- jlovitt, 2010-07-05 18:35:04
- I was curious if anyone had established a course record for riding all the way from one end to the other. Does anyone know? If not, it might be a fun thing to try to do. GPS tracks could be posted as proof.
John
- Timon of Athens, 2010-07-06 18:36:28
- I haven’t seen too many people pushing themselves down the trail for speed. Mostly recreational riders. However, it sounds like fun. Set the benchmark and we will see what happens. Once the repairs are finished near Welda, we can have a “King/Queen of the Trail.”
Timon
- Timon of Athens, 2010-07-06 18:38:54
- Also, I would be remiss not to welcome you to the site. Thanks for posting.
Timon
- jlovitt, 2010-07-06 18:39:54
- Oops, I didn’t notice that part of the trail was closed until you said that. Looking at the website it sounds like it will be closed for at least a year, but I don’t know when they started. Any idea when it will open up again?
John
- Timon of Athens, 2010-07-06 18:40:45
- Everything I have seen looks like Summer 2011. That is assuming on-time delivery of services. Let’s just say that I am not holding my breath. My guess would be late summer.
Timon
- jlovitt, 2010-07-06 18:41:37
- Hmmmm…
Maybe if I did a South to North run early on a Saturday morning the traffic wouldn’t be too bad and I could take the +1 mile detour instead of the +3 mile detour. Any idea what the traffic is usually like on a weekend morning? I ride in light traffic when I go to work in the mornings, so I’m used to some level of traffic. I will try to scout it out sometime.
- Timon of Athens, 2010-07-06 18:42:49
- Traffic is usually not too heavy, 3-5 cars per minute would be my guess. It is an important North/South connection. If you are used to traffic, I don’t think you will have much problem.
Timon
- jlovitt, 2010-09-27 08:03:17
- I think I’m going to try to do this on Saturday October 2nd. I will probably carry some water and food with me. I think I will just go straight through the construction zone, walking if I have to.
I am going to wait until that morning to see which way the wind is blowing to decide if I ride North or South.
John
- Timon of Athens, 2010-09-27 08:14:27
- Sounds like fun. There is a nice work around the detour that I have found.
From North to South.
At Welda trailhead turn left at 1000 RD. Go about two blocks and cut through the parking lot at Old Schoolhouse Antiques. Continue to the HWY and follow the detour. After about a 1/4 mile, you will see a short sideroad/parking area that runs right up to the trail. Continue on and make your record.
I have “shot the tunnel” once. Very rough but possible. I wouldn’t want to do it with workers around.
Hope this helps.
- jlovitt, 2010-09-28 10:11:59
- Thanks for the tip, that sounds very helpful. I will follow your directions if I go from North to South. Do you have a GPS log of this detour?
If you have a use for it, I will have a GPS log of the whole trail I can give you once the trip is done.
John
- Timon of Athens, 2010-09-29 08:17:26
- I don’t have a GPS record. I wouldn’t currently have a use for one.
If you go South to North. Basically shoot the barrier and continue on the trail until you see a short side road about one block from the tunnel. This will take you the 50 feet or so to the detour on Old Colony Road. Head for Welda and the trailhead.
Have a good ride. It looks like I might get in a nice 50 miler on Friday. Weather looks great.
- jlovitt, 2010-10-02 18:46:24
- I did it. End to end in 4:01:59.
I will post all of the stats as well as a link to the GPS recording overlaid on the map.
It was a great trip with the wind at my back riding South, and it felt really good up until the last 20 miles. At that point the trail seemed to all be uphill and I just ran out of gas since I hadn’t had lunch yet, and it was after noon.
I pushed through it and then about 4 miles from the end I realized that if I pushed it harder I might get it under 3 hours. I pushed hard and especially when I got to the pavement in Iola, but it was too late. Just over 4 hours. I guess that gives me something to shoot for if I’m ever crazy enough to do this again.
- Timon of Athens, 2010-10-03 19:02:27
- I hereby declare John the current King of the Trail.
Seriously, sounds like you had a good trip. Even if the last ten miles were almost all downhill, I know how hour four can wear on you. I mean to do this some time, the only thing holding me back is the logistics of getting picked up at the end. All my current trips end with biking back to the car.
Send us a detailed account when you have the time.
- jlovitt, 2010-10-04 08:28:10
- OK, here is a link to all the details:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51681990
Time: 04:01:59
Distance: 51.25 mi
Moving Time: 03:50:57
Elapsed Time: 04:01:59
Avg Speed: 12.7 mph
Avg Moving Speed: 13.3 mph
Max Speed: 21.8 mphI had a friend drive with me down to Iola, we left my truck there and then drove to Ottawa. Because of all this I didn’t get started until 10am, which meant I was starving at noon, but didn’t want to stop to eat. I ate mixed nuts and trail mix out of my pockets to keep myself going.
As far as stops go, I filled up my water bottle before I left in Ottawa and that lasted me a long time. I had my money already in the envelope and dropped it in the box in Princeton. Just stopped long enough to slide the envelope in the slot. Then I stopped again somewhere in the middle of nowhere, I think between Garnett and Welda to read a couple of text messages from well-wishers. I sent some replies as I was riding.
The longest stop was at 3:08 I think at the Colony Trail Head. At this point I was out of water and stopped to fill up and rest my legs. Two other gentlemen stopped there and asked directions to a nearby town which I showed them on the GPS. After chatting for a bit and resting, I headed off again.
I’d like to think that if I hadn’t stopped for so long I could have had a sub-4-hour time, but I don’t know. I was pretty beat and my legs needed the rest.
It was a really fun trip, that I thought would be a one-time thing, but I can see doing it again. I saw some really nice scenery that I hadn’t seen before. The other thing was the really nice tailwind I had the whole way. I’m sure that made even more difference than I can imagine.
JL
- Codeman112, 2010-10-11 10:15:45
- Thanks for the challenge! I got to ride the trail over the weekend (parking lot to parking lot). I did it in about three and a half hours. I used 700×35 cross tires on my single speed ‘cross bike which worked pretty well. Not too many other people out riding, saw a few in town but only maybe 2 others between towns.
Time: 03:30:18
Distance: 51.36 mi
Avg Speed: 14.7 mphAlso see: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/52573050
- Timon of Athens, 2010-10-11 10:58:03
- Okay, now it is on.
Give me some time and I will create a page just for this competition, complete with verification and leaderboard.
Nicely done, Codeman112.
- jlovitt, 2010-10-11 19:05:51
- Wow, that is a great time! Congratulations!
Not sure if I even want to try to beat that. I suspect that time will stand for a while.
- Timon of Athens, 2011-01-21 12:56:52
- Okay, you gave me the time.
The course record page is now active. Submit your data at your leisure.
As the list build I will decide where to limit it. Most likely it will be limited to a top ten, but for now it will just be a full-on leaderboard.
Onward to create the user-submitted pictures page. Get your cameras ready.
Timon
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