Best 100 mile ride...ever.
We had a "send-off party" before we left complete with breakfast, a microphone, the national anthem, and popper streamer thingys. It isn't often you get to ride through any part of Houston, especially downtown, without putting your life at extreme risk. We went straight through a virtually empty downtown with no problems (except that we may have woken up anyone that lived there shouting "clear" as we rode through each intersection). There was some weird fog going on between some of the tall reflective buildings and the sun was doing weird things and it looked like the neatest mirage of I don't know what. It was just so cool to look at. We couldn't even see some of the buildings, but others appeared to almost be swirling and sparkling in the mix of sun and moisture.
We were also waited on hand and foot. We had 2 sag vehicles going ahead to each stop, and the Patty Wagon - Patty's white lexus SUV with a flashing light on top and "bicycles ahead" written on the back. She drove behind the last cyclist the entire day. Lunch was in a nice little park in Cleveland where we sat back and relaxed for a while before jumping back on our bikes.
Laurie (my biggest cheerleader yesterday) rode 112 on Saturday...then 101 on Sunday. She needed a break at lunch!
The last 40 miles were the toughest, naturally, but right after lunch we were all pretty energized and zoomed to the 78 mile stop in no time. The last 22 mile stretch is where the group really spread out and the boys got to go have their little war at the front. The last 20 miles were a steady incline into Livingston and the headwind we had all day began to pick up a little more, just as my spirits were beginning to drop a little bit. At one point I was behind Bruce and Rick so Patty was driving right behind me. I laughed to myself and thought she might not think so much of me after that since I was wiping snot on my butt all day long!
We made our last turn off the main road on to a very special road. Wow. That is where it turned into more of a cyclocross ride than a road ride. Laurie got off at one point and walked her bike because the road was so bad. But, there was also a long downhill and we were less than 2 miles from done, so I got over it. We pulled into the hotel at mile 101 to cheers from our gracious welcoming committee. A few beers and cups of gatorade later we packed up the cars and headed back to Houston.
Yesterday was a fabulous day for a fabulous, yet challenging ride. Eight of us set off for the 100 mile journey around 8:15 Sunday morning from the middle of Houston and had quite an adventure. Several more cyclists joined us at the start and peeled off at various points throughout the day.
We had a "send-off party" before we left complete with breakfast, a microphone, the national anthem, and popper streamer thingys. It isn't often you get to ride through any part of Houston, especially downtown, without putting your life at extreme risk. We went straight through a virtually empty downtown with no problems (except that we may have woken up anyone that lived there shouting "clear" as we rode through each intersection). There was some weird fog going on between some of the tall reflective buildings and the sun was doing weird things and it looked like the neatest mirage of I don't know what. It was just so cool to look at. We couldn't even see some of the buildings, but others appeared to almost be swirling and sparkling in the mix of sun and moisture.
This is the first ride in a while that I've done where I wasn't completely by myself after one mile. We stopped at mile 26, 44, 60, and 78 so even when the group got spread out, we came back together for each stop. Some of the roads were awesome with beautiful scenery and some weren't so great (hillbilly pickups in Crosby apparently don't like bikers), but overall it was a great route. I ended up getting one hell of an interval workout in addition to a super long ride. I was up with the speedies for a while and would get dropped and then tried to catch back up, then lead for a super short while, then would do it all over again. I had Luke on my butt half the time telling me to stop looking at my heart ride and to just ride - fast. We were holding 20-22mph for some good stretches which is just huge for me. I had a blast riding with my friends training for Ironman Arizona. Usually they are way too far ahead of me for me to even see them. It was fun to be part of the "pack" and I really enjoyed the company, and value the fact that I'm getting to train with such awesome people (nevermind the fact that they are all great athletes).
We were also waited on hand and foot. We had 2 sag vehicles going ahead to each stop, and the Patty Wagon - Patty's white lexus SUV with a flashing light on top and "bicycles ahead" written on the back. She drove behind the last cyclist the entire day. Lunch was in a nice little park in Cleveland where we sat back and relaxed for a while before jumping back on our bikes.
Laurie (my biggest cheerleader yesterday) rode 112 on Saturday...then 101 on Sunday. She needed a break at lunch!The last 40 miles were the toughest, naturally, but right after lunch we were all pretty energized and zoomed to the 78 mile stop in no time. The last 22 mile stretch is where the group really spread out and the boys got to go have their little war at the front. The last 20 miles were a steady incline into Livingston and the headwind we had all day began to pick up a little more, just as my spirits were beginning to drop a little bit. At one point I was behind Bruce and Rick so Patty was driving right behind me. I laughed to myself and thought she might not think so much of me after that since I was wiping snot on my butt all day long!We made our last turn off the main road on to a very special road. Wow. That is where it turned into more of a cyclocross ride than a road ride. Laurie got off at one point and walked her bike because the road was so bad. But, there was also a long downhill and we were less than 2 miles from done, so I got over it. We pulled into the hotel at mile 101 to cheers from our gracious welcoming committee. A few beers and cups of gatorade later we packed up the cars and headed back to Houston.
The "group." We made it!!
Heading Home:
Heading Home:I felt extremely guilty (knowing how spent I was) that I got to hop in the car and go home while Rick still has 5 more days of biking to do. Also, while Livingston is uphill from Houston, Little Rock is WAY uphill from Houston! It is truly an awesome thing that he is doing - both that he had the selfless idea to even do it, and then that he has the physical and mental strength to get it done. I will be keeping him in my prayers over the next week, especially his poor butt. As I sit here in my desk chair, I cannot imagine sitting on a bike seat for 6 STRAIGHT days! Today he is slated to ride 106 miles to Nacodoches and I think the rest of his days are around 70-90 miles. Wow. If you are interested in contributing to his cause, please visit the link here.
Comments