It's not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not. -Anonymous
I planned to ride the local YMCA sponsored group ride since early August. It was right after I had done a whole bunch of rides and I was overflowing with confidence. That was before I started my new job and realized that I just didn't have time to ride as much as I thought I would. I have been so inconsistent with my rides that doubt crept into my brain all week. It reached it's peak on Wednesday when I tried to do a ride on the trainer and quit in 10 minutes. It was a mental and physical struggle to even think about riding, so I bailed out on what was suposed to me my last training ride for the 80 miler I had on the books for today. On Friday night I wasn't sure I wanted to even show up, but something motivated me and I found myself packing up all my stuff so I could sneak out of the house at 6:15am.
I would have kicked myself it I hadn't shown up, so I thought I would give it the 'ole college try. My only bail out option was the 65 miles turn off, so I decided to take it mile by mile and see how it went. I did at least take care of myself all week trying to stay hydrated. It's so easy for me to forget to do that, so at least I made an attempt to increase my odds of finishing.
As I lined up at the starting line, it was a sea of spandex. Muscle toned freaks in team jerseys, tri bikes, water bottles, gps units, and shaved legs. Here I was with hairy legs and full of doubt wondering when I would be dropped and forced to suffer a solo slog on the back roads of NC and SC. The start was moderately fast. 18mph then slowly creeping up to 20mph. I wasn't sure what to do as my solo rides have been around 18mph. In a group ride I can generally go up 2-3mph without too much suffering with the aid of the draft but not for 80 miles. I decided to try and hang on. Mile 10, turned into mile 20, then 30 and I was feeling generally great. At mile 37 I had to make a decision as that was the last turnoff for the 65 milers. I was hanging good with 7-8 bike team members, so I really didn't hesitate at the turnoff. I was going to do the whole enchilada. Then it happened, everyone turned right except for 3 team riders and me. It was the 4 of us. There was a ton of miles ahead and I really didn't want to solo 45 miles, so another decision. Try to hang with these guys or turn back. By now my legs were feeling the twinges of cramps, but I decided to try and hang on. As a mountain biker, I'm really enjoying learning the rules of road biking like how to draft, taking turns pulling at the front of the pack. Its a total adrenaline rush. I love it. Through 51 miles I was able to pull a 20.3 ave. which if you asked me before the ride would have been a joke. I was hoping for a 16/17 ave. After that I let the team riders go and suffered by myself for a little while.
The next 15-20 miles was mostly solo, but I could occasionally hook up with some other riders at the rest stops where I filled myself with bananas and orange slices. Mmm tasty. Overall, I never really cramped that bad and although I was suffering, it was totally manageable. I'm convinced the SportLegs capsules I was taking every hour kept me from totally bonking. My speed dropped significantly without the aid of drafting, but overall I ended up with an 18.3 ave., which was far better than I expected. If you re-read the quote I started with maybe now it makes a little more sense. I was so convinced that I was not able to do the ride, when all I had to do was try. I'm so glad that I did. This was the longest ride I've ever done. I wanted to get to 100 to make it a true century, but that will have to wait until another time. Good times on the road today.
