Pelotonia 2012

Pelotonia 2012 is in the books and although this cause is part of a big fight, I am going to deem this a small victory. First and foremost, I have raised $3,116 for cancer research this year. (Donations are still welcome through October 12.) That is a personal best for me and I give all the credit to you all who have supported me.

THANK YOU!!

Here are the details on my ride this year:

As I have mentioned, my work rode with the Huntington team this year. Seven of us made the trip at various distances, but all of us raised well beyond our fundraising commitment.

What was the biggest difference in Pelotonia this year? Sure, the destination changed, but the shocker of the summer is how cold it was on the day of the ride. We were hitting 100 degrees with consistency in June and July, which worried me for the ride. All day on a bike in intense heat is not advisable. But on the day of the ride, we had a high in the low-70s with an occasional drizzle. In fact, it was COLD during most of the ride.

Four of us did 100 miles (one of the others did 184 miles in two days). We stayed together for a good chunk of the day. As we took off, I shook hands with Gordon Gee, the president of Ohio State University. He gets out there every year shaking hands with riders before departure. He is no Hot Rod McDavis, but it was cool. (Just kidding, Gee is OK.)

The starting line was at the Columbus Commons this year, a huge improvement over The Fawcett Center from years past. The first several miles went through German Village and Southeast Columbus just as it had in years past. The four of us stayed together for about 60 miles, most of which seemed like a breeze. There was some occasional wind, but I feel like we had the wind behind us just as much as it was in front of us.

We split up at the 60 mile mark, with myself and one other rider electing for the route with more hills. I had driven the part the most difficult stretch of this earlier in the summer and decided it was not all that and a bag of chips. I was wrong.

The famed Reynolds Road pales in comparison to the largest hills of the Athens route, but in my opinion the 30-ish mile stretch I elected for was tougher than any equal stretch of the Athens route. The hills were continuous and I had to change my big gears on almost every down-and-up. When asked why I chose the difficult route, my answer is this: "This ride is not supposed to be easy."

As I made one of my final turns, I was told I was just three miles from the finish. I continued on and had one last hill to reckon with. One last change of the gears and I am there... And then my chain fell off. This had never happened to me before. I am the worst fix-it guy on earth, so it took me about 15 minutes to get things figured out. I got back on the bike, the two 100-mile stretches merged, and I was at the finish line. No, I do not think I beat my time from last year. The long stretch of hills challenged me, but ultimately I think the time I spent repairing my chain cost me my personal best. Oh well, there is always next year...

Keep an eye on my Facebook and Twitter accounts, as I will update my fundraising status and snap a few pictures at the Pelotonia check ceremony in October and November.

Once again, thank you to all of my supporters!