatures agree with me. I struggle terribly in the heat and humidity to the point of feeling sick; not so with these nice 60 - 70 - 80 degree days. I'll bet I could really rack up the miles if I just didn't have to work for a living. The shadows are longer but the air is clean and crisp. The leaves are beginning to change. Poplars are dropping some of their leaves and have spots of yellow in with the summer green. The dogwoods are possibly the biggest indicators that fall is here. Their berries are fat and suddenly bright red and their leaves are beginning to take on that burgundy color they display each year at this time. Virginia is beautiful in the fall. And the spring. And even the summer. It's winter I don't like. Maybe if we had more evergreens so everything didn't look so brown and grey for so long.

I mentioned that MadCyclists have probably taken their last regular weekday ride for the season. That would have been last Thursday when Mary, Aden and I met at Waverly Yowell for a quick 15 mile loop. We left at 5:30 and headed out of town and across Rt. 29 on Fishback Rd. After taking a left on Oak Park Rd. we rode the rolling hills to Elly Rd. and took a right. All was well until we got across Elly Mountain and about halfway to Aroda. Aden was in front because he tends to pop over hills much easier and faster than Mary and I. I would guess he was about 200 yards ahead of me, and Mary was maybe 100 yards behind. Essentially we were each riding alone and along the white line of Elly Road. Most of you know the rest - an idiot in a Red Ford pickup truck proceeded to tell me to get off the road & told Aden much, much more, including threatening him with his life. Fortunately for us, a Madison County deputy happened along shortly after and we filed a report. The next day I called the Sheriff & he told me who the person was and where he lived and that they were going to "pay him a visit".

Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but I think the Sheriff & his deputies deserve a huge thank-you from all of us who love to ride the roads of Madison. That this is an isolated incident for us speaks volumes in itself. We live and ride in one of the safest, most cycling traffic-friendly places anywhere! To the Sheriff & his staff - thanks for watching out for us, guys!

Today was the first annual Culpeper Cycling Century in (you got it!) Culpeper. Barry and I were the only MadCyclists (not counting Guy - you remember him, don't you?:) who participated. They had hoped for a large crowd because the entry form said there were free t-shirts for the first 250 registrants. I registered when I got there & they had boxes and boxes, so yes, I got one. Just what I needed, another t-shirt. It'll be good for cleaning the chain...

This morning was chilly but absolutely beautiful with no wind and Colorado blue skies (really! I know - I've seen 'em). We met at the Bike Stop and departed at about 8:45. Barry and I planned to ride the Metric mainly because neither of us have put in the saddle time since June to handle a century. The crowd at the start was sparse. Most were roadies though I did see a couple touring bikes and a couple mountain bikes. Later I heard they only had 40-some register. We took off through town and exited the "metropolitan area" by the National Cemetery. After crossing Rt. 29 we briefly followed Rt. 522 to another road that skirted the bottom of Mt. Pony, home of the film and video archives of the Library of Congress. Oh yeah, and for you Civil War buffs (yawn), also the site of a signal station during the Great Conflict. The hills we climbed there were the only ones for the first 30 miles. I am not kidding - the route was pancake flat. We trucked along at about 20 mph most of the way.

After a 3 mile jaunt north on Rt. 522, we turned left to head to our first rest stop at about mile 23 in downtown Mitchells. I have kept myself on a pretty strict eating pattern for the last six weeks or so but I used this long ride as an excuse to indulge in COOKIES!! Homemade peanut butter cookies.....yum.....I had two :) Barry and I stopped for 10 minutes at the most and then headed on. The next rest stop was in about 28 miles. We crossed the railroad tracks that run from Orange to Culpeper and headed toward a not-so-distant Rt. 15. One mile from the rest stop we rounded a bend in the road and there was a cyclist down in the middle of the road. Two people were with him - Barry and I were the third and fourth people to come along. I asked if they had a cell phone (I had mine) and they said yes and had already called 911. The cyclist was face-down on the pavement & the other people had gotten his bike out of the road. They were trying to communicate with him but he was unresponsive. Barry and I jumped off our bikes and helped one of the men turn the cyclist over so CPR could be administered.

I think this was the biggest shock of all - we knew him. His name is Ron and he and his wife ride with us occasionally. He is one of the fittest, fastest cyclists (our age) we know. Apparently he just collapsed, fell over, and was in full cardiac arrest. Fortunately for Ron, the guy who was immediately behind him was a professional firefighter from Fairfax (who had not ridden a bike in 10 years and was talked-into riding this ride by Bob at the Bike Stop). He took over and administered two-person CPR with the other cyclist there. Barry took over the 911 call and I jumped back on my bike and rode back to the rest stop to make sure Ron's wife was brought to the scene. We did not want her riding up on her bike unexpectedly.

It seemed to take such a long time for the emergency crews to get there and until they did, the guy (I did not get his name) from Fairfax kept up CPR. Ron would take a breath on his own, moan, and go back into cardiac arrest. I don't know how everyone else felt, but I did not think the news would be good in the end. After an endless wait the rescue crew got there and used the defibrillator on him. I did not watch. The whole experience was such a horrid thing to see and knowing who it was made it even worse for me. They finally loaded Ron into the squad truck and continued working on him there. Emily, his wife, was distraught but got in a deputy's car to be transported to the hospital.

We left to continue the ride. Another Culpeper cyclist who rides with us occasionally, Elliot, stayed with Barry and me for most of the rest of the ride. Our mood was somber and reflective. We rode out to Rt. 15 and just before we got to Rt. 15 were passed by the squad truck transporting Ron to Culpeper Hospital. We turned north on 15 toward Culpeper (I did not like that part of the route!!). We only stayed on Rt. 15 for a mile or so and then turned left toward Rt. 29. That's when the rollers started. And after we crossed Rt. 29, the rollers got bigger and looked a lot like Madison. After riding on parts of our Reva Loop and Slate Mills Loop, we found ourselves at Rt. 522 in Griffinsburg. We turned right on 522 and headed toward Culpeper for a couple miles before turning left and finding the second (and last) rest stop. It was there we heard that Ron was alive and even sitting up in bed! What a relief that was!! I indulged myself in 1/2 banana and a chocolate chip cookie (not as good as the peanut butter ones) and we were off once again.

Elliot told us the worst hills were yet to come (actually, I think he said, "hill"). Right. We rode over some rollers and then turned left to climb a sizable hill. Barry asked Elliot if this was the hill and he said, "It is one of them." Great. Thanks Elliot! We topped that one and had a short downhill, rounded a turn or two and there was the wall. OK, by riding-in-a-hurricane-in-Podunk-Pennsylvania standards it probably wasn't much, but for my legs it was! We topped that hill and shortly after that the Century & Metric routes separated. We said bye to Elliot and Barry and I headed back to Culpeper. Surprisingly, I felt quite strong but was not sure I was strong enough for an additional 35 miles the Century would have required. Sometime after that, I stopped at the top of a hill and checked my average speed - 16 mph! I was shocked and very proud of myself considering I have been struggling to keep my average above 14.5 all summer. WooHoo!

After some twists and turns, stoplights and railroad tracks, Barry and I arrived back at the Bike Stop. There we found Ron had been flown to UVa Hospital, and the news was still good. I am hoping he will be back on the bike shortly and all will be well. The news for now is certainly better than I thought it would be. Ron is very lucky the Fairfax firefighter was right behind him and could administer CPR and keep him alive for that long. We can all only hope we are so lucky.

All-in-all, it was a good ride for me except for the ghosts I will see in my sleep. I felt strong even at the finish which is a big change from most of this year, and I had a very small part in saving Ron's life.

Please, everyone, be safe out there.