Eric had called me to ask if I’d like to go to the Dan Dunlap Memorial 5K Run being held in Andover that morning. Dan had been one of the premier runners in Ohio during his high school career, going head to head with Eric at numerous state meets. He’d gone on to become an All-American while running for Ohio University in the early 90’s and like so many good runners, never stopped. He and Eric had remained close over the years, getting together for trail runs on numerous occasions. He was killed tragically and accidentally while working for a company owned by his best friend and another fellow runner that felled trees. A tree they were taking down ricocheted off another tree, struck and killed him.
“I can’t even run 10 minutes yet, but how about I ride out there and watch you guys. I’m not up for a century (it was 60 miles away), so you’ll have to give me a ride back,” I said.
He agreed and I’d made my plans. As I was going to bed Friday night, I decided I needed to be on the road by 5:30 a.m. if I was to be sure of being there by the start of the race at 9 a.m. That would mean riding in the dark for close to an hour…something that appealed to me since it was supposed to be in the high nineties that day.
I was up at 4:45 a.m. and on the road by 5:20 a.m. It reminded me of my childhood…riding through the empty streets with a newspaper bag hanging from my shoulder in total darkness. It was cool and there was hardly a car in sight. I headed east for the Metropark, cut through to Route 6, which would be my last route adjustment for the next 55 miles. Route 6 is the same interstate route that stretches from San Francisco to Providence Town, Cape Cod. It passes through my home town in Bristol, Ct. as well as Buchanan, N.Y. where my grandparents lived and was the road I’d taken with Todd Miller at the conclusion of my senior year of high school when we’d traveled 1,100 miles to visit my grandparents. I’d ridden out to the Pa. border on it on several training rides since that time, but hadn’t been out there in twenty years. As I passed through Chardon and began moving into rural Ohio, I noted that not much had changed in the 40 years since I’d first ridden this course.
It’s pretty hilly and quite challenging for the first 20 miles, but once you clear Chardon, it’s almost entirely flat. That can be good and bad. It’s good if you want to just put your head down, get in one gear and ride hard and fast. It’s bad because since you never have to change positions, you tend to stiffen up and get sore in certain places. By the 40-mile mark, I was feeling every bump in the road and my shoulders and neck were looking for some relief. I moved around constantly on the handlebars, but relief wouldn’t truly come until I stopped and dismounted. I averaged 18 mph…good for me…and made Andover a little after 8 a.m. The run, however, was five miles further across a road that had been grooved for repaving and was a bitch to ride. Fortunately, the race started at Birch’s Landing…a boat put-in on Pymatuning Lake…which meant I’d have a place to cool off and clean up.
I found Eric and his sister Leanne…she was in from North Carolina and I hadn’t seen her in 25 years. She owns and operates a cycling/kayak store there and I knew we’d have some things to talk about after the race. Like Eric, she was a former standout runner for Chagrin Falls, but running was buried in her past.
“I’ll be happy if I come within 10 minutes of Eric’s finish time,” she said as they lined up.
Eric had chosen to run with Dan’s twin brother Tom, who would make a moving, but short speech at the beginning of the run. I was very happy I was spectating…it was in the 90’s by now and there was plenty of sun on the course as approximately 200 people lined up for the start. The gun went off and I felt some of the adrenalin rush I used to get at that moment when I raced. It’s a good feeling and always had me running my first mile faster than I should have no matter how I tried to control it.
Eric finished with Tom and Dan’s son, a high school runner, in around 21 minutes…about 6 minutes slower than Eric would have run the distance during his collegiate career with Indiana University. Leanne, as predicted, followed 10 minutes later. On the drive home, we discussed my neck and shoulder issues and how, on my tour of Ohio ride, I felt I would need a different bike that might offer some comfort while riding.
“Carbon frame, John. It’s expensive, but it absorbs the road shock and you’ll feel so much better. That, and getting you upright with a recreational road bike. It’s slower than you’re used to…but you be lots more comfortable,” she said.
We talked about kayaking on the lake and once at my place, I showed her my sea kayak and she felt it was perfect for what I would be trying to do. She assured me she would stay in touch and we’d come up with a bike that would work for the trip.
“I need to try something out…a couple of long rides on a bike to see if it works. Bike shops aren’t going to let me do that,” I said.
Eric offered me a chance to try out his hybrid and John was still pushing me to ride his carbon frame since he couldn’t. I figured I needed to take both of them up on their offers. I needed to find some comfort on a bike. I’d just ridden 60 miles and it hadn’t been pleasant. My attitude was if it wasn’t fun, it wasn’t worth doing. It was the only way to keep me…or most people…interested.
Bike Duration: 3 hours and 20 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 2950.
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