cyclefreaks

Tour de Tulsa - June 4, 2005

The night before the ride, I couldn't sleep. It never fails. If I really need to get sleep, it never comes. Or in this case, it came about an hour after I finally went to bed, then left me on and off throughout the night for pee breaks. Nothing is more frustrating than having to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Literally, the wee hours.

There's something very methodical about preparing for a ride. I like it. There's so much to it, I always start the night before. It's not like getting up for a run. With running, there's nothing to prepare, you pretty much tie your shoes and go. With a bike ride, there's a lot of preparation. Get the drinks ready. Take everything off the bike to get it on the rack. Get all your gear ready. Do you have sunblock? Spare tubes? It's a good half hour or more of hunting, gathering and packing.

This time around, Cory & I were not alone in our preparations. We now have a full team. Diane and her two sons, Rick & Josh (hizo), and Scott Dean, all people from my indoor cycling class. We made the torture sound so fun last year, they all went out and bought road bikes and will be joining us this year on all our rides. It should make it a lot more fun.

There was no map online for this ride, so we had no idea of the elevation or the route we would be taking. We just knew it would be 32 miles. About 4 miles in, the hills arrived. And there were a few. I'd say the first 15 miles of that ride was as tough as any 15 miles I've done. Long, gradual hills are the ones that kick my ass, and those kind were aplenty. Short and steep, that's my specialty. But not ones that go on forever. My heart felt like it might leap out of my chest. But the last 17 miles were pretty sweet, especially the final few miles to the finish. Fast and flat, the longest and fastest I've ever done. This time last year, we didn't even own bikes. We were missing out.

Try to remember your childhood: do you remember when you weren't old enough to drive, but you were old enough to know you wanted some freedom and independence? Remember what that bike meant to you then? It still feels like that as an adult. Maybe even better. This time around, when you're pedaling as hard as you can, you're free of all of your obligations, all of your responsibilities. No bills, no cubicle, no boredom. You're free to just pedal and think, or pedal and not think. You can focus on chasing down the guy in front of you, or you can focus on just getting to the top of that hill. "Just a little longer, legs. Then it will all be over." Or as Diane likes to say, "I can puke at the top. But not until then."

The Tour de Tulsa is not what I would call a great supported ride. The rest stop was great, but when we finished, there was nothing. Not because we took too long to finish, because there just wasn't anything. I mean, no powerade, no water, no fruit. Nothing. So we did what any good cyclist would do, we hung out until 11:00 a.m. and then hit the bar and had a few drinks.

We all sat around the bar drinking Red Stripe and talking about the ride. Everyone saw something different and had a different experience. Rick barely escaped a wreck. Josh took the wrong route. Diane's sprockets ate her chain. Scott found out what hills really feel like. And Cory & I had the best ride ever. We are so much stronger than we were last year, and we haven't even started training yet. I averaged 15 mph for the first time ever and he exceeded it for the first time. And the best first time thing of all, we had a group of really cool people to share the experience (and the beer) with.

It's going to be a great season. Stay tuned. :)

Miles: 32
Avg speed: 15.0 mph
Avg HR: 151
Calories: 1250
Temp: 70s
Wind: calm in the morning to ~ 10 mph