Michelle LeBlanc and Horse Farm Hundred 2013

Dr. Michelle LeBlanc, DVM, was one of the world leading experts in the field of equine reproduction.  She passed in April of this year at the age of 58, following a battle with ovarian cancer.  Considering thousands upon thousands of equine ovaries she examined in her career, it is somewhat of life’s cruel irony that she had to succumb to the malady that originated in her own ovary.   Back in 1995 I had a great privilege to meet Michelle, then a professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, and spend the following two years working with her during my residency in theriogenology (clinical animal reproduction).  During those two years I was learning from her not only the art of veterinary profession as it pertains to animal reproduction, but also the art of corresponding with the animal owners, not an easy task particularly when you deal with “horse people”, as well as with veterinary students.  Her teaching style was exemplary and unsurprisingly for a number of years her students voted her as their “Teacher of the Year”.  

Besides her trade mark heartfelt smile and communication skills, I will remember her also for one story she shared with me.  Some years before my joining the College, there was an ongoing effort to raise funds necessary to build new Large Animal Hospital facilities, primarily horse barns, as part of the Veterinary School development.  As part of those efforts, Michelle represented the University and participated in one of the donor dinners organized by a rich and well-connected family at the family’s farm in the vicinity of Gainesville, home of the University of Florida.  The wealth and glamour of the people attending the dinner made otherwise outspoken Michelle feel like being “…the only blue collar person there” that night.  That impression was furthered by the commotion that occurred at some point later that evening.  To make it short:  the Air Force One helicopter landed bringing in the President of the United States!  Under the circumstances it would be easy to forget the purpose of the event, but that purpose was not forgotten as the effort netted several millions of contribution dollars resulting in beautiful horse barns that are standing today as part of the College of Veterinary Medicine.         

Learning in July of Michelle’s death, and learning about the College of Veterinary Medicine bicycling club’s, called “Team VetMed”, decision to dedicate this year’s ride to Michelle, I immediately decided to participate.  Considering the timing, the distance, the expense, and effort, it was critical that I had a full support from my wife, who also knew Michelle from our “Florida days”. 

The ride known as “Horse Farm Hundred” has been traditionally held in the month of October since 1998.  This year’s ride occurred on Sunday, October 20.  Michelle was the Century’s original rider and longtime supporter.  The ride originates and ends in Gainesville, Florida.   The map of this ride could be accessed at: http://gccfla.org/maps/HFH13.pdf.  My preparations for the ride were hindered by a combination of rainy weather in my home area in the days preceding the ride, and by other competing tasks so that I was feeling more of a tourist going to Florida for vacation and less of a bicyclist preparing to ride a 100-mile bike ride.  The complexity of the endeavor involving flying a bicycle to Florida was very similar to the endeavor of flying bicycle to Europe couple of years ago, which I described in an earlier blog (“My Tour of Banija”) and which therefore I am not going to repeat here.  To summarize: flying a bicycle is not an easy task, but it is doable.

As part of my giving back to the school, I offered and the school accepted my offer to give a presentation on some aspects of the veterinary work I do for public health.  That was also an opportunity to meet and greet some colleagues whom I had not seen since “back then”.  Because the presentation was scheduled for Friday and ride for Sunday, I arrived in Gainesville on Thursday evening.  That way I wanted to do some last-minute catching up by riding a few miles before the Sunday ride.  

Gainesville has seen quite some changes in terms of road bicycling.  For example, many major roads now include dedicated bike lanes.  That includes Route 441, which on its way out South cuts through the Paynes Prairie, the bottom of a lake that about century ago drained out through a sink hole.  Considering that the addition of the bike lane to that road coincided with an increase of speed limit, from 55 to 65 miles per hour, I was not feeling compelled to try my luck by riding on that road at that section – just a few feet from the cars speeding 70-80 miles per hour.  Nevertheless, I used a short portion of the Route to get from my hotel to the Gainesville-Hawthorne Bike Trail.  As the name suggests, the trail connects the town of Gainesville, with a small town of Hawthorne.  

Entering the trail catapulted me almost instantly into another world: the world of lush vegetation, deep shadows, and silence.  Apart from a quite a few bicyclists I met on the trail, squirrels, birds, and a single snake lying in the middle of the trail, were about the only representatives of the local fauna. I did not see any alligators though there were several spots where I would not be surprised to see them.  Never riding the trail before made me feel that the trail was longer than the posted mileage signs were telling me.  All in all, I rode the entire trail totaling 40 miles on Friday, and a shorter section of only 25 miles on Saturday. 

The morning of the main ride was characterized by an overcast, which resulted in somewhat chilly, but not too cold environment.  Contrary to my experience with other century rides that typically offer a window of time to the rider to decide when to depart, in this ride all the riders departed at the same time, starting at 8:30.  I joined the VetMed Team, which was led by Dr. Charles Courtney, and we departed in the second half of the crowd, but not before having our group photo taken.  

   

 

The first miles were very easy, and in Florida terms, generally downhill. For the entire duration of this introductory phase I was wondering how exactly a total of over 3200 feet of vertical gain is going to be achieved. Having worked and traveled extensively in the area before, I could attest that there were no major hills.  Let me put it this way: I could not believe that 3200 feet could be netted just by accumulating rather small variations in the land configuration.  However, as my legs were telling me later on, I believe I was wrong.  Long stretches of open road, which tended to imprint the sense of individual insignificance into every rider, were the trade mark of the ride.  For miles and miles, roads would open, and while at first it seems that you will never get to the other side behind the horizon, your brain would remind you that you will, and that you will probably in the next 15 to 20 minutes.  The ride is titled “Horse Farm Hundred” for a reason.  The reason are countless horse farms that could be seen all around for as far as the eye could see.  During my residency, I learned that the area south of Gainesville, in the general direction of Ocala, was characterized by a greater presence of clay in the soil.  That in itself was supporting the grass, which in absence of clay would be removed by a grazing horse along with the root so that the grass would not survive. 

Sometime later into the ride, the Sun came up and suddenly it was warm.  Miles upon miles; another turn to make, another horizon to reach; another slight, but prolonged, uphill to conquer, and, another grazing horse to waive to.  Two rest stops helped us stay alive.  Food, and in particular, fluids were in abundance, and at one of the stops seemingly ubiquitous Jo Ann Winn was making sure that the Team had everything the Team needed.  Yet, after all the fluids I consumed during the ride, I ended up consuming almost another liter of ice-cold water immediately upon arrival at the finish.  It took me exactly six hours net (6h 30min with three stops) to complete the ride. It was longer than I hoped for, but better than I deserved considering the extent of my training for the ride.  The ride itself was a very nice experience and so was the learning that the Team’s fundraiser for the Michelle LeBlanc Memorial Scholarship exceeded all expectations. Michelle must be smiling now.