Bon Ton Roulet 2010 Day 1

Well… I’m off on another Bon Ton Roulet!

600 riders, a dozen support vehicles, a tent-city that springs to life in grassy sports fields as the rolling celebration of cycling moves from town to town through the Finger Lakes for the next week.

Today’s ride was a real weather surprise, since I had been expecting sunny skies between a few scattered thunderstorms. However, what we got was perfect summer cycling weather. The temperatures were in the low 20s (71-73F) with overcast skies and some light, cooling rain from time to time. Considering that it can be sunny, hot and humid this time of the year, today was a real gift.

Photo above.. just before the start with Geoff Radbill, also from NYCC and fellow rider from last year’s BTR

The long route took one of those gratuitous loops that does nothing but add mileage to the route without taking the riders past anything particularly interesting along the road. It wasn’t as if the extra loop down along the side of the lake and then up through the corn fields is anything that we won’t be seeing for the next six days.

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Just toward the end of the ride, heading into Keuka, it looked like a rider had either fallen or been hit making a left turn. I arrived just moments after it had happened and there were already three or four cars that had stopped and were attending to her. I called 911 and spoke to a less-than-helpful operator. I told her the exact location… at the intersection of 54A and 21, just outside of Penn Yann to the southwest. She asked me what county I was in and told me, “You have to work with me here.” I said that I could give her the exact GPS coordinates but she said that this would not help her. Eventually she assured me that help was on the way. I rode on and heard that the ambulance arrived and she was moving (when I went past her, she was not moving at all on the ground.)

These days fall into some pretty predictable routines. My strategy at the end of each day’s ride is to head immediately to the food truck and order up two bratwurst rolls and two regular Pepsi, trying to get as many calories during the magic 45 minutes after getting off the bike. Then, the next most important thing is to get into the showers and into something that allows that area where the “seat hits the meat” to breath and dry out. No sense in sitting around in sweaty riding shorts, allowing anything yeasty or bacterial to take up residence. It is a strategy that may not seem so important today or tomorrow, but the cumulative time in the saddle over four, five and six days make it really essential to think about it today. There is nothing worse than climbing onto the damn hard and narrow little seat for five hours of riding next Friday and dreading the pain of a sore and inflamed butt.

The other thing that I always look for is a comfortable place to plug in the electronics for uploading data, recharging batteries (including my Di2 shifters battery, an essential part of a successful ride. After showering I found a nice spot in a dorm here at Keuka College, with not only some comfy couches but also the last day of the Tour de France on TV. Perfect.

Below is my campsite here..bike, chair, tent.

Below is the announcement for tomorrow’s ride. Breakfast from 5:30 till 8:00 and another 105 km!

Here is our tent city!