One Tough Charlie

[Gary Gottlieb]

LSR,

 

Today we rode the Old Dennis permanent out of Weatherford.  Only one person showed up and that was LSR newbie a fellow Fort Worth resident Charlie Fenske.

 

When we began the ride at 7am the thermometer read 40 degrees.  By the time we got to the town of Dennis at mile 10 it dropped to 31 degrees with a stiff cold west wind.  We fought that wind to the control in Lipan at mile 24 and all the way to the information control just outside of Gordon at mile 52.  Once we were heading north on 108 the wind was at our side.  In Gordon at mile 62 the temperature was approaching 70 degrees so we each had like 20 pounds of wet clothes to haul around.  When we topped Cherry Pie Hill and rode through Palo Pinto at mile 85 I had a sneaky feeling it was going to be a tough finish.  When we finally started east on 254 the wind was in our face and from the southeast.  From the last control in Peadonville at mile 111 to the finish in Weatherford we fought the wind.  Charlie was all smiles as we rode the last 25 miles of steep Parker County hills known as “Ronnie’s Revenge” named after the sadistic creator of this route Ronnie Bryant.

 

Now here is the deal: Old Dennis is one of our hardest 200Ks.  It has tons of climbing including Cherry Pie Hill and Ronnie’s Revenge; it always has tons of headwinds, its got chip seal, and dogs too.  It is not even 200K, it’s really 219K.  So we have a little benchmark here out west.  It’s called a “Nine Hour Old Dennis”.  I know there are very few of us who have beat that time, even in more ideal conditions.

 

Charlie and I smashed that benchmark with an 8:35.  That is smoking, especially for a rookie.  I am not going to even say the number Charlie wrote down under the age column on the waiver, but let’s just say he’s not a Spring Chicken.

 

So the next time you venture out west and attempt Old Dennis see if you can break nine hours.  Charlie can.

 

Gary Gottlieb

 

Oh by the way; there is a 200K Brevet out of Willow Park and an easy flat recovery ride called Poolville Perdition out of Weatherford this Saturday and Sunday for your riding pleasure.  That’s right “Perdition” means “Hell”. So maybe it’s not so flat.  Just find out and see.

 

 

[jer...@aol.com]

Great job, Charlie and Gary!  

Congratulations on your 8:35 Old Dennis.  That is one tough route, even without the wind change.  After the first time I rode it, I said I'd never ride it again, mainly because of "Ronnie's Revenge",  BUT, I've been back for several more helpings of punishment since then.  Definitely hard to beat 9 hours.  Maybe someday,  if the wind changes in such a way that I have a tailwind for the whole ride!

Jerry

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