As it turned out, the Kentucky Stampede of 2009 was a challenge in many ways. First there was the rain...lots of rain. Which meant lots of mud. Then KY's notorious humidity kicked in making one feel as though a hot, wet blanket had just settled over your head. As those living in the southeast know, just breathing is a chore in those conditions.
Getting parked and settled into camp was an adventure at times, but luckily, a close neighbor was happily kept busy with her tractor, pulling rigs in, pulling rigs out.
We had had a few years of near perfect weather for the ride, so I guess we were due for a stinker! Even with the challenges riders and workers faced, most sucked it up and continued on with their plans, and rode accordingly. Ride times were long, the trail was unforgiving, but most finished despite the mud, the heat and the exhaustion of a long day.
The first day was the most gruelling as the heat index topping 100 degrees. The second day threatened a severe storm warning, and started out very muggy. But the storm bypassed us with nothing more than a light shower and a few minutes of gusty winds. Then as the day wore on it cleared, with much less humidity although it was still quite hot. Most of the pulls were heat related on both days. Dr. Ann Stewart and Dr. Tom ran a tight ship, helping riders do the best they could possibly do in those conditions. Much thanks to them.
Congratulations to those who finished such a tough ride. It was no ride for sissys this year! But now that we've had our dose of a weather challenging ride, we're looking forward to more years of the good stuff!
Even our DBDR teams had a hard time finishing a team. Of the five teams, only the Lucky Ducks finished a team on the first days ride. Go Ducks! Quack, quack!!
For ride results, go to www.dbdr.info.org Soon to be posted.
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