Well Yesterday I pre rode my normal 100k loop through Bethlehem and Morris, just to see what I was in for. Well, for all the talk of climate change and mountains collapsing that wasn't the case out here. I managed to average 16.8mph yesterday before heading home and working a little on my paper, the sad thing is I really didn't eat alot that would prove to be the key today.
Crash # 1 Welcome to Bonksville Population Bob.
I met up with Bjoern and Josie at 11:00am and we started out on our 62 mile odyssey. The first 5 miles were mostly down hill but as we started to climb, something didn't feel quite right...Bjoern got around which was normal I held pace with Josie for about a mile and then got dropped....I sipped some more sports drink hoping it was only electrolytes, I had a small headache and was fighting hard to to keep the other two riders in sight. As we hit Nettlehollow Rd. it became apparent that I had no gas in the tank, my lack of eating any substantial meals in the past 48 hours ( I ate but little things, like cereal, some bananas, pop corn...all simple carbs.) definitely wrecked havoc on my body. We arrived at Lake Waramaug to find out that today was the day of the annual 50k/100k running festival so as we looped around we keeping left to allow the ultra runner types to battle through the 90F heat. We got to the State Park and I immediately raided my Bento Box 3 of the 4 power bars I brought with me were wolfed down in seconds along with a bottle of sports drink .
After getting our bearings set we decided to Press On I gave Bjoern and Josie the Warning that despite the food was helping that I was still going to be about 5 minutes back. And so we did our second loop of the lake and made our way out to the hills. As expected it didn't take long for me to go "off the back " and Bjoern and Josie to go out of sight. I sat in my own level of Dantes Inferno, literally the Heat was opressive, especially considering early this week I was walking around in long pants and a hoodie. Needless to Say Bjoern and Josie were holding good pace. They waited for me at the top of CT 61. After a quick regroup...and the comments "those hills are no joke." We began the descent back.
Crash# 2 Josie joins the "club."
This morning Josie made the comment that she had never been in a crash, well sadly that changed today, as we made our way down 61, she and Bjoern hit a small pot hole, Bjoern stood up right and I saw Josie eat pavement, luckily the car between us slowed to stop and help. 
Thankfully Josie was just a little cut up ( I'm always afraid that when anyone goes down they break something.) and bent the rear wheel of her P2C, the driver called for the Volunteer firefighters to take a look at her, figure clean out her scrapes a little better. Now I was figuring that just a small fly car would come out with a medic with a first aid kit...nope we got a whole 10 man rescue crew, an ambulance, rescue unit, and one volly who happended to be listening to his scanner. 
So after the whole shabang the good samaritan motorist drove Josie back to her car as Bjoern and I pressed on. I could go into the bloody gory details but I got smoked...
Thankfully Josie was just a little cut up ( I'm always afraid that when anyone goes down they break something.) and bent the rear wheel of her P2C, the driver called for the Volunteer firefighters to take a look at her, figure clean out her scrapes a little better. Now I was figuring that just a small fly car would come out with a medic with a first aid kit...nope we got a whole 10 man rescue crew, an ambulance, rescue unit, and one volly who happended to be listening to his scanner. So after the whole shabang the good samaritan motorist drove Josie back to her car as Bjoern and I pressed on. I could go into the bloody gory details but I got smoked...For me it was probably one of my worst days in the saddle in a long time, I just had nothing, but at least I learned one thing, you can't go 60 miles with nothing in the tank.
Counting his calories
R.D.
