OK, so who wants to get up at 3:30 am to drive two hours to ride a bike for one hour and turn around and drive back?
That was me on Saturday. Actually, I had signed up for a longer ride in the 2021 Tour De Donut, but as the days grew closer I realized I also wanted to ride in the Slow Roll in Mansfield at the Reformatory, which started at 4:00. So I needed to be back in time to shower and change clothes and get to the starting point. Which meant a four-hour ride in Troy would not get me back in time. I decided to go on the shortest ride, the "Donut Hole" which is a 10-mile ride.
I did get up when the alarm went off, got dressed, and stumbled to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee and breakfast. I gathered all my things and was out of the house by 5:15.
I signed up for this ride because my friend and mentor, Lori Linn, had mentioned what a fun ride it was. The idea is that it is a race, and you get to reduce your time with every donut you eat and record at the rest stops. I wasn't sure it was such a good idea, because being on WW, I am trying to eat healthy, and donuts don't usually fit into my food plan.
But I do enjoy riding in different places, so I signed up. I took I-71 south to Columbus and turned right on I-270, then continued on I-70 almost to Dayton. Troy is just north of I-70. I found the designated parking area at the middle school, and I started to realize what a big ride this is, since there were literally thousands of cyclists getting ready to ride. The parking lot was a quarter mile from the Rec Center where I picked up my registration packet, so I put on my helment and rode my bike.
Oops! My sunglasses were on top of my head, so I put them on my face when I put on my helmet. When I arrived at the rec center, there was nowhere to put my bike due to every available post and bike rack being already taken by multiple other bikes. I found an empty signpost and leaned my bike against it. I got there in plenty of time before they locked the doors at 8:00 am sharp. I took my sunglasses off as I walked into the dark interior of the building. I had to stand in line for a few minutes, but the organizers were very efficient and had multiple lines roped off to handle the crowd. Everything was computerized. They handed me an RFID tag for my bike, a sticker for my helmet, and a bib tag for my jersey. I made a last-minute decision to change my long ride to the 20-mile "Mini" ride. At the next table they handed me a T-shirt, and then I was registered! I put the RFID tag on the seat post, the sticker on my helmet, attached the bib tag to the front of my jersey, and balled up the T-shirt and attached it to my rack with bungee cords.
I had not spent a lot of time reading the multiple emails the organizers had sent me prior to the race. I pulled up email on my phone to figure out where I had to go next. The last email was all about installing an app on my phone to see the race results. I have zero space left on my phone, so that was not going to happen. I saw a friendly-looking woman a few years younger than me and I asked her if I had to install the app in order to participate. She reassured me that all I had left to do is ride the ride, and introduced herself as Suzy and her husband Bernie.
The announcer mentioned that the kids' events were starting. The kids were adorable. I tried to get a photo but by the time I got my camera out and focused, they had already zoomed by.
There was one mass start for the adult ride. It took a while to get up to the starting line, as thousands of people were funnelled through a narrow gate. While I waited, I chatted with Suzy and Bernie, who were waiting for their son and grandson to arrive. There was an announcement that an accident had already occurred at the first turn, so take caution! Bernie mentioned that cycling in Germany, where they had lived, was a lot different. It was not all recreation like it seems to be here, but also a primary mode of transportation. They had also lived in Florida, and needed to be careful of the "blue-haired" drivers. And I remarked that I usually ride on country roads, with little traffic, but occasionally a "redneck" pickup truck that doesn't like cyclists.
For the race, all times were calculated by the time your RFID chip crossed the start and finish line, so there was no need to jockey for position. The routes were designed so that the donut stops were shared by a couple of routes. At the first stop, you got 5 minutes credit for each donut you eat. I had already decided I would eat one donut. It was a glazed donut. My friend Suzy was waiting for her family to catch up with her, so we chatted again.
I looked for a friend from high school, Denise, who said she was coming with some other friends. It's been a long time since I saw her in person, so I wasn't sure I would recognize her. I did see this papier-mache guy who was fishing for a donut from the back of a bike.
I continued on my way. I heard someone say that the ride back was slightly downhill, so that was encouraging. I did seem to be riding a little faster. As usual when passing someone, I said "Passing on your left" when I passed a young teenage girl and a couple on a tandem. The girl looked back over her shoulder and started pedalling a lot harder, as if to say "No old lady is going to pass me!" Well, that was a challenge to me so I attempted to overtake her again. A couple of miles down the road I did pass her, but going up the next hill, she passed me again.
There was a second donut stop about a mile from the finish line. This was for cake donuts, and there was a maximum of one donut, which counted for 10 minutes against your score. I knew I needed the extra minutes! So against my better judgement, I ate one more donut.
When I arrived back at the finish, I went through the gate, had my donut eating counted by the scorer, received a medal, and picked up a water bottle from the horse watering trough conveneniently located just past the finish line. Well, that was anticlimatic! I didn't have the app installed to look at real-time scoring. I rode back to my car through back streets and the farmer's market and against the flow of racers briefly. When I got to my car, I realized my sunglasses were not in my jersey pocket. So I drove around the cordoned-off area, parked in front of the police station, and went back to the registration area. It was closed, but there was a volunteer handing out T-shirts to those who hadn't gotten one. He tried to help me by pointing out several areas where lost-and-found items might be. I realized, as we talked, that an announcer was giving the results. I didn't come in first, second or third in the Mini race, either before or after my time was adjusted for the donuts.
There were a lot of people waiting for results.
I noticed several clever costumes. This group of women were dressed like bees, wings and all.
The announcer didn't have my sunglasses.
The volunteer at the finish line didn't have my sunglasses either. But she did have a pair of green sunglasses almost exactly like mine. I was trying to explain to her that mine were almost the same, only purple, when she pointed out that there was a pair of purple sunglasses in my fanny pack water bottle holder. Boy, did I feel dumb!
I walked around the square a little more and stopped at a couple of the tents that were set up. I noticed a crowd around one booth and realized that the Columbus Zoo was demonstrating with some of their animals. I saw a tortoise and a tiny owl.
There was a lot going on. My conclusion for next year is a.) go the night before b.) go with friends c.) ride faster d.) plan to stay longer, have a beer and dinner and enjoy the party afterwards!
When I got home I realized that the times were available online on the registration page.
I came in 181th overall, and 32nd in my division and age group. At least that is what I think this means. I evidently became anonymous when I changed my course at the beginning of the race, but my bib number was 7166.
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