Today was the Tierra Bella Bike Ride which starts in Gilroy. I had originally signed up for the 200k(!) and also gave myself the option of doing the 100 mile(!) route in case I wasn’t ready. My 2 weeks off from biking in March combined with the rain the last few weeks did not make me super duper ready for distance and hill climbing. I actually only did 50(!) miles, today and wound up taking SAG for the second time in 2 weeks. And I am way, way cool with it, because that 50 miles was a tough, tough ride. Well—the last 10 because there was 3,000 feet of climbing. So, I am not going to beat myself up about not finishing the distance because ironically I SAGGed twice this year, AND I still feel like my fitness is at a much better place than where it was 3 years ago. So, I present to you: Tierra Bella: the Good the SAG and the Ugly.
The Good: SUN! It was so nice that it didn’t rain today. And the rain from the past few weeks made the rolling South County hills an amazing shade of green. The first 20 miles felt really good. I even managed to ride 5 miles at the same pace as my super fast awesome friends Gina and Naama. I also saw my friend Molly out there (my super pink bike is tough to miss) and it is always great to run into people you know.
The SAG: So, at the rest stop at mile 50 I decided I was done and was going to take one of the SAG cars back (we will get to how I came to that decision soon). I have decided that SAG drivers are now my heroes! It is so awesome to have someone out on the road making sure that you are ok. And they are volunteers! Rock stars! There were 4 of us who needed to be taken back to the start. I sat in front between the driver and the person communicating on the radio with the other SAG drivers. It was…cuddly. I tried to engage my core and stay in place while we took sharp turns because I didn’t want to run into either of them. I have space issues. Well, it was a hilly, twisty, turny road and one of the passengers in the back was having motion sickness issues. Suddenly he said, “Um. Can you pull over when you can?” The driver said yes. And then in an urgent voice he said, “THE SOONER THE BETTER!”
But it was too late. The sound of muffled retching was coming from the backseat. I was thinking three things: “Oh my GAWD. This is HAPPENING!” and “Do not make eye contact.” And, “Oh my gosh, this is sooooo going in my blog.” The driver quickly pulled over and the poor guy got out to finish. Going forward, I think yacking in front of a bunch of strangers is now one of my biggest fears. We finally got back to the start, and the poor guy got sick AGAIN. Only this time he was in the parking lot on his hands and knees. Again, I just tried to not make eye contact.
THE UGLY: So, miles 40 – 50 of the ride are completely uphill. I had never ridden up this road before and didn’t know quite what to expect. It was continuous uphill, with a friendly flat section every once in awhile. I went to my easy gear and wound up dropped my chain. I spent a good 20 minutes trying to get it back on. I ate an energy bar, drank some Gatorade and continued on. I was a little flustered by the incident. And the hill kept going! At one point I looked around and the view was amazing, Lake Anderson was down below and the valley looked beautiful. And, I thought to myself, holy cow this is really high up!
It may have been the hardest bike ride I have ever done. I stopped about 5 times to collect myself, get my heart rate down and hydrate. I was grinding down on the pedals and I just felt like my tank was on empty. My legs were tired, and I tried to just concentrate on breathing. There may have been some swearing on my end. I had about ¼ mile until the rest stop and there was this sign that read “STEEP UPHILL.” I think I may have muttered “Uh, hell no!” I got off my bike and walked a couple hundred yards because, stick a fork in me, I was DONE! I hopped back on my bike and made it to the rest stop. Hurrah! The best part was I saw Gina and Naama (they got there way before me) and Gina looked at me and shouted “I am so proud you made it!” She said, “That was a hard climb!” I said, “I KNOW!” And then she gave me a hug and I started crying. I wasn’t sad or angry. It was just my body’s reaction to what I just put it through.
And so I decided making it all the way to Henry Coe park was a big enough deal for me to call it a day. My body was pretty fatigued and I did not think riding 10 miles downhill would be a very safe thing to do.
So, while I was fighting up that hill my mind did drift to Death Ride which is 3 months away. This ride was an eye opener in my training. It is definitely time for hill repeats and attacking local “big” hills in my area. And hopefully the whole me getting SAG is a short lived fad.
No comments:
Post a Comment