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Click here to read some recollections - from Wally

wally's recollections of an epic TOSRV saturday morning opened with perfect weather clear with a couple high thin clouds to keep things interesting, a bit on the cool side but nothing extraordinary. while the weather was a treat, the overall ambiance at the start was a bit rigid and draconian - quite unlike what i normally found on TOSRV. you see, the Majors are legendary for their ability to dawdle around and kill serious time before starting a ride...we're talking HOURS. this year Dicky, one of the clubs elder statesmen, was having NONE of that nonsense -- and with his house being the staging-point for the start, he was a man with the authority to lay down the law! things surely would get interesting... i grabbed my gear bag and headed into his house to change into my riding kit. inside the house, Dicky was pacing back and forth hollering out "the bus is about to go! the door locks at 8am sharp! saddle up! lets go, lets go!" normally, i'm one of the first guys to be suited ready...but all morning before i arrived, Dicky had got the word out...early and often. so this year, i'm the last dude! and dicky is on my case, making sure i'm out at the appointed time. hollering non stop in my hear "come on wally, gotta go gotta go!" man, talk about a stressful morning! well, i get suited up by the appointed time, the van gets loaded...but we dont have a driver! some uneasy glances are exchanged and JohnT steps up, despite being kitted for the ride, and volunteers to drive the sag-wagon to portsmouth and saves the day -- what a mench! we head out of town with a mildly favourable wind - BONUS - and slowly ease into the ride, knowing we have a long day in store. losts of chatter, joking, and general good times -- as always with this crew of men! the ride down was fairly uneventful, a fairly organized group riding a generally civil pace. we had probably 20 guys or so. i do recall that we picked up some guys that wanted to share the work-load at the front, which we always welcome for the early part of the route. one kid was like 16, cleary very talented, and did some good turns. another guy, sporting a yellow jersey and earned the nickname "mellow johnny", put down a very solid pace as we got close to chillicothe. that was a nice bit of tempo. we paused for a second in chilli, then motored on thru the "hills" on the way to our designated stop at waverly -- about 3/4 of the way to portsmouth. at our rest-stop, we hook up with the van, load up on water and vittles and talk some trash. after a bit, but not too long -- lest our legs cool and stiffen, we suited up for the last 25 into portsmouth. again, the pace was firm but civil and we did good time to the finish. did our normal stop at the bridge, got some snacks - i think someone got a bottle of champagne - and waited for the van. and waited. and waited. and waited. it seems that the new, punctual Major Taylor departure was a success...but had yet to percolate thru the rest of the club's organization and logistical support! we headed over to the church where we stay every year, and waited some more. at least now we could stop and get munchies at the dollar store across the street and rest in relative comfort. we waited some more and eventually, the van shows up and we commence to unloading our gear and claiming our spots to set-up ourselves. we have 3-4 classrooms that we all setup our sleeping rolls and hang out over saturday night. after showering up and relaxing for a while, we partook of the church's fabulous dinner buffet...all sorts of salad, pasta -- and dessert, of course! fed and fully sated, the club generally hangs out all night relaxing and socializing, before getting some shut-eye. the next morning dawned dismally...a cold, stiff wind brought dark clouds and buckets of rain...not good! in reasonable weather we'd hop on our bikes and get breakfast, but with the conditions as they were we loaded up into the van and headed over to bob evans to fuel up proper. i couldnt make up my mind, so i just ordered 2 breakfast entrees. yum. breakfast concluded and it was still dark and raining as we headed back to the church to gear up and load-up the van. with long faced, we went about our business a bit subdued, knowing what the day held in store...lots of miles riding in pissing rain with a tough wind in our faces. to make it even better for me, when i woke i found that both of my achilles tendons were a bit tender -- not good to start that way when you know you've gotta ride into the wind all day! as luck would have it, the rain stopped for a few moments, so we hustled to get on the road to at least start the ride w/o rain actively falling. even so the roads were wet enough that we were soaked by the roadspray from the tyres being thrown in our faces. the ride was pretty freaking tough, the rain kept falling and the wind kept blowing and the temp kept dropping. as we got close to waverly, we upped the tempo to generate some heat to keep warm. about a mile out of waverly...i flatted! it was a slow leak, so i tried to ride it to our stopping point about a mile up the road where the van was waiting. but it wasnt slow enough and i was riding on the rim in no time. i told the guys to ride on w/o me and i'll see what happens. rather than risk damaging my tyre or wheel, i pulled over to fit a new tube. when i stopped, i looked over my shoulder and saw a wall of black clouds coming our way and the winds were kicking up! so i hustled as fast as i could, but the portable pump i had was a POS...i could barely get any pressure into my tyre! seeing the weather was on top of me, i pushed off with a mushy back tyre. about a quarter mile up the road (!) i spotted our van and stopped so i could use a proper pump. after a few quick strokes of air and choking down a banana, i set off in search of the guys. about a half mile up the road i saw matt had also suffered a flat or something. i pulled over to check that he had what he needed and perhaps ride with him. he was good w/ supplies, but since the temp was dropping quickly i had to get going lest my muscles stiffen any more. again, i was off. picked up the tempo as best i good, fighting the gusting winds and rain, bike tilted sideways to balance the force of the wind so i wouldnt ride off the road. the clouds got darker and the temps kept dropping. i could have swore i saw & felt some hail pelting me! on i soldiered...after maybe 15 minutes of riding, lo and behold, i came up on the guys! amazingly they had eased up significantly so i could rejoin...sweet! my spirits definitely rose, as in conditions like these...misery definitely loves company. on we rode thru the wind, rain, and more wind, and more rain. it got to be comical at times! but i was rolling with jed, ken, and bud...3 strong boys that are good to share the work. on we rode to chillicothe for our mid-way stop. took it easy and unbelievably, the rain stopped, blue skies appeared, and smiles were all around! we stopped at wendy's to warm up and get some vittles. alas, the great weather was not to last...the storm we were riding thru was the remnants of a hurricane...and this good weather was the eye, so we had more in store just minutes away! the weather started turning sour again, so we saddled up and headed out. had the same group of 4 dudes to ride with, and it was more tough sledding. on we rode thru the wind, rain, and more wind, and more rain -- honestly, that's about all i can remember. at some point, i think i inhaled some grimy road spray into my lungs, and started a brutal "whooping caugh" for the last 50 miles...every few miles i'd get a tickle and would commence to gut-busting coughing while trying to ride half-way decently...what a treat! by the time we got to columbus, i was feeling beat-down, a sore rib-cage from coughing, 2 sore achilles tendons, cold, and hungry. normally we re-group at planks in german village for beer an pizzas on the run-in, but we'd been so scattered across the countryside, literally miles and miles separating groups, that a meaningful gathering of people just wasnt going to happen. so everyone headed back to dicky's house to fetch their gear and get out of dodge! man, that was a brutal, epic, legendary TOSRV...one for the archives of suffering! i cant wait 'til 2009! ;-)