Up, Down, and Around the Quarry

Yesterday was our second Guinea Pig ride. The route was 23 miles long, but it had a few more hills than last weeks route. I finally remembered to use my Strava app to record the ride. I hit a max speed of 36 mph (on a downhill, of course) with an average of 12.6 mph. Not too bad since I was really tired when it came to all the hills. The sites on this route were well worth it. Passing the quarry lake on Stonebrook Drive when the sun is shining makes the pain of the hills melt away.

The new front derailleur seemed to work pretty well. However, I will need to go back to Sports Basement and see if they can make an adjustment to it. The chain seems to be rubbing on the derailleur when I was in a high front gear and a lower one in the rear. I don't know enough about the derailleur to make the adjustments myself. Also, since they were the ones to install the new part, they should be able to make the adjustment for free.

Next week is an off week since there is Training Ride Leader (TRL) Certifications. Several of my teammates who were first time riders last year have decided to become TRLs for this year. Should be pretty exciting for them and it will be great to have so many great TRLs in our group.

Release the Guinea Pigs!

For 2014 training season, the routes will be completely new. Therefore, the group wanted to do a Summer/Fall season series to test out these new routes. We still abide by the ALC road rules, but the rides are not official.

08.03.13 - For the first ride we started out easy, with a relatively flat 20 miles. It was great to get back on my bike again. I even got my husband to come out and ride with me. He did really good for not having rode in quite a while. I ended up keeping a pace that was a bit slower than what i'm used to riding, but it was a good practice for pacing myself.

I was glad that the ride was relatively flat because I apparently broke my front derailleur. Not sure how it actually happened, but I realized it on really our one and only short hill on the route (on McClellan at marker 16 on the route map to the right). I gained some speed on the down hill to make it easier for the incline. As I approached the hill I went to shift into my lower gear and soon realized that nothing was moving. So I had to power through the hill on my largest gear. The funny thing was that I remember that about a year ago, this hill seemed so difficult to me and I actually had to walk my bike up it. I just powered through like it was nothing. LOVING the small VICTORY!

After the ride we went to my hubby's favorite breakfast place, The Original Pancake House. Nothing finishes out a great ride like from great food!

Let the Journey Begin!

So, a little background to start this off right. In 2012, a close friend of my told me that he was going to be doing this charity ride called the AIDS/LifeCycle ride that would take him 545 miles over a 7 day period and he wanted to know if I would be willing to support him by giving a donation. Well of course I said yes. I couldn't believe that he was going to ride so far. After seeing his photos on the ride and hearing about his experiences I knew I wanted to do the ride myself.

However, due to a family commitment, I realized that I was going to be unable to participate in the 2013 AIDS/LifeCycle ride. Despite this, I started riding with an AMAZING group of people called the South Bay Blaze in January as they began their training. I made it to almost every Saturday training ride and was surprised at how quickly I became a stronger rider. Many victories were had along with many choice words muttered under my breath on those long challenging rides and steep hills. In four short months I went from riding 25 miles to 80 miles. That seemed CRAZY!

Since I knew that I was unable to join my teammates on the ride, I didn't want all the training I did to go to waste. I found out that there was another charity ride that I could participate in that was occurring around the same time as the ALC ride. I signed myself up for the Tour de Cure 120k ride (that's 76 miles). I was surprised when I was able to raise a little over $600 for the American Diabetes Association. Due to those family commitments I had I missed two weekends for riding. Little did I know, this would make a big difference to my stamina for the ride. Simply put, the Tour de Cure defeated me. I struggled to get through the second half of the ride and almost gave up on the last large hill on the ride (I mean it was a 9 mile long hill, 4% grade, with some 2000ft of elevation gain). I was so defeated, I started to question myself... did I really want to do the AIDS/LifeCycle ride. It is seven straight days of riding totaling 545 miles. But, as the photos started to be posted to Facebook my I remembered why I wanted to do this in the first place.

The AIDS/LifeCycle (ALC) ride is not just about me and the personal challenge that I will face. It is about all those that I will help by raising the money to partake in this ride. Last year, the 2203 riders and 552 roadies raised a record-breaking $14.2 million. That is INCREDIBLE and something that I want to be apart of!

So on June 13, 2013 I committed myself to ALC and signed up!!! You can check out my personal page here. I'd love if you would make a donation to support me in this journey.