The Dirty Derailleur - the online newsletter of MVW

CFC 2003
Columbus Fall Challenge Stories
1999 2001 2002 2003

See Mike Faehnle's story, below.

Parking lot at Canal WInchester T.J. Hill Faehnle & Reiter at Shawnee
McKee, Armstrong, Eischen & Tarsha at Shawnee Shawnee lunch, Saturday First aid in a ghost town
Sunday morning; are we ready yet? Shawnee again - way early lunch Grandpa

This one began in Canal Winchester and went out-and-back to Zanesville. There seemed to be a smaller crowd than usual, and lots of the usual Wheelmen were missing as well. (Four in Colorado, Jon Wright injured, etc.) But those who did go had a good time. (But these folks can have a good time under almost any conditions!)

The old Lancaster - Marietta route was fine; this one much less so. Smaller hills, a miserable start-finish place in an abandoned parking lot, a sad breakfast at Zanesville. But ... Dave Komives' bag shuttle in Zanesville worked fine. The beer and munchies party at the motel was a blast while awaiting a table at the adjacent Olive Garden.

Local watering holes were a little too handy for at least a couple of us who didn't look too healthy Sunday morning. Dave's sag was well used.

This from Mike Faehnle

CFC got off to a wet and muddy start this year, but that certainly didn't discourage the die-hard hill climbers. The route starting in Canal Winchester seemed easier this year, but please explain why I've been so sore for the past couple of days (duh! it was 105 miles each day). 

I do believe the second day, following the same route, was much harder. At one point towards the end there was an extremely steep short hill that popped up out of nowhere;  I came very close to walking up it. 

This is my 8th consecutive CFC ( I've enjoyed every one). We had a fun group and a bunch of strong riders (Wheelmen don't tour). 

This year's ride seemed to be very dangerous on the descents because of the wet conditions ( not to mention the gravel laden roads and the stop signs at the bottom of most of the descents). There was even one occasion where a certain tandem couple ended up in a ditch, luckily avoiding a bridge just ahead of them. 

I can't say enough of how nice it is riding with fellow wheelman on a tricky ride such as CFC. I find on rides like this that there are certainly some very sketchy riders out there.

We certainly missed the presence of the the crafty ol' hill climber, Jonathan Wright; his CFC companion Jonathan Brinkman seemed a little lost without him but he managed just fine. I'm sure the good Doctor was there in spirit! 

I didn't think we had that many this year but dinner at the Olive Garden we reserved tables for 18 - that's a very good turnout. Well it's time for me to turn to my de-training mode and start tinkering with my fixed gear for our annual Weds. Night rides. Thanks everyone for a fun CFC and a really fun year of riding with the Wheelmen.

Last Updated 03/19/08