The Fruit Loop Ride Report

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The Fruit Loop was hands down the most epic ride I have ever been on or will ever experience for a long time. It is difficult to even find words to describe what happened, yet I'll attempt to anyways.

We left promptly at 4am. There were 8 of us that left from Ari's in Sycamore, IL. We rode into the sunrise towards Oregon, IL. Once there, the llama stopped to drop some dung in a bush. Fortunately, Mike (of Bonk King fame) had brought a packet of Wet-Ones wipes with him and saved the llamas bib shorts. 50 miles in a few of the guys turned back to finish the ride with an even 100mi.

We kept riding until we got to Polo, IL, where we met up with our new friend and shop customer, Paul. Paul is a super cool guy and we were all glad that he decided to join us. His goal was to make it back to Polo with 200mi. The terrain got progressively hillier as we rode. I faced climbs that I had never yet experienced on a bike. I shifted into the lowest gear I had and at times that wasn't even enough. I only walked once, and I was afraid my knees would have exploded had I not. I was really glad that I had swapped my stock cassette on the Surly Pacer for an 11-32t and installed a Deore derailer. The lower gears saved my life. We rested in Savanna, IL and Ari's kids got a ride home there. They both reached their goals of 90mi. Congrats to Alex and Franny.

During a downhill section, Paul's seatbag detached and fell into his seatstay, wedging into the tire and locking up the wheel. He skidded downward and wore out a huge patch in the tire down to the threading. He thought he might have to call it quits, but he rode carefully all the way to Galena without trouble. In Galena we stopped Fever River Outfitters, a bike shop which, to our surprise, was open. There he purchased a brand new Continental tire. We sat down at a local bar for burgers and soda, then went on our way home.

We rode into nightfall. When the sun went down, we were relieved from the sun and heat, giving us a huge boost of energy and taking the cramps away. We rode quickly all the way to Mt. Morris, IL. There we refueled at a gas station just before close. Paul decided to throw in the towel with about 130mi done- a personal record for himself. The Llama layed down and bonked. He decided to curl up and finish the ride in the morning after a nap.

Jay, Ari and I pushed on, determined to get home. I struggled to stay awake. I kept myself from looking at the total mileage and getting impatient. I only looked at the time. Knowing we had to be at work in the morning only made me ride faster. When I started nodding off I at more Honey Stinger Ginsting gel and drank more water. I was so tired of being on the bike at this point but was comforted by the thought that only about 60mi remained. My butt was sore and I wanted more than anything to be home laying in my bed. My light's battery died and Ari lent me an extra. I also ran out of food and water. Riding though the night was a disorienting experience and I felt that I may have started hallucinating. When the sun came up I felt much better. Anxious to finish, we raced home and arrived at Ari's just after 6am with 255mi. completed. I then drove home, took a quick shower, slept for 70 minutes, took another shower and went off to work.

I still find it hard to believe that I sat on my bike for 26 hours straight. 3 days later and I'm still recovering.

If I were to do this again I would bring an extra battery for my light and more food. (I ended up taking only 8 gels and 4 bars). I would also bring an MP3 player. Some VeloBeats could have helped keep me alert after 3am.