Two weekends ago, Kurt, Tread and I traveled to VT to participate in Vermont Overland GP. We dragged Fred Prescott (pbm athlete hot shot) to suffer on the steep dirt climbs and ever steeper dirt descents.
-Neutral start for about 1-2k, then- BAM! straight uphill on loose dirt/gravel. Awesome. 500+ guys and gals with fresh legs all smashing it hard. No categories or age groups, just a good old fashioned race.
-Tread off the front with all the heavy hitters racing for glory, me and Fred a little further back but moving up. Kurt slightly further back from us, riding steady.
-Fred super strong today, stretching out our group on every climb, dancing on the pedals with a huge smile on his face.
-Make it to the first water/feed zone and stop for a coke/water/treats. Basically the whole group stopped so we didn’t really lose many spots. But who cares because it’s not a race, right? My heart rate was 176 avg for the first hour.
-Still in same group riding strong, Fred still on the front breathing through his nose. Tread, long gone never to be seen again. I flat (thank God) and pull the plug on my “race”. I change the flat at a very leisurely pace hoping Kurt or another friendly race will roll up. Kurt finally arrives and we chat, then set off to finish this thing.
-I stay with Kurt for a little while then decide to get a little extra tempo work in and ride away. Not an attack or anything because me and Kurt are tight and I would never attack him like that, just a subtle acceleration which he could have followed but didn’t.
-I finish 3:42 (I think), stopped a lot to eat/drink/nature calls/flats, so I think it’s respectable but no where near Tread or Fred. Both those guys drilled it. Can’t say I’m not jealous, I would’ve like to have tested myself to stay with the front groups. All told, I got in 6+ hrs of riding, with over 7k vertical feet. Good times. Of course, Tread and I had to ride to and from race venue for warm up and cool down.
-Definitely a buck list ride- VOGP. Peter Vollers organized a great day. Beautiful VT country roads, amazing weather, and some excellent cyclists. Current and former Pro’s, World Champions, National Champs and local hot shots.
-I’m going back for sure.
Thanks for reading.
Bill.
