Bike Geek

Despite the impression my “not updated nearly enough” blog might imply, there have been many cycling-related activities in the past week or two.

For example:

• We took my wife’s Felt FW35 road bike to Bicycle Heaven for some final fit adjustments. This included an opportunity for our daughter to have her first “bike shop experience”. She enjoyed looking at all the bicycles and almost picked out a helmet or two (I’m sure she was most interested in simply removing all the helmets from the rack!)
• I upgraded the the stock Shimano R-500 wheels on my Felt F75 to a pair of Ksyrium Elite. After one short ride I was impressed by the noticeable improvement in ride quality. Wow!

I hope to have my Garmin Edge 705 preview online within the next couple of days. Wish me luck! My second job has kept me very busy!

“We’re not actually riding 60 miles on a bike tomorrow, are we?”

Those were my mildly sarcastic words to Joel, Marco, Bill, Frankie and Robert in our hotel room in Beeville late Saturday evening.

Despite being totally exhausted, I did not sleep well overnight. I distinctly remember laying in bed trying to fall asleep, breathing slowly….but feeling my pulse racing. I guess my body was trying to make sense of what had just happened to it.

Morning came quickly…and with it…Day Two. Here are some highlights:

• Stress. The morning was a little hectic. Need air in the tires. Need to hit the restroom. Need to get a decent position in the lineup. Where’s Bill? etc.
• Downhill. Finally. As the miles passed by, it was great to spend most of them on flat terrain or downhills.
• Boxed in. Really disliked a good portion of the ride at the start since about 25% of the shoulder was grooved (makes the loud noise when you’re driving to wake you up if you’ve drifted out of your lane) and it made passing more difficult.
• Headwind. When we turned left heading into Sinton for lunch, the wind greeted us as expected. During the last 25 miles or so, it became a real factor making it a chore to maintain a 14-15mph pace.
• Anticipation. A growing hunger to finish the ride started to consume me during the last 15-20 miles. I paired up with Marco who was also possessed by this anticipation. We drafted off of each other and at one point I was pulling a group of 7-8 riders. Quite an experience!

I checked in with my wife during our lunch in Sinton and again at the last rest stop. I could hear the excitement in their voices and it really provided a boost to my riding. Passing through Portland, with the big Corpus Christi bridge in site on the horizon…we lit the afterburners. At one point we reached nearly 32mph in the big chain.

As we approached the finish line we assumed a line formation and slowed down. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted my 11 year old nephew Tanner and my brother-in-law David. They were shooting photos. Tanner yelled into the cell phone in his hand, “They’re here…watch out!”

A few hundred feet down the road – at the finish line – I spotted my wife, sister and father cheering me on. The feeling was incredible…the ride was finished.

150 miles.

On a bike.

Wow…I’m still not quite believing it…

The MS 150 was an amazing experience. A huge milestone for my cycling and a great cause to ride for. It was an adventure I won’t soon forget.

Here are some Day One highlights:

• Freezing your Gatorade Propel is a nice way to have a cold drink many miles down the road. Leaving your Propel in the freezer and making that discovery about a 1/4 mile from the start of your 150 mile bike ride is just plain….stupid!
• Our first stop was actually at the second rest area. I was fired up and feeling good. I quickly pulled out my Powerbar Gel and squeezed the gooey substance into my mouth. Just then, Joel approached me and proclaimed, “What are you doing!??! We’re at the second rest stop! I can’t believe you just ate your Power Gel. You’re like an airplane using its afterburners while its still on the taxiway.“
• Thank God for the lunch break. I remember the exhaustion I felt at the halfway point of our nearly 100 mile trek. The extended stop provided a much needed escape from the saddle and the food was just what I needed.
• I learned a lot about riding in a large group. As a few accidents on the ride illustrated, yelling “Slowing/Stopping” is critical to safety. You have to always assume there are riders behind you and be very aware of what is happening up front. Communication makes the ride safe, a lack of it noticeably increases the risk.
• 60-70 miles into the ride, I started noticing how long each mile started to become. “Next break point is six miles.” Normally that’d equal a short ride that felt like almost a blink of an eye. Not anymore. It felt like six miles was more like twelve…regardless of my speed!
• Beeville sort of “snuck up” on me. When I saw the exit ramp ahead and realized that we had arrived, I don’t think it sank in. The announcer in Beeville was great. Her cheers and welcome helped to wake me up as I rode across the finish line for Day One.
• The mobile showers were close and convenient. They were also like an OVEN as you waited for an open shower stall. A cold shower was the perfect answer.

Dinner under the Valero tent was perfect. I devoured the BBQ chicken breast and brisket. I was possessed by a ravenous hunger.

Later, in our hotel in Beeville, I ate three slices of pizza before backing off and trying to get some shut eye. Thank goodness for the hotel, cold AC and bed. It made a huge difference for this first-timer.

The gravity of the situation continues to sink in.

This weekend, I joined nearly 3000 cyclists in the Valero MS150 – “Bike to the Beach”. This event is a 150 mile bicycle ride from San Antonio to Corpus Christi, Texas.

Joel, Marco, Jennifer and Bill – my trusted cycling companions – joined me on this adventure.

It was…incredible, amazing, grueling, rewarding, painful, wonderful, sobering, outstanding…and so much more.

My goal was to finish the ride without hopping on a SAG wagon. I am proud to say that goal was accomplished in what turned out to be nearly 11 hours of saddle time.

I know. Ouch. But I did it…and there is so much to write about.

So…I’m planning on a separate post for each day…but decided to go ahead and get some links posted to photos and a video of us crossing the finish line.

Photos from the ride (I’ll be adding to this gallery as more come in)

Video of the ride across the finish line (good job sis!)

Detailed GPS information about the ride (courtesy Motionbased.com)

Time for me to sit down and try to capture details of the ride while they are fresh in my mind!

It took three hours and twenty three minutes but on Saturday, 9/23 I was able to break my previous distance record of 46 miles and accomplished a personal goal of rolling across the 1/2 century mark.

50.87 miles to be exact.

The body toll for this feat included:

• Sore arse (but thanks to some Assos Chamois Cream, no saddle sores! Woopee!)
• Sore wrists (towards the end of the ride, I couldn’t find a comfortable grip position on the handlebars)
• That overall “I’m whooped” feeling I had forgotten. A feeling I remember after my first road bike ride of 20 miles or so.

We celebrated by driving to the nearby Curve Restaurant where we quickly added back some calories and fat with some outstanding mexican food. When the waitress asked me what I wanted to drink, I think I took about 10 seconds or so to answer. I think I was getting a taste of post-ride bonking. Low-blood sugar to the brain!

As we left the restaurant, Joel made an unusual comment, “Is that a horn growing out of your head?!?! Oh no! Your true nature is showing! El Diablo!”

Just when I thought Joel had joined me in a hypo-glycemic stupor, I reached up to my forehead and felt it. A large red bump. Ouch!

The bump is quite noticeable, especially when viewed in the profile. It’s red and a little sore to the touch.

Add one more to the body toll list!

And to think…I’ll be riding 150 miles in a couple of weeks.

Pray for me.