Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
Steve Abraham shared this on Facebook. Worth reading.
Allan Duhm
Allan Duhm
I posted this in response to Shusanah Pillinger's question and at Steven Abraham's suggestion am reposting in it's own thread to help tell Amanda Coker's story. I can provide some perspective on Amanda's efforts, and yes she has almost no time at all to post lengthy updates and the like. She's a very unassuming young lady who understands the massive effort it could take to surpass Kurt's record, thus no shout outs about plans to break it. She's taking it one day at a time and every day is 12-13 hours on the bike, go home shower, eat and go to bed. Having ridden nearly 3,000 miles with her, I can attest that when she comes in for a pit stop, usually the first one at around 65 miles, she slaps on the sun screen, loads up with a sandwich and some gel packs, and rolls back out within 5-8 minutes. Often she skips that first SAG if she's feeling good and simply takes a bottle and sandwich hand off as she keeps rolling through her first 100 or so miles. There is simply no messing around with the available time she has to ride. That said, she's always pleasant on the bike, talking to other riders, calling out to walkers on the trail by name, etc. She has in fact inspired many many other riders to complete th first century ride of their lives, and a few to complete their first double century. This week I heard one of Tampa's very best riders say to her "Amanda, I usually only come out here and do a few laps and then head home, but you inspire me to do more." I thought that was very telling of her effect on others. She's worked through saddle sores, stomach issues, and I believe 4 crashes. Two on a wet bridge in the park, one as the result of sliding out on a patch of pine needles, and one as a result of a rider catching her back wheel. That one resulted in some serious rib bruising, but she just kept on rolling through the pain. Deer and snakes have been plentiful and require careful and attentive riding, not to mention the occasional very large wild boar that sprint across the trail. A huge one sprinted across the trail today about 10 yards in front of her! The trail also has a semi-regular visiting alligator whom she's dubbed "El Guapo" after a character in one of her favorite movies, The Three Amigos. Sometimes he lays across the trail leaving just enough room to scoot past, and other times he lays with only his head on the trail like a spectator. Hurricane Matthew threw some nasty winds at her on Friday and Saturday, sustained at 25 and gusting to 30-35, and she's ridden through at least a couple of other tropical storms, and countless vicious Florida summer thunderstorms. Her smiles in her photos belie the effort she put out every day. The best way I can describe her is 'relentlessly consistent'. And I would be remiss if I did not mention her more than outstanding support team (Mom and Dad) Ricky and Donna Coker. They support her day in and day out and, like Amanda, they are wonderful and outstanding ambassadors for ultra cycling as they've made innumerable friends at Flatwoods Park as people come in to ask about Amanda's efforts. I hope this helps in a small way to help many of you get a snapshot of her efforts, trials and successes.
