Ode to 170.4 Miles

Watching the weather all week was such a bad idea. All week long it shifted from 30% to 60% chance of rain on Saturday and Sunday. But, in the end, the meteorologists landed on 30% and we landed on a commitment to ride regardless of the weather (with the exception of thunder and lightening).

So, Saturday morning found us at the crack of dawn at the corner of Eldridge and North Dairy Ashford waiting for the starting gun. It rained fairly steadily until the first rest stop – and then it stopped for the rest of the day. We’d decided we would ride in pairs as we usually did – but it never quite worked out that way. We expected crowds of riders to separate us, but they didn’t. We were able to stay together as a quartet for the whole day and that was a real treat. Erin and Nathan and I had the chance to get (and stay) silly. We motivated other riders (to ride very fast away from us) as we sang songs and told corny jokes or teased each other. Stephen generally smiles as these antics carry on. He was probably also motivated to ride very fast away from us.

The best part about Saturday’s ride was the tail wind. We fairly flew! Hills, pshaw! At one point, late in the day (after we’d already logged 80 miles or so), we were soaring up a hill at 16 mph! It didn’t seem to matter what gear we were in, we just pedaled and the bikes rolled.

We crossed into LaGrange, 100 miles later, all together. We got to the Shell tent and parked our tired behinds in chairs that were far wider than bike seats. We all ate our dinners, set up our air mattresses (much better than a camping mat, Jody) showered and reorganized for the following morning. The weather turned overnight and the system that had been parked to the west of Austin for three days got moving. One storm dropped a bunch of rain overnight and another, just for good measure, dropped some more just before sunrise. It was much easier to decide to ride “regardless of the weather” when we were fresh and hadn’t already ridden 100 miles. Peering out into the gloom was disheartening to say the least. But, we packed up and went on our way.

Erin’s knee was bothering her, so she and Stephen decided to do the “express route” to lunch. The express route has fewer hills, but it’s all highway. So, the challenge of that route is slow rolling hills, no tree protection and the distraction of concentrated traffic. Nathan informed Stephen and Erin that he and I wanted to do the “challenge route”. (I don’t remember having a vote in this decision…but if you’ll look back a few blog posts, Nathan didn’t get a vote in “our” decision to ride a few weeks back. Payback really stinks.) The challenge of the challenge route is hills, LOTS of hills. The reward is “suicide hill” a loooooong steep downhill!

With the weather system finally moving through, the wind shifted from SSE to NW. So, the express route wasn’t much different from the challenge route in terms of challenge. With no trees for protection and cars whizzing by nonstop; the wind pressing against Stephen and Erin was like going uphill for 25 straight miles.

The challenge course has two options, you can go “through the park” or not. I never once expected to go through the park, which is full of really difficult hills. As we approached the decision point, Nathan confessed that he kinda, sorta, wanted to do the park. No. Nope. Not a chance. Never. Not gonna. NO! Of course, this is Nathan we’re talking about, so I had to bargain with him. I promised that when I can average 20mph on a bike, I’ll do the park with him. (This is sort of like promising when I can fly I’ll do the park.) Suicide hill was near the end of the second leg of the day, so we rolled into the second rest stop on a bit of a high.

As Nathan and I finished up at the second rest stop, Stephen and Erin rolled in to it. We did a quick recon and Stephen and I discussed Erin’s knee privately. Erin looked pale and beaten. She would have pushed through, because she’s that type of person. Stephen and I suggested that she rest for a bit and meet us at lunch. Nathan and I headed back out and encountered the “worst hill”. Last year, Stephen and Nathan were waiting on the top of a hill and Nathan asked when the “worst hill” would come. Stephen told him he’d just finished it. We’re all pretty sure that’s the only reason that Nathan was so darned chipper the rest of that day. So, Nathan and I headed out. As we crested each hill Nathan would say “I’m not sure. That one might have been it.” Or “No, that one was definitely not it.” (This went on for 12 miles and 4 hills.) Then we were on it. It was the last one of the section and it was a killer! (Just to put it in perspective, I drove to Austin on the Wednesday after the ride and my Toyota Highlander downshifted going up this hill!!) At the top, even Nathan was panting, but he quite happily announced “Oh YEAH! That one was it!”

Once we all got to Bastrop, it became apparent that Erin’s knee wasn’t going to cooperate. So, she and Stephen sacrificed their last 37 miles and headed to Austin on the bus to cheer me and Nathan on. It was a really tough decision for them. They knew exactly what they were giving up.

With 37 miles left, we ate our lunch and refilled our water bags. I’d completely revised my attitude about rest stops on Saturday. I really hate them on the training rides, but on this ride, I needed every single one of them. Nathan had gotten in the habit of hydrating (finally), so he needed the rest stops too. So, we just rode rest stop to rest stop to rest stop. At the last one, I really felt my adrenaline surge. When we took off, we nearly had a collision with other riders. So, I scolded Nathan (and myself) that we needed to finish this ride, not finish it fast. So, we slowed down a bit and settled into a rhythm.
Turning the corner to head into downtown Austin was so exhilarating! The Capitol Building stood at the end of the street. People were all along the street cheering all the riders on. There were bubbles and music and cowbells (Erin had one!). Nathan and I held hands across the finish line. And I cried. It just felt so amazing to have accomplished something this big for such an important cause.

Nathan was a zombie on Monday morning. He tried to get up and have breakfast, but I sent him back to bed. Long about 2 in the afternoon, I was too tired to do anything but fold laundry – but even that was a pretty difficult task!

I truly cannot wait to do it again!