Letter From Recently Thawed Rider

Hello from one recently thawed out rider,
I have ridden the 65 mile distance for the past three years and enjoyed 2007-2008. This year was different. There were lots of small peletons and it seemed like everyone flew from Lakeville to Jordan with the wind at our backs.

Of course we had all checked the weather and knew what we were in for and it happened for me after the climb out of Jordan and onto 11. Thunder crackled and down it came first in buckets and then the steady downpour. There should be a video of all the riders ringing out their socks at Lonsdale. Your fire pit pic was a good shot but you did not catch the steam coming off everyone's soaked jerseys.

I could not believe how many riders had no shoe covers and there were two guys in shorts! Did anyone not have frozen feet and hands? Everyone I talked to was frozen but most simply made no comment - they were made of sterner stuff. I now know that neoprene booties and waterproof gloves are no protection against 4 hours of riding in the wind and rain. As I told my wife, I want to say I rode the Ironman 10 years in a row (3 so far) but I would need to have serious memory loss to brave those conditions again. At least I finished. I thought the all to auto and semi traffic on the detoured Hwy 86 was a bit hairy and one soul in a pick up honked at me even though I was way right - turkey - did he see the conditions?

I was amazed to see the parking lot full knowing the weather that was in store for us. How many too the sag buses? They seemed full at Lonsdale. Congratulations on having such a loyal group of riders in such miserable conditions. Do we know get 10 years of warm sunny rides?

From the older contingent - Rick, age 64