Distance = 56.76
Time = 4.38.45
Avg speed = 12.2 mph
Max speed = 29.5 mph
Odometer = 2982.3 mph
Well, we jumped from 20-mile rides to a 60-mile ride. Wow! It was pretty warm and I had forgotten my sleeveless jersey. I knew exactly where it was! lol Hanging in the bathroom to dry. Ah well. I should start from the beginning. We got most of our stuff ready last night. So that was good! The alarm was set for 5:45am. That was not good! We got up around 6am and were off in pretty good time. We were on time for the required safety speech and to start with everyone. I got a little nervous at the beginning because they made it sound like we were all expected to stay together. Yikes! That could be painful! But that wasn't the case. They just preferred that we stay together... and, I think, realized that it wouldn't happen. Anyway, we rolled out in a group of about 71 from the St. Joan of Arc church where the RRR office is housed. We made our way through Minneapolis along well trafficed roads. I got a little concerned that we would spend the entire time in the city. Now I sortof wish we had! lol
We road around near the airport and the group had started to spread out a little because of traffic lights. I rode behind a guy, who I think is on my team, that kept lurching and hitting his breaks. So I'd ride up on his ass even though I was trying to be careful. Because of the traffic, it wouldn't have been safe for us to pass him. So I just slowed a little more and stayed where I was. Lorrie was behind me. We got to a major overpass intersection near the airport and I think I-494. Everyone in front of us was "rolling" through a green then yellow light. So all I heard was "rolling." Well, the man I was talking about before decided to stop suddenly without saying anything. So the guy behind him stopped suddenly. I swerved to barely miss them and crossed on the yellow. As I was in the middle of the intersection, I heard Lorrie yell, "JESUS!" She had run into the two guys. The exact reason why expressing one's intentions is imperative when riding in a group. By the time I got across and was able to safely stop and turn around, she was already up. I went back over and besides a scrape on her leg and being shaken up, she was fine. Her first accident out of the way. I said to the guys standing there, "You have got to tell people when you're stopping!" I could easily have gone off on them because Lorrie was hurt. But I controlled myself. It would have mainly been my fear of her getting hurt being expressed. So I just focused on her. We started out again slowly, making sure her bike and body were okay. They seemed to be. I was surprised at how little concern anyone showed. Maybe no one saw what happened. Though I know the two guys saw it. But they took off as soon as the light was green. Not exactly the "community" I would expect of an AIDS ride in general and especially after what I'd been told. I will keep an open mind though. For now. I've seen the other side of the community as well, when Joe was hurt, so I'll just assume that this was "individual" and not group. Okay, done being a psychologist for now.
The rest of the ride was a mixture of fun and pain. We had some rolling hills before the first rest stop and it was a little difficult for both of us to get our legs into it. But we are both "late starters," so we don't do great the first 10 or so miles and then kick it better toward the end. We stopped for a little while at the first rest stop. Got some salty snacks and used the rest room. Lorrie had thought about sagging after the first or second leg. She decided to head out and see what the next leg would bring. More of the same. It was getting a little more windy at this point too. And obviously hotter with the afternoon approaching. The next rest stop was interesting. No food except these little "coin candies." I'm not sure what to think about that. Even some little snack packs of peanuts would have been better. But if people aren't cyclists or athletic at all, how would they know? It was "manned" by a major sponsor of the ride, Wells Fargo. So I guess I can't complain too much. But how about some oranges or bananas? PB&J?
The next leg would be one of the more difficult. Although, at this point, we were getting beyond our longest past ride this year so all segments were difficult! lol But this one was long, flat, straight, and windy. My least favorite! As you may remember, I made peace with the wind in California. But it's different to make peace with views of the ocean to distract me. It's another to be peaceful when the scenery is lacking. Lots of green. I was also getting hungry. Those coin candies didn't quite cut it! lol So we just kept pushing and pushing. By this time, Lorrie and I were basically alone. Couldn't see anyone in front and no one behind. Thankfully the signs were well-placed and often enough! They definitely had that under control! The lunch stop was great! Hamburgers and chips. Just what we needed. But... I ate too much! lol I should have just had 1/2 a hamburger. But, like I said, hungry! By this time we only had about 18 miles left. That's nothing! We were nearly done. Ahh the mind! (=
The next 18 miles were very hard. Remember, we have only ridden about 20-miles at a time by this point. So we'd already doubled our trip mileage in one shot! It was so friggin hilly the next section. Wow! No wonder it was short in distance... 10 miles. So we just chugged. Can't say much more than that! Well, except that we did catch up with the guy who stopped short and I made sure to pass him right away. He passed us again later and got pretty far ahead. Worked for me! At one point we were on a bit of a flat area and some guy in a huge car honked at us. Presumably to get out of the way... there were no encouraging waves or anything like that. Then he had to stop at the light ahead. I was feeling a little feisty by this point. Anything to get some energy. So I peddled hard to catch up to him at the light. Once I caught up to him, I just waved and smiled at him. I know it made no difference to him and he will likely continue to honk at cyclists who impede his progress in any way. But it gave me a little boost and that's what matters! Off again to conquer more hills. I honestly lost count of how many hills there were. AND THEN, the bridge. HOLY CRAP! After the hills we turned onto a paved trail. That was fine and dandy. Until we started riding next to what I think was I-494. There was a major headwind anyway. And then the traffic added to that wind. It was painful. SO painful! I started getting pre-cramps in my legs. You know, those little spasms that tell you any one of the next five exertions will lead to a mind-numbing cramp. We stopped on the bridge for about a minute so that I could settle my legs down. Drank some Accelerade. And off again. Once across, we had just a little jag to get to the final rest area. They just smiled and nodded knowingly at us. Apparently everyone had been telling them how painful the bridge was. We stayed there for about 5 minutes recovering. Well, not really recovering so much as trying to keep from turning into one big cramp. Then off we went for the final 8 miles.
The last leg was not so much difficult as we were just ready to be done. The route took us back into a neighborhood. So we had some stop lights and such. Not a big deal. At one point, one of my teammates passed us in her truck. Why couldn't we be done too!?? lol It felt great to be back... and done! There was a filmographer there asking us to say things into the camera like, "I'm a daughter." For some kind of RRR promo I guess. One we got our stuff put away, we decided to wait until Jean, another team member, made it in. So we waited about 20 minutes and cheered her in. Then left!
At home, we showered and took a nap! lol It was a lazy lazy night after that day! But I'm proud of us for making it with so little training under our belts! And I'm SOOO thankful that Lorrie didn't get hurt!
I didn't take my camera because I thought there was too much chance of rain. That would have been a relief! I'll start carrying it more often. (=
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