The ride we've all been waiting for....

Friday night, I opted to stay home and get packed and in bed early. Of course, early is a subjective term and at 11:30 pm I went to bed early. I woke a bunch of times and listened to the rain. I hit the snooze button once, twice... the next thing I knew it was 6:30. Damn! I should be on the road! Quick shower quick eggs quick protein drink and out the door.

When I got on site, It was controlled madness with a sprinkling of light rain. Got my packet, got my numbers, had the Wayne police pin my numbers on...it was nice to have the home team on board! I didn't do too badly getting all my gear stowed and my bike packed and I went out at 8:15am. I had the road to myself for a little bit as the rain fell gently. I was glad I took the time to put my under-armour shirt on in the car... it helped cut the chill from the cool morning air and the breeze on damp skin. It rained lightly for a while then a bit heavier before it broke and the sun came out. Then, it got hot. By the first rest stop I couldn't wait to get the long bike pants and shirt off. I waited 15min to use the porta-john to change and quickly hit the road again.

The stop was pretty early @ 10 miles, so I didn't need anything. I've been battling with slow starts all season, taking time to really get moving, and I felt it a little today, but not as bad as usual. I think dropping caffeine and most carbs from my diet was finally making a positive impact. And taking off the hot, long, black stuff didn't hurt either. I found a bit more energy.

Then the hills... I certainly was draggin' my wagon again. The first couple of challenges, I couldn't have done without using Eric's head. Eric is a friend I interviewed on our show a few years back. He and Dan Navarro(Dan has a voice that melts me to the core) make up the awesome musical group, Lowen & Navarro(check 'em out, you'll be glad you did! http://lownav.com/) Eric was diagnosed with ALS a few years back and has been an inspiration to me with his determination and drive in the face of his mountains... he's part of the reason I got on a bike in the first place... Comparing my trials as miniscule to his daily struggles has given me the strength to go up many hills I otherwise would have bailed on. Yes, our challenges are different, but refusal to give up when the going gets tougher than tough is a common bond between those that struggle to navigate walls thrown in their path.

As the morning went on and the further along I went, the better and stronger I felt. And on the third stop, the lunch stop, I chose to breeze through and hit the power loop. The power loop would come back to this rest stop in 21 miles. Surely, I could do that. And then there was this ridiculous hill. It just wouldn't end! Somehow, it didn't seem as steep as the monster I climbed for the century, but it beat me up, just the same. my gears choked on me and I walked up it a bit. I was trying to ignore the conversation in my head on whether or not I should turn around.

Then... the view!!! You couldn't get more pituresque if you imagined it yourself! It was like coming through the canopy of a rain forest and seeing whispy clouds brushing the tips of mounds of foliage covered mountains and then, the downhill, whooo hooo!!!! Speed a-plenty! It was so glorious I even touched the brakes a bit on this one as it curved down the mountain!(God, I certainly don't want to climb up this one) After it leveled off, the road shoved a bit to the left and went over an open grate metal bridge. The bridge was pretty rough and then a curve and gravel and grit on the road... a recipe for disaster!

I saw a rider off the bike and called out, "Are you okay?" as I passed. I was still going at a pretty good clip but I hit the brakes and turned around because something wasn't right about her standing there. I came around and saw. She got thrown after the bridge and had road rash in a number of places. Her upper thigh was swollen and raw like she rolled in paint. She wouldn't admit much, but she was really hurting. She said she had called and was waiting for the SAG and that I should continue my ride, but I stopped 'cause you don't leave a downed rider alone. I told her I'd wait with her. She was in front of a deli in the middle of nowhere and she didn't go in to get ice or water for fear of missing the wagon! In fact, she had waited an hour already and her cell phone was now dead. I called SAG... they had been looking for her but didn't know she was on the power loop.

I got ice from the deli for her leg. As we waited, we chatted a bit. She did this route often and was training for a race in two weeks. She projected that her chances of that bid was over, she's a Physical therapist and felt she tore her calf muscle. We were both glad I stopped. We waited another 20 min for the ride. By then, I decided I'd best ride SAG back to the previous rest stop. No sense continuing the power loop at this point, it was safer to save some of myself for the next day.

Back at the stop, I filled my bottles with water, added my powder, choked down some of my goo(my recipe was too thick this time) and off I went. The rest of the day was good and enjoyable. Towards the end of the ride I spent a bunch of time jockeying with a kid. He was somewhere between 11 and 14 and he was fast and good. We clipped along at @ 23MPH together and chatted a bit. I told him he was good and asked him if he was thinking about going into racing. He said he already is, then I noticed his shorts and jersey. Something about a racing team... yea and he was hanging with someone old enough to be his mom! As we made the last turn and headed up to the hotel, we made tentative plans to look for each other on Sunday.

In in just under 6 hours, Including the power loop and SAG. My ride time was just over four hours putting my avg speed @15 MPH Bunches faster than last year. At the hotel, the beer was good, the food was good, I met a rider in the lobby with a case that looked suspiciously like a guitar case. We exchanged brief bio's and made plans to meet later.

Later, I walk into the room and am greeted with... "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have a set of strings, would you?" "You're kidding!" He just broke his A string at the ball end. "All I have is my bike tool." I went to get it and returned to witness the most amazingly whacked out method of dealing with a broken string. He twisted the end around the ball(I think) jammed the bridge pin in and it didn't want to go. So, he took the bike tool and began to pound the pin into the bridge. I was aghast!! Then, he let one of his bandmate's girlfriends pound it a bit! It was the most painfully horrific experience. Like fingernails on a chalkboard mingled with witnessing a gruesome carnage that you just stare at with amazement cause you can't turn away(This man will never touch any of my Taylors).

To beat all, it worked!!! He didn't crack anything and though his strings were neatly trimmed he had just enough left to grab and hold in the tuning pin. We played and had a great time. His bandmates were all there and they sounded pretty darned good. What a great bunch of people on this tour! After a bit we hit the bar for a drink.

Coming into the bar, I passed a man who must have come from the pool for a drink as he was sitting with his tiger striped speedos well exposed. He kindly invited me to have a seat. Stunned speechless, I stuck close with my group. Speedo man kept trying to work his magic on unsuspectingladies. We had a great time, then it was 1:15!!! What??? wake-up calls at 6am... I got another offer from speedo man on the way out to which I replied, "Nice, but I've seen better." and "You must be so proud." I got him good on that one... his buddies got all choked up. ;-)

Well, if you've made it this far and realized I've only skimmed the surface of this experience and want to mark your calendar for next year's tour... sept 13-14. You'll have a hell of a good time too. I promise. For the strong, and those that have too much free time, let's get to Sunday.

Sunday

6:30 am, not too restful a sleep, but happy anyway. I made my drink mixes and protein shake, downed a 33oz bottle of water and headed to the dreaded buffet breakfast. It was worse than I imagined. I'm a two eggs over light kind of girl and the lumps of tasteless blobs of yellow tinged clumps of rubbery blech they passed off as eggs.. I honestly couldn't swallow. There was nothing else I could stomach either. I was so glad I brought soymilk and my mix, that was all I had for fuel.

I grabbed my bike. Rear tire flat. Damn! Tech was out back and adjusted my gears a bit since the chain jumped off on Sat, but he had no tubes. The next tech team arrived with tubes and found a metal shaving in my tire. My first flat, better here than on the road. He fixed the flat and did more tune-ups on the brakes, spokes and gears.

40 min after the start of the ride, I headed out. We were warned very strongly that if we missed the 8am start, we would be automatically SAGged to the first rest stop. No way in hell I was getting SAGged... I rode out. At the first stop I jumped off the bike, stripped off the long pants(I had the shorts under), stowed them in my pack and headed out again.

I hit the downhill speedway that was the highlight of my tour last year and wound up riding pretty tight with a lone guy from another team. We sparred and chatted and had a most pleasurable run, passing bunches of people. And the hill that got me last year... I climbed it. Although, slower than the muscle man I was riding with, I did it and rode with him again later till the next stop. I breezed past it, intent on making up time. Within 2 miles of the third stop, I ran out of steam. I hadn't paid attention to hydration and was about 30oz behind, My speed was way down. I was out of fuel. When two guys passed and said it was less than 8 tenths of a mile to the stop, instantly, I got a burst of energy.

Tuna... I could eat and tossed the bread, restocked fluids and poured my last protein mix into a bottle of water and downed it. I got out within 20 min and felt the difference pretty quickly. Then came the hills. One was listed on the cue sheet as a BAD hill. If they admit it, you know you got trouble!! First incline, accomplished, a quick downhill a sharp left and a quick shift for the next climb and the chain popped. DAMN!!! I was in a good gear and it still jumped! By this time I've had enough experience on the bike(nearing 300 miles) that I've figured out when I'm right and when I'm wrong. Tired and not thinking, I have shifted wrong a few times but this was clean and it jammed.

Fortunately, it was at the base of the huge incline so I was able to spin it into gear, get on and attack the hill. It was long and brutal. I used the voices to keep me going. One of the most instrumental was Tony from the shop. He's a great guy and a pleasure to chat with, I've got a few good tips and observations from him. I replayed him saying, "I wish some of the new guys could watch and learn a few things from you. You sit solid in the saddle and don't bounce around. You've got a good clean rhythm. Your music background must really make a difference even if it's sub-conscious.", "We're all hurting out there. If you think we're not, you're dead wrong." and "If you can move at the end of the ride, you didn't work hard enough." His voice helped me up a bunch of hills.

I had gone to the shop on Friday since I was feeling a bit nervy and was really looking to chat with Tony for a bit of encouragement, but he wasn't there. I have done all of this training on my own and figured it out as I went along. It feels natural to me and most of the things I've learned alone are right on, but there's a wealth of things you can get from more experienced riders that can make all the difference. I wanted to hear more things I was doing right.

Tony wasn't there but Rob helped me. I asked him to pump my tires to max. Good thing I did, Rob showed me how to work the valves... on these racing tires you have to unscrew the brass threaded cap under the black cap to open the valve. I'd have pumped forever and got nowhere. So, I admitted to Rob that I came in for air and a bit of coddling. He smirked a bit at the honesty and said "You just banged out a century. This will be nothing for you." Ka-ching! Once again, I got just what I needed. In fact, I had a bit of trepidation before doing my last ride. And it was Rob's voice saying "You're an experieced rider." and "62 miles is well within your capabilities." that helped fuel my brain for the century. Ya' know, he isn't much of a talker, but he's supportive and non-judgemental, and his few words have always been the right ones.

It's funny, I compose a lot in the car and work things out in my head and memorize and try new harmonies and make plans, but on the bike, it's a more single thought process. It's all about the body and the breath and the smooth transition of gears and feeling the road and the slight increased pressure on a climb that signals the need to shift to keep the rhythm of the strokes and the breath. It's really basic. And in the end, it's cleansing. That's why I love it so much. It's time for me when I can only think about the basic me. There is no room for anything else.

In the swamp on the later legs of the last day when I had a long stretch to settle into a great rhythm and good consistant speed, the thought process was, "Breathe, 2,3,4,exhale, exhale, Breathe, 2,3,4,exhale, exhale..." and it made all the differencein the world. It translated into all power.

Yes, there was the sore saddle. I've come to the determination that there are no kind bike shorts. Maybe that's why Lance Armstrong endorses this stuff they sell in the shop called "Butt Cream". I'll have to check into it...

The finish line. It caught me by suprise. Already? No, no power loop today, I'm satisfied. This year I'm in early enough to be greeted by crowds and cheerleaders and the paparazzi... well not the paparazzi, but the rest of it is true! There was food and a wait for a massage and a chat with some other cyclists. 600 people rode and I didn't meet a stinker in the lot. (though Speedo man could have tipped that way if he wasn't knocked down a few) All great people.

When it all comes down to it, these guys and gals are out there to challenge themselves and have a good time but the main reason is compassion. They want to give what they can to people who are afflicted by a senseless disease. I am honored and lucky as heck to be among them and fight the fight with them for all the afflicted people. I may be a tad closer to it, cause in the end, (hopefully later rather than sooner) I may need it too.

Today, I rode with the words on my back, "IN HONOR OF PAT, LEE, BARBARA and ME!!"
Next year, I want to ride with a special group of people. I want to make my own team of challengers. We'll have our own snazzy Jerseys that will bond us as people who may have challenges, but they don't have us. My son wants to ride. I found out Friday, he's facing another surgery for a benign bone tumor, and unfortunately, my daughter is too. We have challenges, but they don't have us.

Join us. Donate if you can, I have 3 more weeks to collect and your gift can make all the difference.

It's all said and done. I feel great. 125 miles and I'm not in pain(except where the massage therapist rubbed too hard).
The scale... I burned over 4,000 additional calories by riding this weekend and I gained two pounds. I'll look at the bright side... It means I hydrated well and maybe it is all muscle anyway... ;-)

Thanks for your love and support.
I'm forever grateful,
Sandie

It takes the first push to get the ball rolling, takes the first puff to start the wind blowing, takes It takes the first drop to form the mighty seas... S Reilly