This was 27th running of CFC which began in 1976. For reasons that are difficult to comprehend the ride has never grown to match the participation of so many tours of both lesser and greater difficulty. This year the number that participated was 289 in the most populous year I don't believe the number ever reached 500. the ride is arduous for most but when ridden in comfort zone most any decent biker can complete the 210 hilly miles in southeastern Ohio.

When Frankie Andreu rode CFC a couple years back he found the ride rather easy. Frankie's Dad Frank however had quite a different opinion concerning the difficulty factor. For most of us who fall in the rider of average ability category the ride can be most arduous. There are numerous hills that exceed 10% grade and a few that exceed 15%. These are not mountains and few go on for more then a mile but many are a half mile and the number is such that you get worn down by their frequency.

Then of course there is the descents that are often as not hairy due to curves and often rough pavement. This constitutes the other part o0f the challenge. Good tandem teams have a vast advantage as few singles have the guts to stay glued to the tandem wheel during many of the steep curving descents.

This year I had the pleasure of riding down to Lancaster with Roger Hunker and Janet La Fleur Hunker. They were riding tandem on this tour. I was a bit apprehensive about keeping pace with any tandem due to the speed on the descents. We stayed at the Best Western in Lancaster and had breakfast there as well that began at 6AM. We made it to the new starting point, the Methodist Campground on W. Fair Avenue. We picked up our packets and got our bikes ready and our bags stowed in the truck or in Pat L's van, aka Benjamin's mother. It was 7:42 when we headed out and we made no attempt to get a Wolverine pack assembled. It seems most have decided that this ride is best taken at a pace of your own rather then being sucked up in the pace of a fast pack.

The danger here is not so much that you will be unable to keep pace with the pack then the fact that you are going to wear down your body on Saturday and then feel wasted for much of the Sunday ride. At mile 20 the tandem got a flat. I stopped with them, removed my vest, as my body had heated up adequately, and stuffed it into my fanny pack. Janet encouraged me to go on while they were effecting the repair. I thought that was a good idea as I could then ride the 9 or so miles to the first food stop in my comfort zone.

When I reached the rest stop in Logan I was fortunate to hook up with Dan Klinkhammer, Al Johnson and Ken Lazur as well as a Tim that I don't know. It was for me a compatible pack that I could hang with most of the time. When I did come off on a climb I managed to claw my way back shortly after the summit had been reached. Dan has ridden 23 CFC's to my 25, Dan started after me but did not miss in '94 or '97 when I was out for my daughters Wedding in Dallas in '94 and for a crash that I did in an Island Lake sand pit in '97.

There are a lot of memories covering all those years of CFC and we reminisced a good deal as we rode along toward the lunch stop at Glouster. There was a section of road between Murray City and Glouster that I had not ridden as two years back when the route came this way I turned right as there was no arrow at the corner. We ended up doing a 14 mile detour before reaching Glouster. It was seven miles out when we reached a tee at a major highway that everyone agreed that we were off course. Fortunately I was carrying an Ohio map and with it was able to find a short route to Glouster or otherwise the detour may have been longer yet.

At lunch I chowed down with plenty of food but made sure that I wasn't exceeding Dan's time limit on the stop. I was ready when Dan and Al were. Ken was a bit late and then decided he would wait for Tim while the three of us took off on the next leg to Chesterhill. This is just a 19 mile leg but it has some significant climbing along the route. The stop is no longer at the Chesterhill fire Department but at a nondescript building several miles beyond the city. We stopped for no more then five minutes at that location and then headed off on the 31 mile leg to Marietta. This section would be the toughest on the tour for Saturday as it contained 77 Mile Hill then 80 Mile Hill both of which were significant. I was dropped on 77-Mile hill but managed to hang on over 80 Mile Hill. I had a Mountain bike cluster on my Litespeed with about 30 teeth, maybe 32, I didn't count. I was in 39 by 30 during these climbs and it wasn't easy. The hills don't go away between mile 80 and mile 92 but then you are hit hard one more time. Once again I came unglued but clawed my way back after reaching the summit. We were getting pretty close to Marietta but then there was the 98 Mile Hill to contend with. I managed to hang on but just barely.

Coming into the city you have to contend with a steep descent that you have to brake on as it tees into a major highway where we turn righ then left then jiggle thru the city cross the bridge over the Muskingum River and arrive at the bricks and the Street Car tracks of midtown Marietta. We reached the Betsy Mills Club where we picked up our luggage. We got our bags onto our backs and headed off two miles to our Motels. I was staying at the Econo-Lodge where Rick Oberle would join me. We had reached the Betsy Mills club at 2:35 after having left at 7:42. My odometer indicated a 17.4 mph average.

I got to the Motel and into my room at 2:58. I opened my bag and retrieved a beer that I had packed. I downed the first 12 ounces of rehydration then began to get ready for the shower. I opened the second beer and it too went down easily. I was then eating the three nutri-grain bars I had picked up at various food stops. I got in the shower just after Rick Oberle arrived. He had been riding with the Maumee Valley Wheelmen from Toledo. He said the pace was brutal and he was often on the edge though he hung on as the numbers dwindled from twenty to about six. By 4:30 we were both ready for dinner so we walked next door to the Comfort In that has a Sports Bar Restaurant. We were early and the entire crew of wait staff were in the lobby waiting for the rush to begin. We got a booth and ordered. To begin with all the local beer was Lite. I said I wanted fat beer. They had Killien's so I ordered the 22 ounce tankard. For dinner I had beer batter whitfish and french fries. They had real horseradish so I had plenty of that to mix with ketchup and dip both fish and fries in the sauce. Before finishing dinner I ordered a second 22 ounce tankard of Killien's.

With dinner over we went for a walk to find a beer store. the Wall Mart did not have food so we went on and found a gas station party store that had beer. The econo-pack was a six pack of 16 ounce Milwaukee's Best. Back at the motel we found a Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte movie to watch during which time I drank two 16 ouncers before 9 PM bedtime. So then since I drank no water while on the bike during the 107 mile ride I then made up for the lack of liquid by drinking 100 ounces of beer between 4 PM an 9 PM. The math worked out, 2 times 12 = 24 plus 2 times 22 = 44, plus 2 times 16 equal 32, so 24 + 44 + 32 = 100.

Since I had to get up only once during the night to pee I guess I wasn't over hydrated. At 9 I attempted to call the desk for a 5:15 wake up call. the phone was dead and eventually I looked at the wire and found it 2/3rds cut thru. so Rick set the alarm on his watch and said he'd do the wake up call. And thus ended day one of CFC 2002.

Rick woke me at 5:30 so I leaped out of bed, well perhaps that was scooted out of bed and quickly went about putting on my riding clothing. I wore shorts that had been sufficient on Saturday but on the top I had a long sleeved polypro then a short sleeved Jersey then a long sleeved jersey. I decided against the vest this morning just so I wouldn't need to stop to remove it once I began generating internal body water. We were out of the room by 5:45 and with heavy back packs we mounted our bikes for the two mile ride to the Betsy Mills Club where we would put our bags in the luggage truck. I had a blinker light attached to my seat pack that made me feel slightly more secure as we started down Pike Street passing the I-77 Freeway entrance and exit. Once past those I felt a bit more at ease. There weren't many cars at that time of the morning but any that there are seems like too many.

We got our bags to the Truck and then rode the mile to the Lafayette hotel where the Breakfast Banquette is served. The quality of the scrambled eggs was down and the potatoes were small chunks deep fried rather then the big chunk home fries of past years. The oatmeal consistency was good and overall it was still an excellent breakfast where you could eat as much as you felt necessary. We were among the early birds as we arrived just after 6 AM. So we had breakfast and were basically finished before any other Wolverines showed up to take residence at our table. Pat and Ann showed up with their crew of clingons and then Amy, Mario’s stoker then some time later Mario as well as Bob Crowley.

Roger and Janet never did show up at the Lafayette, nor did Dan, Al and Ken. Around 7:15 I checked the light index outside and thought it adequate to leave. I waited another 15 minutes in the hope that Roger and Janet would appear. Since they didn't and I had the heeby jeebies I left alone at 7:30. After crossing the bridge over the Muskegum and then making the next left turn I sighted a small pack of riders one who had a blinker light. I was down alongside the Ohio River before I joined the pack of bikers. they were moving at a moderate pace that at the moment seemed adequate. I sat with that pack until we were about to overtake another group. Not wanting to trust the group I was with at the moment to make the pass cleanly I scooted gently off the front, increasing my pace by a few mph.

After a time I closed on a single rider who seemed to be going at a decent pace so I sat on. When we reached Township Road number 7, the arrows were crossed out and a second set indicated straight ahead. We went another mile to County road number 3 where we made a right turn and then began to climb hill one on day two. Even with an 8 mile warm up my body was not ready for the first anaerobic stressing of the day. The biker I had caught slipped ahead as did several others who passed me en route to the summit. Well with hill one over I was glad that I wasn't with anyone I knew as there was no pressure to increase my pace while struggling in my granny gear.

After going over the top I gradually closed on the rider I had been sitting on. Once together we seemed quite compatible pacewise. We began to BS and he said to me I remember you from the first time on this ride. I replied do you mean in 1976? Yes he said that he was instrumental in setting up the course at that time. His name I believe is Wally Chapman. Before getting to that point I mentioned that my climbing ability was no longer what it had been in earlier years when I used to ride with the thought that, thou shall not pass. And if you did it would be a short lived thing before the counter attack to regain the lead. These days I don't give it a second thought when I am passed. those that pass are faster or tougher then I am and there is no need to attempt to keep their pace.

From Marietta to the first food stop at Bartlett School is 27 miles and at that time I came across Roger and Janet about to leave on the second leg. I said I'd like to go with them if they could give me a minute to get a drink of Gatorade and stuff some bars in my pocket. So with a two minute stop I headed off on leg two sitting on the wheel of a compatible tandem. Even in moderate terrain they gapped me on short hills that they charged up at a speed I was unable to match. They eased off then I managed to close and stayed glued to their wheel for the next eight miles. Then came a descent that went from sunlight to shade where visibility is poor. I backed off and thus was well off their wheel during the next climb. What happened next was a long swooping descent and what with their head start on the descent they were about out of sight by the time I began the descent. That was the end of my tandem sitting position for the time being and as it turned out for the day.

Some miles later I found them on the side of the road in the process of fixing a flat. I said I'd see them at lunch but thinking about the 12 miles remaining till lunch they would likely catch me long before I reached McConnelsville. Well I did reach the lunch stop ahead of them but what I didn't know was that they had two more flats along the way as the result of pinches after hitting a chuck hole at high speed.

Whatever the distance was to lunch it seemed further then I expected and I was having hunger hallucinations. It seems I needed some food at stop one and when my odometer showed 62 miles at lunch it wasn't surprising what with the amount of climbing that there was along the route. The final stab was the location of the school in McConnelsville was now at the top of a one mile climb, rather than at the bottom of the hill where the old school was located. The final mile was not an easy climb even if we were fresh when we started the ascent.

During lunch Mario and I scanned the map trying to decide if we were going to ascend Malta Hill? We tended to think we were going to go north and bypass the super steep Malta Hill. that was wishful thinking as it turned out. I headed out on leg three alone and was with three bikers when we made the left turn to the little bridge and there it was, staring us in the face, as if to say here I am bikers come and get your punishment. One of the bikers I happened to creep past had an odometer with grade percentage. he was calling out the numbers to his buddy that I was about even with during the climb, 12% it started then crept up to 14 then 15% and I didn't hear any number higher then that. Actually I was encouraged by those figures as Thrill Hill in Florida is a 15% grade. The only thing her wes the distance to the top that is about three times the distance of Thrill Hill. One comment by the guy with the grade meter was, "what have I done to deserve this?" My soft reply was that you entered the ride.

Once over the top there are moderate rollers before there are more semi serious climbs. The red jersey rider with the grad meter passed me at the base of a hill just as I had downshifted to small chainring. I felt like I was starting from a standing start as he passed me in big chainring. When he attempted to shift into small chainring his chain derailled. I passed making the comment it is really such a waste when that happens. Red jersey got going again and passed me again but never did close on the Trek blue jersey. For the next 15 miles or so Red jersey and I played hopscotch. I'd catch him and pass then a mile or two later he would blast past me again. I don't recall just how many time this happened but it almost seemed humorous. We were like a tandem out of sync, when one was on a power mode the other was in rest mode and vice versa.

At some point I joined a guy that was riding with a Wolverine girl that I did not know. We were close in climbing ability. I was a bit faster on the climbs then the girl and seemed about equal with the guy who was not running away from the girl. This was fine with me as we formed a three pack and continued climbing at our slightly different climbing pace then regrouping once the climb was finished. At some point along the rout a pack of Maumee Valley Wheelmen passed. the terrain was moderate at the moment so I sat in and in the pack was the blond ponytailed girl with the racing body and the sculptured legs. I wasn't in the pack long before the next surge. shortly after that Rick Oberle caught me and asked how far ahead the pack was? I thought about a half mile as it wasn't long since I had my last glimpse of them one hill ahead.

The New Lexington food stop was supposed to be at mile 81, even with a 3 mile addition I was off as I had 88 when I reached the food stop. I got a couple of cups of Gatorade, ate a few grapes, stuffed my pockets with fig Newton bars and headed out. I added 28 mile to my 88 and came up with 116 which is what I would expect when I reached Lancaster Methodist Campground. As it turned out that figure was reasonably accurate as I had over 88 and came in with 116.5, it was 117 before I rode up to where the bags were unloaded and then back to the van.

Along the way the Wolverine girl, named Rene had joined me passed me and then we to began to do the hopscotch. At some point well into the last leg I thought she was permanently behind me when I heard voices and recognized that I was being caught. And so I was and passed as well. Rene was riding with another lady from Columbus that I had ridden with two years back. Once inside the city I managed to close on the two ladies and we jiggled thru the streets of Lancaster until finally we got onto Fair Avenue and then crossed the Railroad tracks and then the quarter mile or so to the driveway. I must have been in oxygen debt as I didn't see the Red suburban that was parked in the same spot as when we left it on Saturday morning. I rode up and with some difficulty located my bag and with greater difficulty got it onto my back and rode back down to where the van was parked. I got in at 4:30 about 10 minutes after Roger and Janet. Roger was in the shower when I found him and Janet had emerged from the shower and assured me the Suburban was still parked in the same location.

I saw Frank Mottershead at each food stop as he was acting as support for his son Glenn and his brother Brian. I had ridden with Glenn for a short time and he had passed me and was ahead for a long while till I somehow got up to him and we rode together most of the remaining miles, or so it seemed.

When I think about what I write on these tours there seems no way to keep the sequence of events in their proper order as some things penetrate and some just slide of to the edge of my memory bank. So regardless of where I put what it was once again One Significant Ride, I might even say "One Hell of a Ride," but I wouldn't want the AABTS to feel I was plagiarizing their name.

On Saturday my average was 17.4 mph on Sunday it was 15 the two day distance was 220 miles. It seems the Sunday 117 mile ride took longer then the Autumnal Equinox Ordeal when we did 102 mile and averaged 14.7 mph on dirt.

I think Sunday's course was tough and I was thankful that it included neither Savage nor Chicken Coop hill located about 104 miles into the course.

Whereas there were just 289 starters the administration is asking for our help to get the numbers up closer to the 500 figure which they feel is the limit for the crew available. So Wolverine tourists, supertourists and racing aficionados, plan your calendar now to be part of the Challenge for the 2003 Columbus Fall Challenge, the toughest tour anywhere near the State of Michigan. 

TJ Hill, bicycle aficionado