The GTFRI Stories: The 14th One - Part 3

"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!

As I was trying to ride to our next arranged stopping point, I was feeling worse and worse by the mile. The trouble was that since my lower back was damaged due to that lifting incident and the recent biff I took before this last segment, I had no power in the legs anymore. 

And it was getting beastly hot with that fresh moisture being evaporated back into the air at the surface. This focuses the Sun's energy and it is like being in an oven when this happens. You know how the cold sucks the life out of you? Well, the Sun and high humidity cooks the life out of you. 

My thoughts were that I might get recovered enough at the next stop, which was at 60 miles in, that I could manage the rest piecemeal. There would be about 30 miles to go, and that would be broken up by a stop in Brooklyn, Iowa.

The last arranged stop at 60 miles is where the wheels started coming off this ride for many of us.

I got to Rob's car after a short bit of pavement. I was relieved to have made it that far, and was hoping that a rest would do me good. Meanwhile Rob told me that his companion, Doug, who also came up from Lincoln, Nebraska, was done for the day and that he and Doug were bailing out with Rob's girlfriend back to Grinnell. 

The smart money for me would have been to bail out then and there as well, but I didn't even give that a chance. I was pressing on, and maybe this next bit was the worst I've felt on a bike in my life. It was pure torture. The hills were relentless. The heat was as well. I ended up literally walking up anything that pointed upward. 

This road construction did not deter us from our passing.

While the Level B's were spectacular, I was not enjoying them alone.

I was beyond survival mode at this point and there were a few guys pretty concerned about me. (Thanks again, by the way!) Eventually I made it to the convenience store, but before that, it was decided that my ride was over at Brooklyn and that there would be a ride to take me back to Grinnell. 

As I arrived at the convenience store, I figured the rest of the group would have been up the road quite some time before I arrived, but I was floored to see most of the guys still there. There they were, lounging on a patch of shaded grass located just behind the convenience store. It wasn't long before they did get up and leave. 

My mileage for the day.

In my heat induced and physically injured stupor, I did not realize that the rest of the group was crawling at a snail's pace due to the extreme heat and humidity. In fact, after they left they short-cut the original course for a more straight line route back to Grinnell. 

Meanwhile I waited on a ride. I was left alone, and after about a half an hour, I was starting to wonder if I'd have to ride back anyway. But eventually Jon Duke arrived and got me back into Grinnell. 

By this time we had actually leap-frogged the remaining riders and I only saw Rob's group who bailed out at 60 miles in. We were at Peace Tree Brewing and I had one beer and started to get ready to go home. Just then, the rest of the riders were trickling back into town. I wanted to stay, but having another beer and then driving another 80 miles was out of the question. So, I politely said my goodbyes and left for home. 

It was a very disjointed, dissatisfying way to leave things. I figured on making amends and finishing that course at some point, maybe for a 2020 GTDRI. But at the time, I was sorely disappointed in myself and how the ride went. I shouldn't have been. There were a lot of things beyond my control and we were not deterred by any of the weather earlier on. The planned rest stops with supplies were perfect. The roads were spectacular. By all measures it could have ended up being a classic, and it nearly was. 

Looking back it really bites that this was the last "invitational" Guitar Ted Death Ride. Once I decided not to host rides anymore, getting back to this great Grinnell based course wasn't going to happen. I mean, it could happen again, if I decided to round up a group again, but now with my job status and timing it seems less than likely that I will open that door. 

That all said, this course is on my radar to complete at some point.

Next: The Fall-Out