BEFORE                                              AFTER

POOR TIRE CHOICES AND FLATS FAIL TO BREAK DRIVERS CLUB

The Drivers Club awoke early the morning of September the 16th to watch the Weather Channel.  With the radar showing a huge storm about to swallow up Hayward all members switched to big fat knobby tires on their bikes expecting a day full of rain and mud.  It never did rain, and although the tire choice may have slowed down the team it could not break them. The Cheq 40 is known to be as much of a mental challenge as a physical test.  The course traverses forty one miles of the hilliest terrain the Midwest has to offer.  It is not a technically challenging course but will slowly wear the rider down with never ending elevation changes (Hills).

At the start line spirits were high. Three DC riders had competed here several times before, while Hannes and Riley were virgins to the event. Clad in clean pressed DC jerseys they mounted their shiny steeds and awaited the roll out.  The roll out was on pavement and with a pace of 25 mph elbow to elbow with a couple thousand cyclists, something bad was bound to happen.  Only a mile from start a crash broke out right in front of Rev Rumme.  With a quick maneuver Rumme missed the sprawling riders and cruised straight through. All Rumme could be heard saying was "sucks being them"  When the trail was finally reached the race started for real.  They would not see pavement again for 38 miles.  The group split up into two packs, Riley and Rumme in one and Strouf, Reget and Hannes in another.  At this point the hills did not seem that bad. The next 16 miles went by fairly quickly. Then slowly the the the course seemed more difficult.  It wasn't, the riders were starting to wear down.  Strouf described this as the emotional roller coaster.  One minute you are having a great time, the next minute you want to cry.  The next fifteen miles were pure anguish for all the riders.  They were far from the finish and the terrain was starting to take a toll on their equipment as well as their bodies.  In all the team experienced five flat tires during the race but no major mechanical breakdowns.  "My bike was making noises I've never heard before.  Rocks were flying everywhere.  I'm amazed that everyone on our team finished with their bikes in one piece."  Hannes was quoted as saying. Here is where thoughts of quitting start to creep in.  Rumme thought of a creative way to quit, "I thought about ripping my derailleur off and throwing it into the woods, then I would have to quit."  Strouf just kept wondering "Why am I here, why do I do this"  Reget knew he could not quit, " I thought about Joshing a few times but I knew these guys would never let me forget it."  And Hannes almost Joshed the sport entirely, "I was going to finish and put a for sale sign on my bike, I was done.  The only thing that kept me going was the thought of a six hour drive home hearing about how I decided to Josh."  As they reached the famed Seeley Fire Tower Road, a five level climb, Rumme was far ahead, Riley was hampered by flats and riding around Stouf, while Reget and Hannes were a few minutes back.  The final ten miles proved to be the toughest, but with the course running out of miles the thoughts of quitting went away.

Rumme was the first finisher in 711th place at 3:09.24. Strouf came in next in 880th place at 3:17.32 with Riley right behind in 884th place 16 seconds behind.  Then came Reget in 983rd place at 3:22.31, and then Hannes DFL for the Drivers Club in 1000th place at 3:22.57.

After they finished and had a few beers amazingly the thoughts of quitting went away and were replaced with hoping to get the honor to return.  It promised to be a grueling personal challenge for all the racers and it lived up to it.  Riley put it best, "I've done marathons and triathlons, this was the greatest challenge I have ever faced"