Tour de Cure

Yesterday was my second bike run. I've ridden in an organized bike ride once before and it was only 25 miles which was incredibly easy. So I was really looking forward to this 100K Tour de Cure ride. I had my new bike and all the necessary gear. I was prepped for the long haul. The Diabetes Association is my family's charity of choice since Bailee's diagnosis when she was 9 years old.

Jeff and I got to the high school where the ride started and already there were little problems. I filled out the necessary waiver in advance and had the required monetary donation check written out. But I didn't have it in the proper envelope, so I had to fill one out. I didn't have my glasses on so I couldn't see the form so I obviously could not consider filling anything out. After Jeff took care of it for me we were on our way.

As we headed back to the car to drop off all the Tour de Cure pamphlets and unnecessary crap they gave us at the sign-in table, I couldn't find my sunglasses. I know I had them on my head when I went in so I must have left them on the table. I went back and they weren't there only I discovered I stuck them in my pocket and forgot. By the time all this was said and done, the 7:30 gun went off signifying the start of the ride. We still had to drop off the papers we were given before we could get started.

As we hopped on the bikes, mine was clanking from the sound of shifting gears. Jeff asked me if I wanted to stop at the repair booth before we got started but I really didn't want to hold him up anymore. He is an avid bike rider and he was already getting a late start because of me. So off we went, he was gaining speed much quicker than me and I told him to just go at his own pace as I would have done if we were running. But my bike was not cooperating. I've had problems with the gears before and I can usually shift my way out. I was struggling with this plan now. It would finally get into the right gear but it was taking more canoodling than usual to get there. Jeff saw me struggle and waited for me to catch up. I told him my complaint and we decided I would definitely have to stop at the repair booth at the first rest stop.

Unfortunately the first rest stop didn't come up until I had two major shifting problems. Both occurred during the steep inclines of hills. I ended up walking my bike up both because I could not get into gear at all. I now get the saying "spinning your wheels". Mine were spinning and I was going nowhere.

As I finally got to the first rest stop Jeff was there waiting. I asked him, “How many miles do we have done, 15?” He said eight. Oh my God! It took me an hour to go eight miles. How terribly disappointing. The repair guy quickly adjusted my gears and we were back on the road. I was thrilled to be able to ride without the nasty clicking sound of the changing of the gears even when I wasn’t changing gears. But I got to the next big hill, shifted to a higher gear and bam! The chain moved to a lower gear and the forward jerk nearly knocked me off my bike. Again, I was stopped mid-hill unable to pedal. I finally got started again as I could see Jeff’s backside disappear from view because he was so far ahead of me.

As I headed down the road, the signs to follow became somewhat confusing. A sag truck approached and asked if everything was OK. I said yes, except I wasn’t sure which direction I should be going. I was directed to head straight into the park ahead, go through the park, and I would end up back where I was standing. So I was to take a loop around to the right only to end up going to the left in order to get more mileage from the ride. Meanwhile, Jeff was heading down the road to the left when he saw me going straight. He headed all the way back thinking he was going in the wrong direction. He caught up to me in the park where I explained to him that he was actually heading in the right direction; he just missed the half-mile trek through the park. So we did it together which was kind of silly for him since he was pretty far ahead when he turned around to find me.

We rode together as I told him my latest saga on my ride up the hill. The next rest stop came up and I was back at the repair booth while Jeff waited for me. As soon as we headed out, turned the corner and went up a slight incline I was actually yelling as my chain popped into another gear. Another rider pulled up and asked me if I was OK. I said yes, just frustrated. After I explained the problem, he got out his tool kit and made an adjustment. He showed me what to do to tighten the slack so the gears would work better. After that, we were on the road again.

I apologized to Jeff for keeping him from his planned ride. He said it’s no big deal; he would worry if he got too far ahead since I’m having so many problems. He also mentioned that we would probably finish in six hours at the pace we are on. We planned on finishing in four. We kept going as the latest repair seemed to have worked (no thanks to the “professionals”) and we were picking up the pace. I felt like I was flying. We were moving at a great pace and things were going well. We weaved through the winding road effortlessly until we got the stop sign to cross the highway. I was moving at a very fast pace, not planning to stop unless there was a car coming. Jeff was a little freaked. He was behind me and he could see a car coming over the hill onto our path. I didn’t see it until I got to the other side of the trees much nearer the stop sign and I applied my brakes hard to make a quick stop. I loved how my bike reacted. I was having fun. Finally.

As I stopped, Jeff panicked as he was thinking I wasn’t going to stop. In the distraction he struggled to get out of his clips. They didn’t release and he toppled over on his side. I felt so bad because I’m sure this was my fault. At the same time I was annoyed because he spends too much time worrying about things he shouldn’t worry about. In this case I mean me. So he picked himself up, righted his bike and put the chain that fell off during the fall back on. So we were off again but this time a little more cautiously than before. As we headed through town we had to make many turns in and out of traffic which can be a little unnerving. The open road is much better where you can concentrate on your breathing and pedaling, forgetting about the distraction of traffic.

At the next corner, a group of 5 bikers waited with us for the next break in traffic to turn. As we waited, Jeff slipped again, tumbling into the biker next to him. Luckily he didn’t damage the other guy or his bike only this time Jeff was feeling a bit too beat up. Not only did this damage his self-confidence, he was scraped up pretty good. As he put the chain back on his bike again, we decided to make this a 50K ride instead of the 100K. He told me the only reason he was doing the 100K was because I wanted to, he originally was going to sign up for the 50K. So now I really felt bad. Not only did I ruin the start and his timing on this ride, I changed his plans for the length of his ride. With the decision made, things were feeling a little easier. We now felt like we were going to accomplish this within a reasonable amount of time and that it was almost over. So far this ride felt like and eternity but now… only 8 miles to go!

Jeff disappeared into the horizon almost as soon as we got going again. His swift pace is truly inspiring and I was hoping that he was enjoying this last leg of the ride since he wasn’t having much fun up to this point. As I pulled up to the finish line, he was standing there waiting for me. His kindness and patience is admirable, if it were me I would probably be pouting on the side of the road. We enjoyed some sandwiches and drinks handed out by the volunteers after the ride then headed home.

I wasn’t sure he would tell anyone about his difficult time, but he did. He didn’t have to; I wasn’t going to mention it. But after all it did feel better to talk about it. We enjoyed a soak in the hot tub when we got home to ease the pain of the bumps and bruises. It was nice to know we would have all afternoon to hang out at home. I made him a nice dinner and we moved on. He is already talking about next time so that’s good. I know I am looking forward to completing my first 100K but I don’t think it will be anytime soon.