I was semi-talked into this bike ride last Saturday. When I signed up for it I didn't even own a bike. After I got a bike it seemed like I never had time to ride. Brian had to be home AND it had to be nice weather. Which, as you can see by the 2" of snow we got yesterday, sometimes good weather is hard to come by.
I had been on my bike 7 times and fallen down 3 of those times. This is my first time in clipless (also called clip-in, which I think is more accurate sounding, but not commonly used terminology) pedals and they take some getting used to. I would unclip one foot and weirdly lean the wrong way... the way of the still-clipped-in foot. Once you start to fall you don't have time to unclip that foot and save yourself... it's just KABOOM.
Anyway, so I did it. I rode 64 miles and climbed a total of 3,000 feet. I had some mechanical difficulties with my bike. My front derailleur broke a few days before the race and I only had the use of the large gear on the front. For those of you who don't know, this is the gear that makes it harder to pedal, not easier. It is great for flats and downhill. I had to make a choice, I could ONLY have the little "climbing" gear or I could ONLY have the large gear. My husband was at the fire-station for the 2 days prior to the race so I asked my neighbor to help me. He said, if it were his wife, he would make it so she only had the large gear. Soooo.... I went with his suggestion. It was probably the right one, but it made climbing the hills a pain. I was slow on the hills. I would pass 25 people on the flat and downhill and that 25 would pass me on the climb.
Before I rode, everyone would tell me not to drink too much Gatorade or take too much Gu or too many Shot Blocks. They said they would make me sick. I think I didn't drink or eat enough. At one point, on one climb, at mile 50, I pulled over and straddling my bike, put my head down and sobbed. I called Brian for comfort. One girl asked me if I was having an asthma attack. No, my eyeballs are just sweating. I pedaled on, however. The thing that actually hurt the most was my neck and my back. Also my toes kept falling asleep which was kind of painful. I guess you're supposed to pedal with a wiping-the-mud-off-your-feet motion. That would have been good to know a week ago.
When I finally finished I had been biking for 6 hours. I took 3 breaks, probably for 5 minutes each. I learned that, like Caitlin, I can do hard things. I was exhausted when it was over. I think it was a similar exhaustion to giving birth. When asked that day if I would do it again, I said, "No Way!" BUT now that it's been a few days, I'm already planning on another race this summer and planning all the things I can do differently to be faster.
At the finish line all of my neighbors were waiting for me. They started screaming my name and jumping up and down when I finished. Yay for nice neighbors. And just in case you're thinking it, I wasn't last, not by a long shot.
Here's an action shot. I'm in black. Ok, so it't not the most flattering picture. I am wearing a big black sweatshirt. This was at mile 10.
At the finish line with my friends. I got a medal for finishing. It was cute, Jack predicted I would win the bronze medal. I thought that was cute for 2 reasons. First, he thought I would actually win a medal. Second, he knew it wouldn't be the gold.
PS. Brian said to me that night, "You surprised me. I didn't think you could do it. I thought for sure you would quit." Um, thanks?
Hudson is Captain Destructo. He makes HUGE messes. Please excuse the mess in this photo.... he is hard to contain. If we come and visit you... beware. Please put up anything he can reach.
Isn't he so cute? Notice the camo clothes? 
He's about to sing us some patriotic songs. 
The parade.
