Sunday, April 27, 2014

IronKoot: The "Ride" Report

IronKoot One

It begins with an idea. The idea is shared. The idea is thought highly of or in some cases not. Occasionally the idea is forgotten. Those who have done the forgetting are happy they forgot once they are reminded of the thing they had forgotten about, but now, alas, they are sad for having been reminded of the thing they had happily forgotten. (What’s this about again?)


Or maybe they just missed the email? It is simply both confusion and confusing.


IronKoot One followed this same pattern. A slightly balding gentleman somehow with the nickname “Sully” had an idea that he likely stole (the idea for the ride, not the nickname) from someone else. He none-the-less presents this idea as his and discusses this idea with board members who run the ever efficient Chilkoot Cycling Bicycling Club, CCBC, and then this Sully “cyclist” fires the email with the idea of this IronKoot to the club. The idea now heads out over chat. And the members of CCBC roll their eyes, slam closed the lids of their laptops, drop their fancy, yet oversized Android Mobile Device in the snow while fat tiring through the woods (never to be seen again, the phone, not the rider) and think: “This guy, again? Why am I on chat…”


Surprisingly, this idea only generates 40 or 50 emails. Pretty low for a thought shared on chat designed to turn into a ride for the CCBC members. A good sign! Or perhaps foreshadowing of something more dark?


These things always end the same. We ride. And so it was with the first ever IronKoot. Some call it IronKoot 1. Some call it IronKoot last. In either case, it was the first ever IronKoot of which you will never ever have the chance to participate. Perhaps you will have the opportunity to partake in IronKoot 2, 3, or more, but never the first. And you should be thankful for that.


But this is a report of the “ride”, not of the ride development, ride planning, and ride execution plan planning. On to the action!


The day of IronKoot One nears. We are into the 10 day forecast window of the various internet sites that repackage and sell as their own the weather forecast. And that repackaged drivel does not look good. As the day of the event moves closer and closer and the weather “forecasters” hysteria for rain grows, the darkness, foreshadowed many months earlier, looks more and more like truth. Nothing but the truth.


We are within 24 hours of the start of IronKoot 1. It will rain. And it will not be warm. And the wind will blow. Hard.
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Oh.


But IRON is not a part of the IronKoot name for nothing. For we are the CCBC! IRON represents how we ride! Hard and fast with only a little bit of rust.  We shall meet and we shall ride!


We gather beneath the Flag of Flanders that represents strength and fortitude. Sunday morning. The pros are on the telly and if they can compete for 260K, the IronKoot can go on.
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Oh the coffee is marvelous. The French toast (in honor of European cycling!) simply divine. The fruit cup amazing. But we must ride, for we are Chilikootians! Really, just how bad can it be? Certainly there will be a window we can sneak through?  


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Oh.


Wait, is that an opening? Which way is that thing moving? Hurry, hit “map in motion”. We can sneak through there? Right?


And Liège Bastogne Liège 2014 continues. 3k to go. A small break with 10 seconds on the closing peloton. Tension grips the room and the Koots gaze out the window.


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Oh.


And Liège comes to an end. An amazing finish. Dan Martin has fought across the gap to nearly claim the lead. They make a hard left to the finish line 100 meters away, wait - the video is much better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL_1de_2Pq4 (It’s only 17 seconds, go watch it.)


Oh.


And that road is dry.


We have a new champion in Liège. The Koots look around the room. “Oh, look at the time. I better get home.” “I probably should go.” Dirty dishes are quietly returned to cafe. Table and chairs put back into their home. The Kootians file out slowly into the rain. To their cars, with only the shame of not having ridden and some great coffee and breakfast in their stomachs.


The drive of shame back to home.
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Oh.


We Kootians are a hearty lot! There will be another chance to redeem the shame of not riding in the 39F degree temps, through the 30mph (48Kph), and driving but still pouring rain. And we will all take solace in the fact that 1 among us rode at least a section of IronKoot One because he had hope and is bad at weather maps in motion. He thought that “Yes! Indeed there would be a break in the weather!”
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Oh.


We are shamed. But, he was wrong, there was no break. There was but the hint of a break in the weather which lead to a US gallon of water stored in his tights. But he did ride and we did not.


And for that (not having ridden) we are DAMN HAPPY!
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OH!!!

And Nick is your IronKoot One Most Valuable Rider(MVR)/Worst Weather Forecaster(WWF) 2014!

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