Reflections…

The glass of Ovaltine is empty and I’m sitting here thinking about a single word to describe this morning’s ride. Incredible! Yeah, that will do…

Incredible because…

• I completed almost a 1/2 century of riding – 46.38 miles to be exact (a record!)
• It was my first ride with the Velo Valero cycling team (of which I am a new member – they rock!)
• I’m still able to walk right now.

The ride started in the North parking garage at Valero HQ and combined two routes we’ve done before separately including the beloved “Helotes Loop” and sections of Scenic Loop & Babcock road.

Detailed Ride Data courtesy Motionbased.com

The Valero support was great. We got a pre-ride briefing and knew that SAG support was just a phone call away. We saw the spiffy Valero MS150 Toyota truck on a number of occasions during our ride and it felt good to know we were never alone.

My bruised ribs behaved, complaining only when I took very deep breaths. This too was good news since I was not sure what to expect when I hopped on my bike this morning.

Joel, Bill and Jennifer delivered stellar performances as we rolled up and down the hills on Babcock and Highway 211. Kudos to Bill for hanging in there despite a troublesome hamstring that was acting up. Way to go Bill!

A little drama was experienced about 3 miles shy of the end of our ride when I felt the rear of my bike start bouncing around. But of course! A flat….

It was the first time I’d had a flat on my Felt F75 and it didn’t take long to get a new tube installed. Jennifer and I have become ACE flat-tire repairers…

A big thanks to everyone on the Valero Cycling team for a well-organized training ride!