Today I rode about 52 miles today in the Big Dam Bridge 100, the largest cycling tour in Arkansas. About 3000 people participated. Participants could choose to ride 100, 52, or 32 miles. It was a great day for a ride. I felt great; no headaches or other medical issues that I sometimes have.

The ride was very well organized; otherwise, it would have be chaos with 3000 people riding at once. Riders were grouped in “corrals” based on their predicted riding time. My group left shortly after 7:00 am.

https://youtu.be/7SGWkRMR4Uc?rel=0

Riders were everywhere, about as far as I could see.

The ride started in North Little Rock and went west along the Arkansas River Trail. We crossed the Big Dam Bridges and another bicycle/pedestrian bridge, the Two Rivers Bridge. My route went to Roland, a small town west of Little Rock, and back.

The first part of the ride was sloooow! We crept along until the mass of riders spread out along the street and the River Trail. After about 5 miles the peloton slowed to a crawl again as we rode over a narrow bridge on the trail. As is my usual modus operandi in rides like this, I pick out a good-sized guy who I can keep up with and stick to him like glue. It is so much easier to ride when you can draft behind another rider. But, as we crossed the Big Dam Bridge, the big guy was a bit faster than I on the assent and he pulled ahead of me. There were so many riders in my way, I could never catch him again. Nevertheless, I was able to find several riders to draft behind throughout the ride (lots of people to choose from).

As is sometimes the case in rides like this, I saw a couple of wrecks. One happened a short distance in front of me. I heard it before I saw anything. It looked like a couple of guys ran off the road and crashed into the ditch. They seemed to be fine. The other accident looked more serious. I saw an ambulance come to the scene.

Rest stops were great with lots of Gatorade, water, and stuff to eat—pickles, cookies, peanut butter and jelly, bananas, orange wedges. I stopped at only one rest stop to rehydrate, eat a little, and use the port-a-potty.

About 10 or 12 miles from the finish, I was having a bit of a hard time finding a good person to draft behind. But, I got lucky when a young guy came by that I could keep up with—but barely. So, I followed him the rest of the way. When there was no traffic or other impediments, he (we) were riding at speeds up to 20 mph. As we crossed the Two Rivers Bridges, surprisingly he did not pull away from me (I’m not that strong of a rider up hills). Then, he slowed down and unclipped from the pedals and rubbed his leg. As I passed him, I asked if he was having cramps. Yes, he was. So, I rode the next couple of miles alone, until he passed me again! I locked on to him again and rode the last several miles with my heart rate at near maximum. My endorphins were peaking, and I was as high as a kite. I loved every minute of it!

I went up to the guy after finishing to thank him for allowing me to draft behind him for so long. He looked confused and just kind of said “Wow, you stayed with me a long time”. He was half my age.

As I crossed the finish line, I heard someone call my name. That’s because each rider was equipped with an electronic sensor attached to the sticker we put on our bikes. Using that technology, they recorded our times and knew our names.

The sticker showing the bib number placed under the seat had an electronic sensor so riders could be tracked.

At the finish line a band played some blues and rock and roll. There was plenty of food, and each rider got one free beer. I believe beer is a good post ride recovery drink.

I completed the 52-mile course in a little over 3 hours. My average speed was 16.8, which doesn’t consider the time I was stopped at the rest stop. My heart rate was above 80% of maximum for 34% of the time (I keep these kinds of statistics). The last 10 miles when I was trying to keep up with the young man I was drafting behind, my heart rate was around 140 most of the time.

I have not ridden a bicycle tour like this nor have I ridden that far since April of 2014.  It felt good.