Trans Sylvania Epic - Day 2

TSE Day 2 - Welcome to PA’s finest.

Today hurt. 43 miles, aw shucks - that’s not so far! Well heck, I can ride that far at the drop of a hat... but not on rocky Pennsylvania single track. For those familiar with the rock garden near bottom of Pilot Rock Trail, Pisgah National Forest N.C., – take that and spread it out on 15-20 miles of single track. The rocks weren’t as big and loose as on Pilot, but they seemed constant. Most all of the trail was rideable but throw in the 90 degree heat, steep gravel climbs and 15 extra pounds around the midsection and you have a prime candidate for the sag wagon. Oh yeah, I’m teamed up with Cynthia T. Fowler. I didn’t realize that the “T” stands for tenacious and there was no pity party for me on the trail today. I wanted to stop several times but I was provoked by a cheerful voice that kept reminding me of earlier days, when I was actually in shape and actually prepared for a ride like this. She never let me stop. I am thankful for that. I went through almost 200 oz. of water. Did I mention it was hot? Near the end of the race I stopped in a stream, dropped to my knees and sunk my head in the crisp PA mountain water. That was awesome. The cool water seemed to block pain receptors and pity me thoughts for about five minutes. When I finally came to, we were winding on a sparsely rocked single track trail supposedly rolling us along to the last road section of the day. This last section was about 4 miles and it wound through a PA bog. What a beautiful sight. This trail is not very spectacular for a mountain bike trail but beautiful for walking, stopping and observing. The bog area was full of moss, downed trees and soft loamy soil. Water was rushing everywhere and out of its typical spillways due to the recent heavy rains. This part of the course was a pleasure to witness.
Overall, the day seems less evil the more time separates my memory from the pain. By tonight, I’ll have forgotten most of the pain and will be looking forward to tomorrows 40+ mile stage. Today was supposed to be the hardest day, so I look forward to not suffering as much tomorrow.

We did our best. The leaders had several hours on us but who cares. We finished and we’re still smiling and still planning on getting married eventually. All is well in our world.
Peace.

From my bike computer:
5:07
44.26 miles
8.6 average speed
30.5 max speed
Now I know what it feels like to be the weakest link.