Tour of Napa Valley Ride Report

I think I realized something key about my personality. I am in a state of perpetual New Year's Resolutions. Or rather, I have high aspirations for my future self. What does this mean? It means, I think that my future self will be this amazing together person, without taking into consideration the limitations of my present self.

Confused? Let me give you an example of something that happened just this morning.

While rushing out of the house to get to work, I only have my car key in my purse. The reason it is not on my regular key chain is because I took it off to keep with me during yesterday's Tour of Napa Bike Ride (more on that later). I couldn't for the life of me remember where my key chain with all my keys is. I searched my car, searched my purse, searched my triathlon bag---nothing. Just as I was about to lose it, the little light bulb went off-"Oh yeah!" I unzipped the front (mind you, rarely used) pocket of my tri bag and there they are. I distinctly remember thinking yesterday as I put them in that --rarely used--pocket, "I will DEFINITELY remember where I put these keys."

In my head, future self is much smarter than present self.

Another example would be the Tour of Napa ride which I registered back in June. I registered for the 100 mile option, thinking I would be nice and ready for it, because future self must be a bike training machine, right?

Not quite. Though I have biked pretty regularly in the last month, this year I have not topped over 30 miles. So, I decided to switch to the 65 mile option. I mean, I did 200 miles in one day last year, surely this will be cake for future self.

Um. Yeah. It was NOT cake. It was a big old slice of humble pie.

I woke up at 4:45 to drive to Napa yesterday. I met my friend at the start in Yountville and we were on the road by 7:30. We felt good. Our average mph was my goal mph and I was feeling strong the first 10 miles. And then she said, "What's that noise?"

"Oh yeah," I said acknowledging the rhythmic rrrrrring noise, "I hear that too. I don't know."

"Do you have a flat?"

"Nah, doesn't sound like a flat. I would know---uh oh, yeah we gotta pull over. I have a flat."

Twenties minutes and lots of grease everywhere, the flat was changed and we were back on the road.

And my spirit was slightly dampened.

We rode more. It was beautiful, taking us through wine country. The temperature was perfect, overcast but not super cold. One stretch of road was pretty tore up and a challenge to ride because of bumps and cracks. At mile 20 we had a slight climb. I read that there were two climbs on this ride.

We stopped at the rest stop at mile 34. I ate half a turkey sandwich and a fig newton. I was pretty beat already. My friend (whom I did Seattle to Portland with) and I were tripping over the fact that this was our first Century bike ride of the year. Last year, we were at this distance by March. And why was it so hard? So far, my theory on muscle memory is starting to lose its credibility.

We took off. It was hill time. At this point in the ride we got separated (she is faster than me). This hill was a bit of a beast. I would say it was about 4-5 miles of climbing. It was called Howell's hill and I thought it was an appropriate name considering some parts of my body were howling. The people on the ride were very friendly. Everyone LOVED pink bike. However, one guy passed me. On. the. Right. Um, hello? Oh, and another guy was riding slowly up the hill. As I passed him I looked over and saw him on his cell phone. Seriously?

Finally the hill was over and we went downhill a little. I stopped at the water stop to fill my bottle. My legs were thrashed. I got back on my bike and realized I was still in the easy granny gear and my wheels were spinning. I couldn't get a hold of my bike and gradually started to tip over almost falling into a group of hardcore cyclist who were standing around.

Smooth move.

I headed back out on the road. Now was time for the downhill. It was crazy. At one point to the right of me I could see the whole Napa Valley ( I tried to take a picture but my cell phone camera skills leave a lot to be desired). It was a long downhill, and I took it as easy as possible but at some points I was at 30 mph (for me that is fast!). There were some sharp turns and towards the end a really gnarly hairpin. There was a stop sign at the bottom of the hill and one guy looked to his buddy and said, "That was INTENSE."

Yup. It was.

The last 20 miles of the ride was pure torture. Every part of me was in pain from my shoulders to my feet. I hit some wind. Would this ride ever end? Never again, I thought to myself, will I wait until August to bike this far. Oh, and perhaps gradually I will get to this mileage. My future self will train much better.

I was at the finish and met up with my friend. We ate some food, and then headed on our separate way.

It was a great event in terms of scenery, support, and a minimal number of cars on the road. Not so great in terms of the reality of where I am at right now with my bike fitness. Next year will be a different story.

Right, future self?