A 60 mile training ride from downtown Houston to Clear Lake and back has the potential to make a rider over confident because it is a completely flat and fast ride. Despite knowing this, I am still feeling great about today’s ride.
First and foremost, I didn’t crash. I think Blue and I will declare victory on every ride where Blue stays upright and does not kiss the pavement. Second, on the first two training rides there were times when I just wanted to quit to the point that I was counting the minutes on my bike. This time around, I had another 30 miles or so in me after I crossed the finish line.
The key thing that carried me through this ride was having other people that knew what they are doing to ride with. We all took off together, and of course I could not keep up in the beginning. The issue this time wasn’t endurance, it was that I was nervous riding among all of the other bikers. The folks that I started with were riding a 20+ mile an hour pace and flying through the crowd. This was fine for riders who stay upright on their bikes, but me, little Miss Crash, was terrified of smashing into another rider.
Finally, I got caught waiting for the light rail, and once the Little Houston Train that Costs a Fortune, and Does Not Go Anywhere passed by, the people that I started the ride with were no longer in sight. I then set out on a 30 mile stretch alone. My spedometer wasn’t working, and I had no way of effectively pacing myself. However, I knew I had the distance in me, and I chugged along.
When I reached the turnaround point, I had a text from one of the riders that I had started with. They were there at the rest stop regrouping, of course I was the last one to get there. We all took off together, and the ride back was pretty much smooth sailing in comparison to the second half of my previous rides.
I was able to keep up at a 19 mile pace, anything beyond that, and I was dropping back. The other riders were cool, and stayed with in my bounds. One of the riders pointed out to me that I really need clips or at least the little straps on my pedals. Without them, you only have one foot pushing, and no pull. A rider is literally 50% less effective without them. I hadn’t realized this. (AGAIN – new to the whole bike thing). I certainly noticed that people passing by me seem to be putting in much less effort, but I kept blaming Blue instead of my shoes and pedals.
We were about 10 miles from the finish when Cowboys fan got a flat tire. He was a little ahead of us when it happened, so when we caught up to him, he had the tire change in progress. We hopped off our bikes, and the conversation began with Cowboys fan saying, “I watched a You Tube Video on how to do this.”
I wanted to laugh, but had no business doing so with my complete lack of biking experience. I also appreciated that it is rare for an IT profressional to be more useless than in the act of changing a bike tire. Apparently, the video was useful. I was impressed with how effectively the tire got changed. The three of them worked together, teamwork is definitely something that our office has going for it. The tire got changed quickly, and we were off to the finish line in no time.
I attended my first post-bike race party. It was the first time that I felt that I deserved one, and well, there was a free cold beer for all the riders because Michelob Ultra was the race sponsor. The beer was delicious. Me and my fellow riders chatted about the race, and joked about my pedals. I hadn’t noticed that I was virtually the only one with little reflector pedals like you find on a kid’s bike. Most people have the clip ins or at least the pedal straps.
My former CIO, and well-respected friend, Mr. LSU caught up with us at the post-race party. He had missed the turn for the 40 mile course, and wound up going the whole 60. It made the day all the more better to see another familiar face sharing in the day’s accomplishment.
I am starting to like this bike thing…