Success! With a hiccup or three I rode the entire 150 miles to do my little part to help eliminate Multiple Sclerosis from the face of the Earth.
I can't begin to tell you how much preparation I put in to this ride and yet I can never seem to adequately prepare for long rides such as this. When you have to rely on the mental or even physical checklist, it really helps to have a buddy that your riding with to ensure that you have gone through the entire checklist once your standing there looking at the starting shoot to begin the ride. While shooting video at the start line, I must have dropped my glasses, so I rode the entire first day without any eye protection. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but if it were even the least bit buggy out, I would not have been able to finish. Thankfully most of the bugs have found refuge in warmer climates and they didn't play a factor. A few people said that I would find my glasses at the finish in Carlsbad and sure enough, I went to the information tent and they had them, so I rode the second day with glasses. What a relief! My eyes are a bit red and irritated, but that could be from a lack of sleep as well. I didn't find my planned riding buddies until about mile 15 on the ride. I saw them entering the shoot 10 minutes after I was already in, so they were going to start behind me, so the part of the preparation and support that I was planning on getting from them was out the window at that point. I knew they planned to skip the first rest/nutrient/hydration check point, so I decided to stop there, use the rest room, grab a drink and move on. As soon as I got back to the course, they were riding by, so I caught up with them and rode with them all the way up to about the 95 mile mark. I can't begin to tell you how much that riding with familiar faces helps make the ride go that much smoother. It also has it's drawbacks however. During the 108 miles that we rode the first day, there was only one point where the group had to stop for an extended point because of a chain malfunction. The supported breaks where you "refuel" were too long for me. We stopped 5 times, I believe, and waited until everyone was ready to ride on. This was not easy for me. I have trained as a solo rider and take breaks as needed and ride when I'm ready. That is usually before my body goes into rest mode. My break usually includes a stop at the restroom, slamming down some kind of nutrition bar and drinking until my stomach says "no more" maybe applying another layer of sunscreen and then I'm off. Riding with a group has it's advantages and disadvantages. I mentioned to those that were going to meet me at the finish line in Carlsbad that I would be in around 3:30 at the latest. I think I actually made it in around 4:15 and left the group at the last rest area so I could make it sooner than they would be coming in. They were going to stop because our line had stretched out a bit and they were going to wait for those that were holding up the rear. Thankfully I was not one of those riders. Somehow I found the will to make it through the hills of North County and was riding with the "hill climbers" at that point. The rest of the 13 miles or so back to the finish line was all flat coastal so I had to make up a bit of lost time so that I wasn't holding up those that were waiting for me at Carlsbad too much longer.
I would like to back up and make some notes as to the the condition of the ride.
The weather was about as perfect as it could possibly be. Both days started off with a temperature of 60 degrees and partly cloudy. Riding along the coast in conditions such as this makes it so enjoyable. Once we hit Laguna Beach it all turned south. The city of Laguna Beach, just before the largest contingent of bike riders was about to make it through their city, decided that they were going to resurface the 101 coast highway and had ground down the bike lane and the first lane of traffic for about 5 miles. This was communicated the night before to all the riders and we were warned of the "rough road" in that area. I just have to say that this must be Laguna Beach's way of saying we don't want this ride to go through our town any longer or someone made a poorly made logistics decision. Needless to say, I made it through there, but was exhausted from the shaking and vibrating that this caused from riding on it. I'm amazed that my tires did not puncture. As a matter of fact, I will write to the manufacture Michelin and see what kind of free advertising I can do for them regarding the durability of their road bike tires. Specifically the Michelin Pro III's. Whoop, there I just did it. Seriously, there were many flats through this section and we all had to ride at a snails pace to make it through there without hurting ourselves.
Once we made it through Laguna Beach, we all rode together through Dana Point, Capistrano, San Clemente, Camp Pendelton, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Aviara Hills, San Elijo, Elfin Forrest, Del Dios Highway, Rancho Santa Fe, Solana Beach and then to Encinitas. The views and the atmosphere of the ride was about as good as biking gets.
I made it to the finish line with family waiting there to support my efforts. It was really a great feeling to make it this far and to have a few familiar faces there at the end to cheer you in. This ride was nearly 25 miles further than I have ever rode before.
I have never been so inspired by the outpouring of support along this ride. I would say I'm underestimating that there were over 1000 volunteers that supported this ride along the way from those at the start finish lines to the sag support vehicles to rest stop volunteers, to EMTs and other emergency responders who volunteered their time to those folks that were at street corners cheering us on to those pointing us in the right directions when it didn't seem so clear. I tried to go out of my way to thank those who volunteered their time and effort in order to make this as special as it was. We had what amounted to a catered lunch half way through the first days ride, at the finish in Carlsbad, breakfast the morning of the second day and lunch on the second day. There also must have been a rest area about every 10-15 miles. I generally stopped at every other one to ensure I was hydrating. As much as I thought I was drinking, I still found myself cramping up towards the end of both days and off the bike as I was stretching.
On the second day, I knew it was going to be a short ride, but I wasn't concerned about that. I had just done 108 miles the day before and then had to do another 42 the very next morning. I wasn't sure how that was going to play out. I arrived at the Carlsbad location the next day to prepare for the second day of riding. I went to the information tent, got my glasses, then went to get a bit more to eat, because the night before I had no appetite which was a little strange not to be eating after a long ride, but I accepted it and knew I would get it back sooner rather than later and really didn't get a chance to eat much before the ride. Im sure it was not good to fuel up and actually hurt my performance and from being able to keep up on long haul endurance runs with packs, so I was left to riding alone for much of the day.
The biggest challenge for me was to get up Torrey Pines hill after all of those miles. I made it up without stopping once. I think that was the defining point of the ride for me. I knew I had conquered the MS challenge ride once I cleared that crest. For it was almost all down hill from there. Once I got to the finish line, it was like I had crossed the finish line in an Olympic Stadium. Fans, Friends, Family, Volunteers, Support Staff, and those afflicted with MS there to support and cheer what you had just accomplished.
I was thanked personally by those who have MS and those who volunteered their own time to make this event possible and handed out as many thanks and welcome comments as I could to comfort those that one day there will be a day when our children only read or hear about MS as a disease of the past.
I imagined the pain and enduring feats that I felt during those two days and how many with MS deal with that on a daily basis. As long as I can walk, ride and support these events for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, I WILL.
Prior to the event, with your help, we raised a total of $2,607.00 for the MS Foundation. I believe the MS foundation is still taking donations up until November, so I will leave this link up until then: To donate to finish MS: http://www.biketofinishms.com/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=304333&supid=259559506
I will continue to post rides and events on this blog until I either decide another blog would be appropriate or that I decide training for this event is a yearly event... Stay posted.
