Congratulations to all Team Marty's riders that ignored their good sense to stay home or ride flat, and instead participated in one of the country's most talked about century, Hillier Than Thou:
- Greg Spadavecchia (5:59 - 11th)
- Andreas Eisenberger (6:11 - 16th)
- Kyle Hyziak (6:29 - 25th)
- Jesse Epstein (6:52 - 32nd)
- Hector Vilches (6:52 - 33rd - 1st Century Ever)
A Tale of Two Riders:
by Hector Vilches
We've all heard how difficult it is to complete this century. I believe I read it was top three in the country, and the hardest in the east coast. So on the morning of the event when the alarm went off at six, I had to forget that and make sure I didn't talk myself out of it. I had team mates that were counting on me being there, and today was one day I could not call in sick! Besides, I had already filled the bottles, prepared the gels, printed directions, checked pressures, checked the weather, packed the clothes, money, cleaned and lubed the chain, and of course.... waxed the bike and spokes... Hey, I like to prepare, and the better the bike looks, the better I ride. :)
After breakfast, I loaded up the car and headed to Camp Bernie, in Port
Murray, getting lost only once and still in time to register! As all
the riders lined up in preparation for the rolling start, Jesse and I
agreed to stick together and not race it... It was my first century and
the idea was to finish it and not be last. Well over a hundred riders
slinked their way downhill, following the pace car which would call the
race start at about mile five. The first thing that crossed my mind, is
that I was going to go up this on the way back... damn...
As we hit the first climb, I was feeling good... Call me a jerk, but I
like whistling to myself as I pass people on the climbs. :) Sure
enough, one guy jokingly told me, between gasps, to silence myself,
except his language was a little more colorful. Hey, I've been dropped
plenty too!
Lets face it, you know what a bike ride is like...so fast forward to
the first food stop, mile 25. "This is cool," I thought... we're done
with 25 and so far its cake. Jesse and I fill-up bottles, pick-up gels
for the road and have a couple on the spot. I head for the porta john
where I, well...occupied it. When I exited and remounted, Jesse was
nowhere to be found!!! Wow... did he leave? Did he think I left without
him? Is he around and I just don't see him? I decided he must have
thought I left, and is out there chasing me down with a couple of
minutes lead.... I got back on the road, chased him down, going way
faster than I should at this point... and then doubt sets in... did he
really leave or is he still there? lol... After a few miles of this
struggle, I see him ahead, about as confused as I am! Ahhh... "Dude,
lets not do that again."
At the 50 mile food stop, things were a little less packed... The
course was taking its toll and the gaps were getting big. Still, we
were in good spirits and not feeling bad at all. However, this is where
the order of events starts to gets a little foggy. I am not sure if we
had already done Fiddler's or if we were about to go up it... I guess
it doesn't matter! I do remember we whistled up Fiddler's... I would
whistle, "I've been working on the railroad..." and Jesse would whistle
back, "All the live long day.." It was something we did up most long
climbs. We had fun!
The next stop came quickly, at mile 60, on the side of some road in the
middle of nowhere. Some guys were laying on the grass aching,
stretching, and just plain not looking too good. But, among the staple
water, Gatorade, and gels... peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Wow,
did those taste good... extra crunchy PB, too! Again, things get even
foggier now... I do know we had yet to do Iron Bridge... I remember
Iron Bridge well, and I really don't want to go into any detail here...
I won't soon forget it!
Who knows, or remembers, what mile marker the last food stop was at,
but they had bananas! I almost fell off the bike trying to unclip... I
was shot. We were all shot. The whistling up the hills had become, a
curse fest... We cursed the organizers up every climb. We were counting
those last few miles... 92... 98... 102... 103... and then we see,
"Finish 2.0"
We could smell victory... Well, we couldn't, but it sounds good. As I
subconsciously sped up at the sight of the 2.0 marker, Jesse reminded
me, "This doesn't mean we go faster..." lol... We wanted to finish, get
off the bike, and sit down... and eat... dammit, I wanted to eat!
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