On Friday, Shawn & I dropped the kids off at their various caregivers and drove to Ann Arbour. We checked in at a hotel I had booked on Hotwire and it turned out to be great. I had delayed having dinner so we headed out to the Olive Garden to have the traditional carb-loading pasta dinner. I ate well, but avoided stuffing myself so that I would sleep good that night and I did.
I woke at 5am, started with a base layer of sunscreen & bug cream and proceeded to don my cycling outfit that included padded cycling shorts & clip-in shoes. We checked out of the hotel and charted our course for the Chelsea Fairgrounds which were 20 minutes away.
Due to time restraints I chose a McDonald's Sausage & Egg McMuffin and OJ for breakfast. I had tried a bagel w/peanut butter on a previous long-distance ride and had gotten the "shakes" within a couple hours. I wanted something with fat & protein that would stay with me. They serve simple carb foods at the registration area but I didn't even see what they were offering.
Every kind of bike was there. I saw couples on tandem bikes and even people in recumbent ones too. There were no children (I think there was an minimum age to participate) but there was every other age group and body type represented. It was quite a parade of pedal power!
I met up with the "friends of friends" who had inspired me to enter this event in the first place. They were planning on completing the 75 mile and were polite about my aspirations to go for the 100. I warned them that I was a slow rider and they assured me that they had trained at my average speed. I was hopeful that I wouldn't be a burden to this group after all. We set out at 7:30am.
One of the first things I noticed was the frequent road-kill. At one point, I actually rode over a dead animal simply because I was behind another cyclist and couldn't see it coming. We passed dead raccoons, rats, cats, and even a full grown deer. Where was I anyways?
I also was inspired because I passed a guy I'll call "Kevin" who had some disability (Muscular Dystrophy or MS...I wasn't sure) and he was pedalling with one leg. I wasn't passing a lot of people but I was able to pass him and as I did, he gave me a huge smile and called out "Hey!"
It wasn't even 15 minutes before I realized that my 15mph average was for flat terrain only! We were cycling a series of unending rolling hills. No sooner had we reached the bottom of one then we started another. I was keeping my average speed but that seemed to be a minimum speed for my riding companions even during the climbs up the hills. They politely waited for me at key intersections to ensure I wouldn't get lost, but I felt pressured to go faster than I could maintain so I told them to leave me behind. I knew I could still do the whole route but only if I paced myself and I wasn't afraid of being alone.
We separated after the first snack stop. The event coordinators had water, Gatorade and lemonade to drink and crates of banana, plums, grapes, cookies, pretzels, and animal crackers to eat. The cold, juicy fruit and potassium-filled bananas were wonderful! Everyone lined up to use the "johnny on the spots" that were available. Many people lingered with their friends but I kept my break as brief as possible because I had read that anything more than 10 minutes would allow your muscles to stiffen. I also knew I had a long journey ahead of me.
Without my guides, I was now responsible to watch for the pavement markings at the intersections to show me the route. So long as there were other cyclists around, I felt confident but after a while I would find myself on a stretch of foreign country road by myself wondering if I had missed a turn somewhere. Sure enough a cyclist would pass me or I'd see a marking and relief would flood through me. I didn't want to get lost!
When cyclists would pass they would call, "On your left!" to warn you but after a while this just got annoying to me. I was somewhat grateful to have the opportunity to call "Hello, nice day isn't it?" and have brief interaction as they swept by me. As the day wore on, they would say things like, "Me again!" or "Haven't we done this before?" Yeah, I was being perpetually passed all day. I think I only passed 3-4 people total including Kevin!
Our next break was at a store. Water was available via hose and so were port-a-potties which I used gratefully. I wanted to avoid a road-side elimination if I could! Again people were gathering in groups and talking so again I set out as quickly as possible. I figured out that I would soon be passed by these cyclists but if I left early, it would feel like I was in the thick of the crowd for quite a while before I was left alone again.
Reaching the 50 mile mark where lunch was being served was exhilarating. They had a live band playing songs that talked about "Hitting the Road Again" and other lyrics that sparked tired laughter from the cyclists. For many, this lunch spot at Portage Lake was the end of their journey. Families were reuniting and picnicking festively. For me and others, this was a fueling station for the next part of the ride. They served all the snacks from our morning stop in addition to a sandwich buffet. I ate quickly, texted Shawn to let him know how I was doing, used the facilities yet again and set out.
The last 50 miles was much tougher than the first. It was afternoon now and very hot. Cyclists were fewer and the mood was more somber. I had planned ahead to keep myself upbeat by reciting all the obstacles I have faced in life and how with God's help, I overcame them. I found this exercise to be very uplifting and motivating! I found myself getting emotional, overwhelmed at God's goodness towards me and knowing that if I could face all those challenges and get victory, then I could surely find the strength to finish this one.
I reached a country store where nothing was available to us except what they sold..not even washrooms. At this point I purchased bottled water to refill my empty thermos and set out again. I thought I overheard some cyclists talking about calling the support van for a ride back as I pedalled away...
It was around this time that my neck & right knee started to hurt. I took some Motrin, alternated touching my chin to each shoulder to ease the neck stiffness and tried to use my left leg more than the right for pedalling. I noticed that I was no longer being left completely alone on long stretches of road. No-one was riding with me but there was always a cyclist in sight. People were slowing down.
I had one bad incident around this time. I reached a 1/4 mile of rough road that forced me to ride close to the centre line. Most of the day the roads were empty of traffic and most vehicles were very courteous to us by moving completely into the opposite lane to pass even when they didn't really need to. A pickup came up behind me and the people driving must have been frustrated throughout the day because all their anger descended on me. I heard a lady scream at me to move over but the speed I was travelling at and the terrain I would have hit at the moment prevented me from reacting immediately. They had room to go around me but instead they pulled up beside me and forced me to the side of the road by pulling into my lane. I hit the bumps hard and tried to steady myself yelling out "Rough Roads!". I got yet another screaming tirade from the woman who was clearly beside herself with pent up rage and then they sped off. Other cyclists were sympathetic and shook their heads over the incident as they passed me. I felt a bit shaky over the close call but I hadn't fallen and they didn't look like they were coming back to finish me off so I relaxed. Fortunately that terrain passed quickly because after hours of riding, no-one wants to go over bumps if they don't have to!
At the last break around the 78 mile mark, they had all the snacks that were left over from the morning and lunch break. The fruit was less chilled but was welcome nonetheless and at this point I indulged in 4 cookies. I hoped the sugar-rush would infuse me with the energy I needed to finish. I spoke with a girl who had meant to ride a shorter distance but had missed her markings and followed riders who were doing the longer distances. I felt bad for her having to do more than she wanted to! More texting, the port-a-potty and this time some serious stretching. 22 miles was all that was left.
While this was physically the most painful part of the journey, I did attempt to speed myself up so that I could finish by 4pm. I just wanted to get back, enjoy the watermelon, shower and go home. My speed going uphill was 6.5 mph and I would joke with cyclists who passed me on the hills about throwing me a tow rope. I know I should have upped my gear and pedalled down the hills but I gave that up early in the day and used the long, speedy declines to rest & stretch my legs.
I noticed more and more cyclists stopped by the side of the road stretching, resting, and conversing. I didn't want to stop at all because I just wanted to be done and didn't want to prolong the journey another minute more than was necessary. Maybe I would have felt differently if I was with someone else. My right leg really started to hurt again but I told it to be quiet and ignored the pain. How could I give up when I was so close to the finish? I counted off the miles one by one as they passed. 13, 12, 11....3, 2, 1...
Pulling into the fairground and getting off that bike was wonderful! Fellow riders were offering weak congratulations to each other and I got a few. It was a bit anticlimactic because most of the riders had come and gone and there was no crowd, cheering or announcements as people finished. It wasn't that kind of event. Personal achievement only. The parking lot that had been teeming with cars was now mostly empty. I checked my bike meter and I had completed 7.5 hours of riding at an average of 13.5mph plus one hour for the lunch and four breaks. 8.5 hours total! That's painfully slow to the experienced, trained rider but it was pretty much what I had expected to perform.
I knew I was in trouble when I had to hobble over to the watermelon tent, but that was the best H2O melon I ever had! Everyone was greedily going back for piece after piece and tossing the rinds into garbage bags labelled "Food for the Pigs". Those pigs were going to have a watermelon rind feast tonight!
I texted Shawn for the last time to tell him I was done and headed for my van. I locked my bike inside and headed for the showers. They were empty by now so I had all the time I needed to shampoo and survey the damage. I had a rash on the tops of my legs that I still don't know what it was--allergy to detergent, heat rash, sun damage through the shorts? No idea. I was sunburned on the tops of my knees and backs of my shoulders even with the sunscreen I used. I felt like a wreck, but a happy one!
Driving home was a challenge. I expected to be tired but I wasn't. Instead, I was struggling with being able to push the gas and the brake so I put the vehicle into cruise control at a speed that minimized the need to keep braking around other cars. I had a long chat with the border guard about my adventure that day before he waved me through and I was ever so glad to be home again! Shawn helped me when I got home by unloading the van and assisting me so that I didn't have to move more than necessary. I iced the knees before bed and popped a couple Motrin. When I woke the next morning, I felt much better!
Well, it's been a couple days now and my legs are almost back to normal. I really enjoyed this event and would do it again, hopefully with some friends of my own next time! I think the Ann Arbour Cycling Club did a wonderful job marking the routes and organizing them so that all the riders in the varying distance groups could mingle together at rest stops. I also appreciated the timing of the breaks and the quality of the refreshments that were offered. Everything was exactly as it was promised to be. Very well organized!
So proud of you Melissa. sounds like you had quite an adventure. I'm glad you had that special time remembering what God has done. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteCharlene