Let me start by saying that I don’t much consider myself a cyclist. I’ve just found myself in the position of long-distance cycling on a handful of occasions. The Capstone, of course, was the longest cycling event that I’ve completed, which was a cross-country cycling tour from San Francisco, CA to Pottsville, PA.–but this 4,000 mile cycling event actually came out of my first Ben to the Shore Bike Tour.
The first year I completed the Ben to the Shore was 2018. I purchased a Specialized Diverge gravel bike about 1 week before the tour. Without any road biking experience, I went into the tour and completed the route in a respectable 3 hours and 40 minutes (approx.).
The training style that we employ at Ruthless allowed me to seamlessly transition from a rigorous in-house cardio regimen, to trying the road bike, then completing the 65 mile tour, all within 1 week. Since I had a strong base of aerobic conditioning, the only training I needed on the bike was some skill acquisition and gaining some basic competency.
Of course more time would have allowed for a greater period of skill acquisition–but I’m a busy guy and cycling really isn’t my thing.
The following year, 2019, I completed the tour on a significantly heavier Surly Long Haul Trucker. At this point I was in the midst of training for my cross country sojourn but my time actually INCREASED because of the added weight of the steel frame, plus a slight 3-mile detour caused by a wrong turn at a rest stop.
Following my cross country trip later that same year, I hardly touched my road bike again until my last minute preparations for the tour this year, which began in late May.
Going into this year I knew that I wanted to up the ante and challenge myself in some way, so I decided to bring along my pitbull, Kronos. Kronos has been privy to my shenanigans in the past, but this was a first for him on the bike.
Start of the Event
After a wedding in Hershey the night before, we made our way to Philadelphia where we got about 5.5 hours of sleep before our early morning start, which included a lap around city hall, guided by a police escort. After this quick jaunt through Philadelphia we made it to the starting line at the base of the Ben Franklin Bridge. Here, for the first time of the day, I consumed some calories. I had a cold brew coffee with heavy cream. Unlike most endurance athletes or coaches, I try to keep simple sugars and carbohydrates in reserve.
The first stretch of the route takes you across the Ben Franklin Bridge, then into some low hills bordering the eastern slope of the Delaware. Anyone present during the ride can tell you about the intense heatwave that the northeast was experiencing at this time. As the ride began promptly at 7 we were met with 82 degree temps, which climbed as the day went on.
To cope with the heat, I was consuming water plus another bottle which contained a lemon-flavored 0-calorie electrolyte packet (Ultima).
Rest Stops
The tour had 4 rest stops, all complete with water, Gatorade, fruit, granola bars, and even peanut butter and jellies. As has been my plan on the prior two tours, I skipped rest stop 1 as a means of gaining some ground and pulling ahead of the mass of cyclists brave enough to complete the 65-mile route.
Until this point, Kronos sat happily in his Burley Tail Wagon, waiting to be again set free as the center of attention, just as he was at the starting line.
As we approached rest stop 2, I began to feel fatigued. Throughout the race, rather than try to keep a consistent pace, I tried to keep a consistent amount of effort. At the rest stop I had a ‘pit crew’ for Kronos who were able to hose him down to keep him cool in the high temps. Here I began to consume fruits and Gatorade–the beginning of my 40-mile carb binge.
As the tour went on, I again passed the next rest stop, hoping to gain some ground and continue to improve my time. But the heat grew, only being interrupted intermittently by the shade of the south jersey Pine Barrens.
At stop 4, I again binged on fruit, all blueberries and grapes. After a short rest in the shade with ample Gatorade, I started into the coastal headwinds eager to complete the ride.
Final Stretch
My ability to strategize for pacing, speed, and placement was hindered by the fact that my GPS system had not picked up on the first handful of miles of the tour (the second time that Strava has majorly let me down), leaving me to rely on the tour’s mile markers as my guides. Because of this, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was less than 10-miles from the finish line when I left rest stop 4.
I began to increase my speed as the end drew near, but was regularly interrupted by the growing frequency of traffic and traffic lights. The shade of the Pine Barrens was now also gone. I was in the sun and it was nearing midday. All the while, Kronos slept soundly in his water-cooled and covered trailer.
As Atlantic City appeared over the bay, I began to peddle even faster, trying to match my remaining energy reserves with the remaining length of the tour.
Here, I overreached.
Within the last mile of the route, along with my 50 pound dog in a 20 pound trailer, I began passing cyclists by the dozen. Then, for the first time in years, my legs began to falter. I had a right hamstring cramp–a cramp so severe that I was unable to unclip my right leg from its pedal. I dropped gears and tried to stretch my right leg as I peddled with my left.
Some of the people that I had just passed again began to pass me, others so fatigued by the 65 mile ride, had similarly lost their momentum last minute.
As the road straightened into the finish line, I again began passing people, but I was more careful now to save an energy reserve for holding the bike (and myself) upright–not simply collapsing–once I made it to the finish.
Finish Line
Shortly after 12 PM we hit the finish line, making it in a time of 5:09. Although my goal was to finish the ride in under 5 hours with the dog in tow, I’m satisfied with our result. In the process of completing this route, we also raised almost $600 for the Families Behind the Badge children’s foundation.
The event was also a success since Kronos became the first dog to complete the Ben to the Shore. I viewed this year with Kronos as an opportunity to challenge myself, while doing so in an unconventional manner. New to this year’s race, were chipped bibs which created very accurate ranking and timing results. This feature has ignited some of my competitive spirit and I’ve begun to think that next year I’ll leave the pup at home and try to set my sights on first place.
