Click on the photos to enlarge them....
Sunday Morning takeoff...Out the Park
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| Big Open Spaces |
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| These are Cattle, cows and bulls. |
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| heading to a hill. |
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| Saturday Lunch time |
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| this is not a cow, it's a coyote disguised as a cow waiting to pounce on a unsuspecting Chihuahua. |
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| Graveyard |
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| Pine trees , chubracabra habitat.. |
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| Sunday Lunch |
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| Sunday Lunch |
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| Sunday Lunch |
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| Sunday Lunch |
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| Some guy following to close behind me. . |
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| Rest stop |
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| Jonathan, my bike mechanic. |
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| Jonathan in action |
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| Verified validated genuine Big Foot Footprints. |
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| Hill Climbing |
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| Smart Drafting |
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| Over the top |
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| Eric , my bike mechanic. |
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| This is Franks summer home |
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| Franks Summer home. |
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| That is a coyote disguised as a cow, notice the colors, the camo, the non chalant attitude of the villian waiting to pounce on the first Chihuahua to swagger by. |
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| more hills |
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| This hill behind me |
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| graveyard. |
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| Crossing the finish line Saturday |
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| Crossed the finish line Saturday |
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| The Lone Ranger and Tonto's horses , Silver and Scout. |
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| Silver and Scout. |
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| Looking for a summer home... |
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| What a Hill, got nose bleed. |
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| They keep coming |
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| Thighs feel great. |
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| Crossing the top |
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| Going down easy. . |
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| Horse Ranch |
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| Beautiful |
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| Rolling hills |
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| Home on the Range |
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| Another Hill |
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| And another hill |
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| Red Dirt means your in Mississippi |
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| Scanning for Chubracabra |
Sunday Morning Start out the Park . Click here for video...
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| monster hill |
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| Verified, certified , photo of a chubracabra |
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| Volunteer escort lady. . . |
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| gates to the Ponderosa |
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| Saturday Lunch |
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| More Coyotes |
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| Big Foot Prints , verified and certified, |
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| rest Stop |
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| Eric the mechanic helping the downtroden |
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| Saturday Lunch |
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| Hay barn |
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| Open Country |
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| Eric my Mechanic |
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| Another HILL . |
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| another HILL |
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| Cows |
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| My fans following me . |
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| Me following the crowd. |
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| Trudging down the road. |
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| 1/4 of the Motorcycle Volunteers. |
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| Sunday Morning |
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| Crossing another River. . |
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| Sunday Morning Starting line. |
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| Gaining on me. . Good. |
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| Turn here, Directors. |
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| Log Cabin |
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| View from the top of my Helmet taken by my subconscious riding in a lawn chair. |
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| Sunday Morning Start |
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| Beautiful homes. |
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| up and down, up and down, |
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| Verified , sighting and photo of Big Foot. |
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| Country. |
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| Saturday rest Stop |
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| I skip the first rest stop and this is why, latrine line. |
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| What a Mansion |
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| Climb that hill. |
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| Cabbage patch , they grow dolls there. |
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| early Saturday |
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| Another River to Cross. |
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| Saturday Starting line. |
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| Leaving Hammond |
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| Crowd behind me leaving Hammond |
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| Sunday Leaving the Park |
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| Escorts Ready |
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| Leaving Hammond |
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| first mile off the main road. |
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| Enormous starting line Saturday |
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| Riders stacked behind me . |
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| Working our way to the line. |
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| Sunday in the Park Starting line. |
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| Start in the Park |
Oct 1,2 MS Tour 2011
Stats:
Saturday - Actual riding time 6 hrs 14 mins, for 76.64 miles, North wind, uphill ,, Total time 6hrs 50 mins, Avg speed -12.2mph Max 27.0mph
Sunday - Actual riding time 6 hr 5 mins, 78.62 miles, Total time - 7 hrs 12 mins, light North breeze, downhill , avg 12.9 mph, Max 28 mph
Road Kill :
4 Opposum
2 Squirrels,
2 Vultures,
1 Raccoon
1 Turtle,
no Rabbits , no snakes, no dogs,, no cats, no chubracabras, no Owls.
Sightings, :
1 Big Foot,
1 Chubracabra
4 Coyotes, disguised.
3 Chihuahuas - disguised.
Road Conditions - Good - Except Sunday Detour, rough...
Weather - Great , Cool in the morning , warm in the noon and after.
Riders 1200 start
No Mechanical issues thanks to my Mechanics Jonathan and Eric.
No strategy issues thanks to my mentor Vlad.
No nutrition issues thanks to Gatorade and Muscle Milk.
No support issues thanks to bride Marie.
Saturday the start was tight, we turned off the main drag, headed north into a sturdy wind.
Legs were fresh and felt like thoroughbreds, anxious to bust out the gate, waited all year for this, ready to get it on. I gave my self a good pace, about 15 mph, fast for me , I was keeping up , it dawned on me, I surveyed the field ,I'm surrounded by skinny people half my age. The next thing becoming evident , the usuals weren't usual, no Flying Elvis' , no Roller Derby Girls, no Old Men that get Fat over Winter, no Buttwatchers, 1 land Shark, instead there were more corporate sponsored teams, well outfitted, well trained, fit , reminded me of the Tour de France.
As I approached the first rest stop (which I pass up) a rider about 20 feet in front of me was trapped by his team , his bike cavitated , later I heard he went off with a broken arm.
In response I raised the volume on my MP3 Player in case he started screaming or crying like a girlie. The Sun enveloped us , the chill burned off, stopped at the 2nd rest stop, pee, cookies, grapes, back in the saddle. 8 Miles later the ambulance is blocking a portion of road, I slowly go around finding a rider laid out on the ground semi conscious, he left in the ambulance. I've fallen enough to know the last thing you hear is OOOOFFFF ! as you slam the ground ,air is forced out your lungs. , you can count on it, next thing you do is take inventory ,count the broken bones , look for blood then try to get up ... As the elevation increased so did the burn in my thighs, the color of the earth, the wildlife, farms , Big Foot prints everywhere, I knew I was gonna get a picture today. Rest Stop 3, I visited with one of my mechanic's, Eric , he gave me ,my bike, a quick look over ,a blessing to continue on . Felt great at lunch stop, no concern what so ever about lasting or finishing, able to race the clock. Grabbed a turkey and cheese sandwich, ditched the bread, ate the meat and cheese, some cookies, Bananas, nuts, tried a energy drink, tasted like Chubracabra urea , chunked it, went back to my Gatorade. I was going through a wooded area, not many bikers around me. a motorcycle escort just passed, I smelled it , similar to that of a road kill animal sweltering in the sun , about to burst , It was a Big Foot, got my camera ready, scanned the left and right, I spotted him on the right and quickly snapped a shot before he disappeared into the shelter of the woodlands. It just wouldn't be the tour without a Big Foot picture. . A Mile later I heard a high pitched screeching and gnarling, luckily my camera was still in hand , clicked a rarely seen Chubracabra, (Mexican Goat Blood Sucker), I've been tracking them all over , this was my first picture. Every pasture had a black and white cow stationed , they're actually coyotes in cow costumes waiting for an unsuspecting Chihuahua to walk by, nature has it's way and I don't interfere. At the 50 , 60 mile marks the hills are extremely high, saw the third victim., a rider went off the road into the ditch, the ambulance techs were checking him for a concussion , he was standing so I think he was all right. I climbed Godzilla Mountain no problem since I had a portable oxygen tank with me . I looked down at the clouds and wow, , almost hit 30 mpg going down holding back . I could smell the finish line ,, my legs started pumping harder, I turned into the Park for the roller coaster ride, see the video, it's a rush. Plenty cheering and clapping by kind people that are there to spread information, help victims and raise money for MS .
My time was great, I felt good, not tired, ready for tomorrow. .. . After dinner Marie and I walked in the mall to keep my legs loose. Slept great Saturday night, arose early, loaded up , Marie dropped me off about a half mile before the starting line. I rode in and hit the breakfast line,
grits, biscuit, yogurt, had time to warm up a little then maneuvered into a comfy spot of the starting mass, going out the park Sunday morning is tight and fast, I hang to the right , if it gets ugly I'll ditch it.
We emerge the Park unscathed and turn right into the sunlight , well appreciated, warm, MP3 player time, motivation in a matchbox, started with "Soul Sacrifice " by Santana, the Woodstock Version, will motivate anything. Carlos says he was on Mescaline at the time and thought his guitar was a snake trying to bite him. I understand..I face the sun for it's rays to embrace my skin , make me feel warm, trivial, minuscule, realizing, I'm 60 years old on a 4 billion year planet, inhabited for 3 million years, kept alive by a nuclear explosion 92 million miles away. I'm a piss ant in the South American Jungle...I pedal faster, just because .
Next song gets me in a grove , pleasant, relaxing, Joanne Shaw Taylor "Heavy Heart" from the album "White Sugar" , she can play the blues big time, groves me into a grove. Stopped at the first stop , usual long line at latrines , grabbed a couple of cookies and carried on. Sunday morning is hills right away, climb,climb,,climb, the weaklings walk across the top, embarrassing,
occupying my mind with the scenery, animals, woodlands, rivers, I also have my best legs contest, at mile 25 abandoned that ,,, the leader was a guy in a red jersey and green bike,not how it started out. Mile 40 I had run short of Gatorade, no problem, I have a few dollars on me, I'll stop at the next country grocery and get a Gatorade to take me to the next rest stop, lunch.
I topped a hill at a y in the road, pulled onto the gravel pad at the fuel pumps, parked the bike , walked up to the door and paused, it was a screen door, big metal handle with an advertisement for Royal Crown Cola , naturally it squeaked when I opened it, the floor was wood, dried and dusty, slowly I looked around , on the left two men playing checkers on a pickle barrel, one turned quickly to acknowledge me with a toothless smile, gruff unshaven face and a funny looking semi baseball hat. The other man was older , gray haired , dirtier looking and didn't raise his head. The amazing thing is they looked familiar. I approached the wood plank counter and asked the clerk for a Gatorade, he adjusted his white apron glanced at the checker players, spun his toothpick to the other side of his lips and says "no Gatorade", "how about a Powerade" I reply, "no Powerade either" , he grunts out, "OK" I then suggest "bottled water" ? "no bottled water" he informs me " we have a coke machine right there" as a final reply... I scoot to the left and I'm facing a coke machine with a opening top, water running inside, I've used them before, I reapproached the counter, the clerk had my change ready. I inserted the coins and slid a coke to the opening that flipped up for removal.. I didn't ask about deposit on the bottle, I drank it down and took another glance at the gentlemen at the pickle barrel , where have I seen the before?
I gave a big thanks to everyone and marched out the screen door letting it slam behind me.
I'm refreshed , climb in the saddle and pulled back onto the blacktop, on the side of the grocery and old truck was parked out of sight, what I saw brought it all into focus, it was a 40's tow truck , single cable , rust colored , dust covered , it was the truck in "Deliverance".
and those 2 men were the Griner brothers who drove the cars to Antry.. I peddled my ass down the road and swore that's the last time I start the day with 2 Valiums and a glass of gin.
Pulling into the lunch stop I took some deep breaths, grab a PBJ , removed the crust and wolfed down the rest. some cookies, orange wedges, plenty Gatorade, took a pee and decided to get out these hills , I pumped and pumped and pumped , next stop visited with Jonathan and Eric my bike techs , chit chatted a little looking for some reality, put a few peanut packs in my jersey, and headed down the road, the picture people made me happy they had about 4 shots of me and I had 4 shots of them taking shots of me. The hills are lessening , there's a little tailwind, I'm cruising about 16 to 18 mph, I'm flying, I knew I 'd have good time today but there was a detour that added 4 miles to the route. No problem ,I trained for anything.
We got the the last stop in Pontchatoula at the Church in the middle of town, I'm relaxed, the finish is around the corner. I'm riding like I'm gonna win, I see what I think is the Tangipahoa River approaching, camera in hand I want a good shot with out stopping, I get a shot as we approached, on the bridge I spot some canoeist, I shoot the shot , then look down and see
and aluminum canoe , yes, Ned Beatty is in the front, John Voight is in the back and Burt Reynolds is lying unconscious in the middle . Hey,, I just blinked my eye and kept riding , I got a picture, that should give my mind a jolt. . Rod Serling may come back from the dead for this one, or maybe Norman Corwin. Now I'm worried that the finish line will be at a flooded river..
I turned the last corner where it all started yesterday ,, the crowd was cheering, clapping, Marie was waiting for me, everybody was happy , it was time to go home.. I didn't mention anything to Marie about Deliverance or she'd hide my Valium, I was relieved when I reviewed the pictures of all the country and animals and riders, my jaw dropped when the canoe was in the river but no Burt Reynolds or Beatty or Voight it was Captain Kirk in the front , Dr McCoy in the back and a Spock unconscious in the middle. I can't win. . Gotta watch those flashbacks.
It was a great tour, well organized, plenty support, I raised 600.00 or so dollars for MS, and I' signed up for next year. I'll ride easier through the winter then come April ,the Crescent City Classic we get to crushing in those miles again.
Thanks to everyone for your support, your interest and encouragement.
gary
