Riding the Horsey
The 1996 Horsey Hundred
May 25
The weather was looking pretty bad on Friday in Fort Wayne; rain and temps in the 50s with rain in the forecast. But there was hope that the weather would be better in Georgetown, Kentucky, the site of the annual Horsey Hundred bicycle ride. There have been stories from a few club members about how nice this ride has been in past years, so, what the heck, off we go.
Driving out of the rain and through the front, the first stop prior to Georgetown is in Frankfort Kentucky, the state capital. The Kentucky Legislature meets in a beautiful, almost replica of the US Capitol building, high above the town which itself sits in a small valley. Surrounded by hills and with its beautiful flower gardens, it is a site worth seeing! Looking out its front doors, down the steps and down the boulevard in front, it's hard to remember that you're in Frankfort, not Washington. The govenor's mansion sits off to the left, surrounded by flower gardens and hedge rows. He wasn't home, so I couldn't say "Hi!".
Back on the road, we hurried to Georgetown with reports of severe weather and tornadoes 20 to 30 miles north of us. Within an hour after checking into the hotel the storms hit, with spectacular lightning, torrential rains and very strong winds. Tomorrow's ride was definately in question.
Morning brought temperatures in the middle 60s, light fog, and a forecast of afternoon storms. Perfect weather for riding! Well, at least it wasn't raining yet. The ride terrain is best described as rolling with a couple of challenging hills. There are very few flat sections, much fewer than Hilly Hundred, but the hills are much smaller than Hilly's. You do a lot of climbing and descending on this ride! I was worried when we got to Frankfort, where the terrain more closely resembles Massachusetts than anything. In fact, Frankfort is where I remembered that I didn't bring any hill gears with me, just my 21 - 13. OOPS! But, that was there, and this is here. The gearing was perfect for this ride.
The first 25 miles of this ride are kind of boring: one million dollar horse farm after another. One 100-200 acre pasture next to another. It was wonderful! One thing I noticed first was that the fence corners of the pastures weren't corners, they were rounded, obviously to protect the horses from harm. Then you notice the stone walls, made from hand stacked pieces of flat, slatelike rocks that went on for miles. And the horses looked like they deserved the deluxe accomodations too.
At about 10 miles into the ride there is a scenic overlook of the magnificent Dormadire horse farm. In the forground is a huge stone building, probably 150 feet long, with a gazeebo like lookout on the roof, with oak interior walls, chandeliers and ceiling fans. That is the horse barn! It is set up on a hill overlooking a private race track surrounding a small pond. The main house sits on another hill off to the left. The whole farm is probably several thousand acres big with several other buildings on the property.
The first stop is at the Greenland race track. You can buy snacks at the race track's kitchen and watch the comings and goings at the track before continuing on to Versailles.
The lunch stop is at the town of Versailles. Prior to starting the ride, if you purchased the meal ticket for the ride, you went to the registration area and picked out what you wanted for lunch and put it in a paper bag that has your name on it. The ride organizers then transport the lunch bags to Versailles and set the bags out for the riders at the sag. If you don't get the meal ticket, there are gas stations or restaurants in Versailles to visit. I had a power lunch consisting of a Bear Claw chased down with a Josta (with Guarana. "Guarana grows deep within the jungle. For centuries, ancient tribes believed that Guarana released RAW, PRIMAL POWER. Now the legend of Guarana has been captured in the potent flavor of Josta.")
After lunch, the route winds back towards Georgetown under tree lined, canopied roads that are about 10 feet wide. Of course, when you head back towards Georgetown you have to look at more of those beautiful horse farms again. And there a nice waterfall near an old grain mill at about 35 miles into the ride.
The sun came out around 12:30 local time (that's 11:30 for club members who insist on using Fort Wayne time, or 16:30 GMT, or 19:30 if you're concerned about what time it is in Gera, Germany), warming things up nicely. I even got a little sunburned by the time I finished.
The climax of Saturdays ride came Saturday evening at the ice cream social for all the riders. Held on the campus of Georgetown College, there was plenty of ice cream, tall stories and some bluegrass music by a small four piece and between 7:00 - 9:00 (2300 - 0100 GMT).
Sunday's ride was rained out for most people, though I'm sure there were some wackos out there in the storms. In spite of the rain, I'll be happy to go back next year! My total time for Saturday's ride? 59 miles in 4.5 hours, for an average of 13 mph. Terribly slow time for riding in Fort Wayne, but definately TOO fast for down there. Next year I'm going to slow down some more so I can be sure to see everything!