The Tour de Cure

Sunday was the Tour de Cure 100k bicycle ride for diabetes. It was a nasty, cold, rainy day. I was prepared for the distance, but I was not prepared for the weather at all. It took a huge toll on me mentally. On the first corner coming out of the parking lot, one of our teammates decides he is going to pop a wheelie and fell with his bike to the ground smashing his cell phone and hurting his back. He was quick to recover though and be sure everyone knew he was totally fine. The whole team pretty much stuck together for the first fifteen miles. When we got to the first checkpoint, Steve was complaining.."Are you two (Roger and I) in a race or something..cause you're killing me." So, then he and Mike (the one who fell) raced out of the checkpoint and lost us for the rest of the ride. That was a little odd.
Somehow, I got separated from EVERYONE for the next fifteen miles. I think, for me that was the hardest part of the whole ride....just me and the road. It was a very lonely road. The Ski Rack Van kept driving by me, but that was pretty much the only person or traffic or bike or anything I saw. No fun. When I finally got to the checkpoint I told Roger, "I can't do this by myself...we all have to stick together or I am not going to make it." It really reminded me of when I "hit the wall" in the marathon and started crying and getting all depressed. I got out of that. Roger agreed that we should stay together. So, we did for the rest of the ride.
The next fifteen were pretty uneventful...except for finding our own personal SAG (personal sags: not allowed) and getting dry socks...and pants!! I felt a tiny bit better with pants on. The socks got soaked very quickly since my shoes were like sponges...but they felt better for a minute. The last fifteen miles were all uphill. I really don't mind hills that much. But, after like fifty miles...they get a bit old. Of course, Dad had his brand spanky new bike with 21 gears and I had the old crappy bike..so I kept having to pass him and say, "Buh Bye, Mr. 3 Big Wheels." I had to stand up for most of the hills and at the top of a really, really steep one, I was right behind this older guy ...and when we got up to the top I yelled out, "Yeah, Baby!" And he was like, ok. But, then I stayed and waited at the top for Roger and Dad and I said to him, "Ok, sprint the rest of the way back!" I am pretty sure he thought I was crazy..and at that point...I may have been. Of course, the last few miles seemed like forever because we knew we were close, but couldn't get there fast enough. When we got back, we had an awesome cheering section and a really nice lunch from the Outback. So, (3 days later) we will probably do it again next year.