"The GTDRI Stories" is a series telling the history, untold tales, and showing the sights from the run of Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitationals. This series will run on Sundays. Thanks for reading!
Continuing on with the stories of the eleventh GTDRI, we find the group coming up on the stop at Eldora, Iowa.y this time I was well and truly cooked. My only strategy at this point was to bank on the fact that everyone else was wanting to take a break from the brutal heat and that this would buy me some time to recover.
So, while everyone else went about the business of refueling and restocking on water, I laid down in some grass in the shade and just tried to rest and cool off a bit. Time went on and I wasn't recovering at a pace that I felt was going to be a benefit to me, and I was pretty concerned. Finally, it was time to shove off and see if I could point my bike back towards Waterloo.
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| The group making its way out of the convenience store in Eldora to tackle the last 60+ miles of the route. |
It didn't take long after leaving for me to figure out that I wasn't going to be able to hold the pace of my comrades on this ride. I was cooked and pretty much in survival mode by this point. Oddly enough I felt less hot now though. Perhaps that being due to the Westering Sun and maybe a bit of wind? I don't know, but I do recall feeling less "cooked", if that makes any sense, by this point.
The route went due North from Eldora and then not far from there it dove down into the Iowa River Valley and turned right. This was the beginning of a long Eastward push, the final big leg of the course. The big climb right before the descent into the river valley had everyone waiting on me. I told a few of the rearguard that I was done. They should just go on and finish out the route without me. I had a phone and Mrs. Guitar Ted would find me.
The guys reluctantly went on to inform those waiting on up the road. I decided to stay where I was at for a good 10 - 15 minutes to assure that I would not run into the guys still waiting on me. I dove down the hill, made the right hand turn and saw no one. Good! I was cut loose then!
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| Just before crossing the Iowa River I ran across this juvenile Turkey running up the road. |
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| Coming out of the Iowa River Valley was a long grinder of a climb. |
My plan was to get to the part of the course where we were supposed to turn left, go a mile, and then follow 150th Street across Hardin and Grundy Counties. I would instead take a right turn, travel about two and a half miles, and find the exit off of HWY 20 where Mrs. Guitar Ted would have an easy time locating me.
I took my time and enjoyed the sites as best I could. I felt a little remorse and regret over my decision, but only a little. Mostly I was relieved that I did not have to be a burden to the rest of the group and that I could go as slow as I needed to.
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| I made almost 110 out of the 150 planned. |
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| Parked it here just off the exit ramp to HWY 20. |
Well, that was an odd ending to a GTDRI for myself. I stood in the ditch for about an hour and was plucked out of the rural landscape by Mrs. Guitar Ted, whisked away home, and cleaned up before the group was even finished with the ride.
I got a report later, several days later, that the group imbibed in some adult beverages in a bar in Hudson and finished up after dark. The crew was happy with the route and finish. I guess it all worked out without me.
And that was that. It wasn't how I envisioned it to go, but a lot of these rides ended in ways unforeseen to me. It was fine. I was focused on moving forward to Gravel Worlds.
Next: The fall-out after the 11th GTDRI
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