Back In The (Bike) Saddle Again
It's that time of year again, kids: MS 150 training. For those unfamiliar, or if you're just now joining us, last year I rode my first two-day bike tour from Houston to Austin. This is roughly 150 miles of riding. I posted several tales of the rides last year (look at archives for March and April), and this year I hope to do a more thorough job.
Two Sundays ago, I participated in the Wild Wild West End Ride. That's an actual scan of my jersey number below. Notice the rips in the corners and the dirt. Aren't I tough?
The WWWE was my first training ride for the 2005 season, and it's time to really start picking it up again. I've been spinning, too, but there's not much that helps with training better than building up the requisite butt-callouses on a bike saddle. This ride was met with some skepticism, because it's my first training ride to do alone since Wayne and I split. As crazy as it sounds, I hadn't ever started a ride without him there with me to make fun of the other goofs in tight shorts and complain about the cold. Being by myself just felt strange, but I got over it and resolved to make new friends.
How was the ride, you ask? Fab-u-lous! I opted for the 35 mile route, which was a mid-distance for this ride. Not terrible for getting back into the swing of things. For the first leg until the 10-mile rest stop, I adopted the strategy of following people who were just slightly faster than me and letting them unwittingly challenge me to keep up. Most of that stretch was chasing after a blue-jersey-wearing super-fit chick "named" 282. I prided myself in being able to keep up with her, because she was fast. I didn't check for my average speed on that first stretch, but I was impressed to see my speedometer go over 22-23 miles per hour several times. I lost her at the rest stop when I got distracted by the free orange slices and taquitos in a moment of free-food bliss. So far, I was feeling strong.
As I rounded out of the rest stop, I noticed that we had just been less than 100 yards from what is a nearly famous Fulshear, TX convenience store amongst cyclists. You could tell who really trains in that area, because they had skipped the rest stop in favor of the C-store parking lot. It's hard not to notice that it's where all the cool kids go to see and be seen, and to show off their fancy titanium bike parts and wacky socks.
Halfway through the turnaround stretch, I encountered another first: rain. Lots of it. A little bit of a sprinkle spit down at first, but after that, we all got pelted. In a strange way, I was surprised to find that it felt goooooood! [Editor's note: Wayne reports that the following weekend was freezing and rainy, making for a "craptastic day of riding."] I still haven't been able to tell if my bike will be okay, but I'm assuming it will; that's why Sunny (yes, my bike has a name) cost me big bucks.
On the last part of the ride, I did get a chance to make friends. When rounding the corners on Bois D'Arc, I was neck and neck (stem and stem?) with a guy who I would later learn is an architect named Andrew. He was very nice, and to my surprise, a self-proclaimed third year Freddy. Within a couple days I'll have a special post directed toward my new-to-cycling Freddie friends, so allow me to hold off on truly defining that term. Anyway, Andrew and I kept pace for the last ten miles and made it more enjoyable to have someone to talk to. Near the end, we stopped for a short water break, and although my legs hadn't been hurting before, the chance to stop and notice their strain made the rest of the ride a tiny bit more cramped.
I met Andrew's wife after the ride, and she has got to be one of the most supportive people I've met in the cycling community. Though they did the ride together their first year, she had knee problems and was unable to finish. Now she's the team mom-wife for his company group. She's even one of those who drives along the MS route and provides personal SAG Wagon (Support And Gear) services and sets up mini-rest stops for the team. How cool is that?!
All in all, a good first ride "back in the saddle." You know something else? After the ride, my butt hardly hurt at all. This is going to be a good year.
Two Sundays ago, I participated in the Wild Wild West End Ride. That's an actual scan of my jersey number below. Notice the rips in the corners and the dirt. Aren't I tough?
The WWWE was my first training ride for the 2005 season, and it's time to really start picking it up again. I've been spinning, too, but there's not much that helps with training better than building up the requisite butt-callouses on a bike saddle. This ride was met with some skepticism, because it's my first training ride to do alone since Wayne and I split. As crazy as it sounds, I hadn't ever started a ride without him there with me to make fun of the other goofs in tight shorts and complain about the cold. Being by myself just felt strange, but I got over it and resolved to make new friends.
How was the ride, you ask? Fab-u-lous! I opted for the 35 mile route, which was a mid-distance for this ride. Not terrible for getting back into the swing of things. For the first leg until the 10-mile rest stop, I adopted the strategy of following people who were just slightly faster than me and letting them unwittingly challenge me to keep up. Most of that stretch was chasing after a blue-jersey-wearing super-fit chick "named" 282. I prided myself in being able to keep up with her, because she was fast. I didn't check for my average speed on that first stretch, but I was impressed to see my speedometer go over 22-23 miles per hour several times. I lost her at the rest stop when I got distracted by the free orange slices and taquitos in a moment of free-food bliss. So far, I was feeling strong.
As I rounded out of the rest stop, I noticed that we had just been less than 100 yards from what is a nearly famous Fulshear, TX convenience store amongst cyclists. You could tell who really trains in that area, because they had skipped the rest stop in favor of the C-store parking lot. It's hard not to notice that it's where all the cool kids go to see and be seen, and to show off their fancy titanium bike parts and wacky socks.
Halfway through the turnaround stretch, I encountered another first: rain. Lots of it. A little bit of a sprinkle spit down at first, but after that, we all got pelted. In a strange way, I was surprised to find that it felt goooooood! [Editor's note: Wayne reports that the following weekend was freezing and rainy, making for a "craptastic day of riding."] I still haven't been able to tell if my bike will be okay, but I'm assuming it will; that's why Sunny (yes, my bike has a name) cost me big bucks.
On the last part of the ride, I did get a chance to make friends. When rounding the corners on Bois D'Arc, I was neck and neck (stem and stem?) with a guy who I would later learn is an architect named Andrew. He was very nice, and to my surprise, a self-proclaimed third year Freddy. Within a couple days I'll have a special post directed toward my new-to-cycling Freddie friends, so allow me to hold off on truly defining that term. Anyway, Andrew and I kept pace for the last ten miles and made it more enjoyable to have someone to talk to. Near the end, we stopped for a short water break, and although my legs hadn't been hurting before, the chance to stop and notice their strain made the rest of the ride a tiny bit more cramped.
I met Andrew's wife after the ride, and she has got to be one of the most supportive people I've met in the cycling community. Though they did the ride together their first year, she had knee problems and was unable to finish. Now she's the team mom-wife for his company group. She's even one of those who drives along the MS route and provides personal SAG Wagon (Support And Gear) services and sets up mini-rest stops for the team. How cool is that?!
All in all, a good first ride "back in the saddle." You know something else? After the ride, my butt hardly hurt at all. This is going to be a good year.
posted by CyndyMW at
7:37 PM
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