| Comments: | Once again it was Tour de Blast time!
I've done this ride quite a few times and twice now have not managed to finish because of the weather. :( The first time was totally crazy with the rain turning to snow at the first food stop so no regrets there but this year I can only blame myself for not bringing along adequate clothing. Poop. Mountain conditions change rapidly and all that, right?
That said it was a pretty good time. For the second time Andy G came along and we seem really compatible when Shelley and I are on the tandem so we chatted our way up to the first rest stop. I had some sort of veggie (lettuce, tomato, cheese, mustard) sandwich here but was not really hungry.
Up until here it's kinda moderate but once you exit the first rest stop the fun starts. The hill is not really that steep but it is steeper than what you have seen so far and it just goes on and on…
ASIDE - at one point Shelley asks me, "Are you okay? You're riding really hard." Guilty as charged I guess. :)
On this bit Andy was looking a little less than fresh shall we say. He has been training for a half marathon so did a long run on Tuesday and then went with me for my Thursday night hike and then was out here trying to do this long, hilly ride. Go Andy!
When we pulled into the second rest stop I was pretty soaked from sweat. It was one of those days where you are not hot enough to take clothing off but you still perspire profusely so consequently everything you have on is very, very wet. In Martin's survival book it says that food equals warmth so I shoved a brownie in my face knowing that the next stretch of road was all downhill.
Turns out Andy was a bit peaked and decided that it was smarter to turn around and head back. Good for him to be able to make the right call! If you descend from here it just means you have climb all the way back to get to the car. I asked Shelley if she wanted to turn back too and she was like, "No…" Okay, bye bye Andy.
ANOTHER ASIDE - Shelley only had a short sleeve jersey, arm warmers and this ultra thin jacket… way to give mother nature the finger girl!
And sure enough, as we started to descend I started to get cold. Truth be told I was already cold and started to freeze. Shelley said something like, "As long as you can still use the brakes we can continue." and that criteria was being met so on we went.
After a few miles of sitting still and coasting in our 55x12 I feel the bike start to drift to the right. I correct but it goes way too far to the left! So I correct again and it feels like I have started some sort of sinusoidal wave and I can't get the bike to stop drifting left and right. I look down and our front tire is practically flat. Drat.
I gently grab the brakes (the bike is still trying to weave left and right) and get it pulled over to the shoulder. With Shelley's help we get the flat fixed pronto but my hands are already numb and I'm shivering as well. I put my vest on before the road went downhill but covering only your core can only keep you so warm.
I asked Shelley if she would mind turning around and good for me she was okay with it. Whew. We started climbing and right away I felt a tiny bit better but it took a long time before I felt good.
We rolled past the second food stop and the first and then it was finally comfy. In fact I took off my vest and pulled down the arm warmers. And then I ran out of energy. Weird, it really crept up on my and all of a sudden I'm feeling all light headed and super weak. I asked Shelley for some Shot Bloks as I was not sure I could open the dumb package on my own while riding. Thanks to the road that was mostly downhill I recovered pretty quick but it must have been obvious when I bonked as Shelley could tell right away.
We managed to pass quite a few groups on the way home and I felt pretty good at the finish. With just a few miles to go we met Bill B and wife on single bikes for a change and Bill is always a pleasure to ride with and talk to so that was nice. He did his best impersonation of Yens Voigt while dropping the 10 or riders he was pulling home. Way to go Bill. :)
Then it was time for the finish line pasta feed! As overcooked and bland as this food is it is a relief to have it and I was thankful for it. And I was hungry! I could not stomach my second bread stick though, it was like some Pillsbury thing that was still half raw.
I chugged a coffee in hopes of being able to drive home and I failed at that too. :( After less than one hour Shelley was asking me to pull over so we could switch. Thanks Shelley…!
The pavement on the Tour de Blast is amazing. Smooth as the proverbial baby's bottom except for some very short stretches and the views are super if it's clear. It was not clear today and I read that only 71% of the starters made it all the way. Honestly, that's more than I thought would make it so good for them.
Shelley did really well too. I know I like to go faster than she does and riding the tandem you can easily break 45 mph on this ride and she only asked me to grab the brakes twice. :)
We'll be back, this is a good event. Worth the 4-5 hours in the car for sure. |