Tripleshot Cycling

Some of you have met Mark Ford [Kevin Ford ,his son is also a member] This past Saturday and most of Sunday he rode 600km in about 32 hours with minimal sleep .... and in the rain 90% of the time. So you think you are tough triple shoters? Try it! Some day I may do a 300 or 400km for those of you that are getting older and brain cells are starting to deplete , please join me. I call Mark "Ken Bonner Jr." as he has embraced Randos in a big way in a short period of time . [Ken Boner is a local 68 year old rider who rode 50,000km in 2006.] Oh yea ,Mark also has done a 1400km in England in about 4 or 5 days...but he can give you the details. They make us look almost normal. Happy riding, Paul Christopher

4:52 a.m.? Go to bed, Paul.

Wow, Mark. I've been chuckling at people's reactions as I fundraise for N2V and tell them I'm cycling 250 km on Sunday. Normal people think that's a long time on the bike.

But I know there are riders made of stone like you. 600 km. I can't imagine.

To those of you who are interested in the ride statistics they are:

Start time: 5am Saturday
Finish time: 5:20pm Sunday
Total distance: 608 km
Total Time: 36:20 hours (inc 5 hour rest after 373Ks, puncture repairs, natural breaks etc.
Actual riding time: 26:09.
Avg speed (saddle time): 23.3 km/h
Climbing: 4891 m (16,046 feet)
Max speed: 65K/hr
Bike weight with gear: 43lbs (Spare tire, 2 tubes, tools, rain gear, night warm clothes, extra change of clothes (shorts, shirts, socks), food). Fortunately one rider also carried chain oil, which proved to be very necessary due to the weather coditions.

I rode my steel Marinoni bike equipped with three chain rings (30,40,50). I did not need the 30 ring for many of the hills but it was sure to nice to have for the Shawigan hill at the end of the ride (566k).

The ride was memorable for the rain and the condition of the roads. For the first 20 hours (5am Saturday to 1am Sunday) the rain was constant. At times it was very heavy, enough for me to ask the question "Why am I doing this?" As I didn't have a satisfactory answer, I carried on, stoping at 375k for a sleep break in Courtney. At 6am Sunday morning, with 230ks to ride, again in the rain, I rode south to Courtney through the many road works.

Due to the road works in Campbell River, Courtney and the gravel/rocks on the shoulder of the road, riders suffered many punctures. One rider had four, causing much delay for himself and those of us who stopped to help.

Thanks to my Triple Shot "training" rides, I was a able to complete the 600k without any physical problems.

Mark

Mark, hate to pry, but why don't you tell us how old you are? Someone told me at coffee after the ride this morning but I didn't believe him.
Us 'younger' TS'ers would benefit from the inspiration, not to mention knowing your age would help remind us what a lifelong thing cycling is...even if we don't become nutbar randonneurs after we retire.

Some say age is only a number. I wish 69 was just that - it wasn't this morning when I tried to stay with the "B" group. May be I had not recovered from my weekend ride!

Mark