2018
OHIO FLECHE: Team Sagamores of the Wabash
We stood frozen in disbelief. I looked around at each face and saw a mixture of reactions starting to settle in. The first I saw was fear. The clock is running, it's always running. Tick Tock Tick Tock… Will you be successful or will you fail, tick tock tick tock. I saw pure exhaustion. The cycling computers just rolled over 220 miles. We have been riding since 7 am the previous day. We started in the southwest side of Indianapolis, traversed over eastern Indiana into Ohio forging forward no matter the wind or hill. It was now 5:40 in the morning and we are in the heart of Columbus, Ohio with miles left to go to reach our final destination before 7 am, tick tock tick tock. I saw contemplation, as our fearless captain Indiana's RBA Bill Watts, runs through various options in his head. Road closed! It's one of the biggest nightmares for any randonneur. We fear having to add more miles on when your legs are already screaming for you to give up. How far off route will this take us? How much of the road is closed and for how long? We looked ahead and saw there was a giant hole several feet deep. Could we make it around? What happens if we get 5 miles down the road and there’s another hole making and it's impassable as well? We discussed our options when all a sudden we realized we were a bike and a member short! Steve, who is supposed to be the realistic and practical person in our group found a tear in the orange plastic fenced barricade and slipped through with his bike. With eyes wide and breath held we watched him slowly maneuver over thick grass and masterfully walking his bike around the thin edge of the hole. He disappeared into the darkness as the sun was just about to peak up from the horizon. We waited, still holding our breaths, just starting to hear the birds chirping in the background. "Well, are you guys coming?” Steve hollered breaking the silence. I hesitated slightly going towards the barricade. What if the police see us? Is this technically breaking the law? On the other hand, I know Steve. When he's ready to go, he's ready to go with or without me. There was no way this stoker was going to run the rest of the miles chasing after the captain. I looked down into the deep abyss of a hole. If anyone fell in there was no coming back up without a broken bone or two. I crept around purposefully placing each foot. I reached the other barricade. I was barely able to hop over it as the fencing came up to hip level. I have no idea how Steve managed to carry our loaded tandem over. The overhead presses at the gym must be paying off. Steve was on the trail just up ahead and ready to go. Before joining him I helped the rest of the members across the barricade. We rode through a hidden forest deep within the city. You could hear the cars but could not see them. We weaved back and forth following creek after creek racing our way to the final destination.
The Fleché is a 360km ride ridden with a three bike minimum and a five bike maximum that must be completed in the 23rd hour. You are not allowed to finish early or late, nor are you allowed to rest more than two hours in one location. The Ohio Fleché had three teams this year; one from Ohio, one from Canada that rode from Michigan, and our team from Indiana, the Sagamores of the Wabash. Steve and I joined, Bill Watts, Ron Shelby, and Kenny Jarndyce each from Indianapolis. As our team rolled into old town Dayton, Ohio early evening that Saturday, I felt like our team was more like a bicycle gang. We rolled down the residential streets with our rando reflective vest bellowing in the wind swaying to the beats of hip hop music blaring from cars and homes. There were people sitting on their porch and lawns, as well as some adults working on cars in the street and kids playing in the lawns. Everyone was smiling and enjoying the beautiful evening. They waved and cheered us on. We almost lost one member and rumor has it he got proposed to! We rolled up to a light and a car pulled up beside us with the rear bouncing. The guy inside was like "what up biker gang!" We stopped at hopping Irish Pub and enjoyed a filling meal and a beer. With extra time in hand, we had the rare luxury of staying for coffee and dessert.
The weather was absolutely perfect the entire time. We didn't get rained on, sprayed by a skunk, lost, or have any mechanical issues. In fact it was quite scary how smoothly the entire ride went. The aforementioned encounter with the construction on the trail was the most exciting part of our ride or rather the most exciting part I could write about. Steve and I had an amazing time on the Fleché. It was very relaxed pace for the distance and at one point we decided to see how far we could keep a coast going down this one section of a rails to trial. It was a solid two miles. We had super supportive team members and I love hearing their stories from places I may soon visit. I'm sure glad we weren't part of their team two years ago when they rode 22 hours in the rain and got spray by a skunk! Steve and I felt stronger this year compared to last year. Last year's fleche was our first 24 hour event as a tandem couple and our first time riding with group for such a large distance. It so amazing to see how much we have grown in all aspects of long distance cycling. This past weekend was a great affirmation to keep trusting the process and we will achieve the goals we have set out to achieve this year.
