TMI
I know this is long. It's mainly just for me. This is a journal isn't it? Read on if you're bored.
DAY ONE 4-12-08
Katy to Bellville
Everything began at Rhodes Stadium in Katy where I tossed my tent and my duffel bag with my overnight necessities into a truck, affixed my rider number stickers and signs to my bike and to myself, and then waited patiently with Melissa to make it through the starting gate with thousands of other people. The weather was surprisingly a little chilly so we were really eager to be moving. We were out of the gate by 7:30 and Melissa stayed with me through the first rest stop which was Elvis themed. As was inevitable, after that first break point she could no longer force herself to go at such a slow pace and she sped ahead to finish 4 hours before me. The second rest stop was a madhouse and I only paused to refill my water. The road began to get hilly at this point and by the time I pulled into Belleville for lunch I was tired and rushing full speed towards the bathrooms. I should mention that they recommend drinking enough water to require a bathroom break at every rest point, but at my speed they often seemed to few and far between. I saw several guys on the side of the road behind a bush. Lucky them. Lunch was decent with plenty of options provided. I was able to sit down and eat with my Aunt and Uncle, Grandmother, Cousin and one of her daughters, and my cousin Austin's girlfriend. Austin was also participating in the ride, but had yet to arrive. Although they teased him plenty about me beating him the only reason for this was that his starting point was farther back than mine. I spent way too much time at lunch. By the time I had my bike checked out because the gears seemed stiff and went to the bathroom 3 times I had lost my decent start.
Bellville to La Grange
You would be amazed at how many people stood or sat by the side of the rode until the sun went down cheering every passerby on. Some had giant sound systems and were playing music, one woman was riding her stationary bike in her front yard, and many held signs that said good luck, or thank you, or hero. This was the first time, of many, that I almost cried. The scenery was beautiful. I've never seen so many flowers, animals, streams, colors. Although the wind was brutal the first day and unbearable the next my favorite moments were still when I would stand and lean into the breeze while coasting down a hill I'd just fought my way up. The hills were coming pretty steadily at this point, and between them and the wind my speed was decreasing. The number of people I saw at the rest stops became steadily fewer as did the water and snacks and the amount of restrooms with toilet paper. At one rest stop we were held back from leaving while life flight flew in to pick someone up. I don't know if they crashed or became dangerously dehydrated, but I heard that at least 3 people had to end their ride this way. Ambulances and SAG wagons were a frequent sight. The SAG wagons would pick people up once they decided they couldn't make it anymore and take them to another rest stop down the line or to the very end, and this was a LOT of people. Of the people I knew who were participating this year my partner is the only person, other than myself, that I know who finished without "SAGing". Apparently more people did this than in any year before. The Ride Marshall's who followed the cyclists on motorcycles were very encouraging as were most of the SAG drivers. I had to make it to La Grange before the sun set or they'd have to bring me in. I was one of the last people to pull into the camp for the evening, but I didn't SAG, and I didn't walk my bike up a single hill. Melissa cheered me home and then guided a weak, dazed, and disoriented me to our tent. I had a pretty tasty veggie burger for dinner while hearing the tail end of a cheesy cover band in the background. I decided waiting hours to shower seemed like a waste of my time and just staggered back to the tent to pass out. It took a little while for my heart to slow down, but I slept soundly however brief it was.
DAY TWO 4-13-08
La Grange to Bastrop
I woke up early, around 4 something, and stumbled towards the pancakes and coffee in the freezing cold. Somehow we managed to dress, pack, and roll up the tent in a decent amount of time. We tossed our luggage back on the trucks and then waited in line to start again. The wait was longer and colder than the day before. We were on the road by 8:00. The first part of the ride was extremely bumpy and the forecast of less wind was quickly proven to be false. A CITGO sponsored rest stop did their best to pull off a pirate theme, but all they seemed to have pulled together were some bandanna's and fake gold coins. They tried! Coming into Bastrop was frightening as this is where the notoriously biggest, most challenging hill of them all is. I passed rider after rider walking their bikes up the side of it, but I never dismounted and I made it without much pain. This is when I knew for sure that I was going to complete the 150+ miles. I made it to lunch by 12:30. My mother and sister met me at this lunch stop for which I was extremely grateful. When we walked over to the tent for lunch we found that they'd run out! They had a few sandwiches with lettuce, tomato, and pickles only, but as starving as I was that wasn't going to cut it. As Moms often do mine saved the day by running out to pick up some nearby fast food. This drastically increased the time I had planned to spend at lunch, but was necessary to finish the ride.
Bastrop to Austin
The last 35 miles or so of the ride were mostly a blur. I promised myself that I wouldn't quit unless I crashed or threw up. I came close to both of these a few times. At one of the rest stops I saw the SAG crew that had cheered me home the night before. They seemed very surprised and glad to see me out there again, and I told them again what I'd told them before. I'm not giving up. I refilled my water, ate my 12,334,897 orange slice and banana half and got back on my bike. I remember thinking about what parts of me didn't hurt at this point as sort of a glass half full sort of thing. The only thing that never hurt was my head, and I can thank my dorky helmet for that. For the whole ride I was either "rider 2211" or "shiny helmet girl". So it goes. 2 miles or so away from the finish line I was following the orange cones when the cops who were deep in conversation before shouted out that I had missed my turn. Because I was in a tight space near a busy road I hopped off my bike to turn around. When I paused for a moment to take a gulp of water since I was already dismounted a SAG van pulled up next to me and shouted that I needed to get back on my bike and get moving because they were about to start shutting down the ride. He pulled away and in a panic to get going I dropped my bike and felt the sharp gears gouge into the back of my leg. Only two miles away and I was bleeding. Oh well. I jumped back on my bike and kept at it. I felt blood trickling down my leg and looked back to see it pooling in the back of my shoe. It didn't hurt at the time. I was too busy, too wound up, to feel it. Those last 2 miles were hilly, but doable. As I approached the finish line there were my supportive SAG drivers and Ride Marshall's from the night before cheering me to the end. Next I saw my Mother and Sister with a group of friends they had made while waiting. It was confusing to see strangers shouting my name as I crossed the finish line. And there I was. I finished. I wasn't sure where to go from there or what to do. Although hundreds of people remained the area was still deserted in comparison to the thousands it was set up to accommodate. I looked down at my leg which looked pretty frightening and decided finding a medic was the first thing I should do. Well, unfortunately the medical crews had all gone home along with all of the food and volunteers and luggage crews. 10 minutes after my finish the final pair came riding in with the entire fleet of Ride Marshall's following behind. I recognized them from my late finish the night before and paused to cheer them in. See, I wasn't the slowEST! Then I met up with my family, found a woman with a first aid kit, congratulated the ladies who had just finished, hunted down my bags, and walked several blocks to my Mother's car. It felt good to walk. My Mother again treated me to a meal, and I drank the first shake I have ever felt that I earned in my life. Then I passed out. I remember getting home and insisting on showering. I'm so glad I did. I have never been so dirty.
Here I am today. Sore and proud.
Who wants to do it with me next year?
DAY ONE 4-12-08
Katy to Bellville
Everything began at Rhodes Stadium in Katy where I tossed my tent and my duffel bag with my overnight necessities into a truck, affixed my rider number stickers and signs to my bike and to myself, and then waited patiently with Melissa to make it through the starting gate with thousands of other people. The weather was surprisingly a little chilly so we were really eager to be moving. We were out of the gate by 7:30 and Melissa stayed with me through the first rest stop which was Elvis themed. As was inevitable, after that first break point she could no longer force herself to go at such a slow pace and she sped ahead to finish 4 hours before me. The second rest stop was a madhouse and I only paused to refill my water. The road began to get hilly at this point and by the time I pulled into Belleville for lunch I was tired and rushing full speed towards the bathrooms. I should mention that they recommend drinking enough water to require a bathroom break at every rest point, but at my speed they often seemed to few and far between. I saw several guys on the side of the road behind a bush. Lucky them. Lunch was decent with plenty of options provided. I was able to sit down and eat with my Aunt and Uncle, Grandmother, Cousin and one of her daughters, and my cousin Austin's girlfriend. Austin was also participating in the ride, but had yet to arrive. Although they teased him plenty about me beating him the only reason for this was that his starting point was farther back than mine. I spent way too much time at lunch. By the time I had my bike checked out because the gears seemed stiff and went to the bathroom 3 times I had lost my decent start.
Bellville to La Grange
You would be amazed at how many people stood or sat by the side of the rode until the sun went down cheering every passerby on. Some had giant sound systems and were playing music, one woman was riding her stationary bike in her front yard, and many held signs that said good luck, or thank you, or hero. This was the first time, of many, that I almost cried. The scenery was beautiful. I've never seen so many flowers, animals, streams, colors. Although the wind was brutal the first day and unbearable the next my favorite moments were still when I would stand and lean into the breeze while coasting down a hill I'd just fought my way up. The hills were coming pretty steadily at this point, and between them and the wind my speed was decreasing. The number of people I saw at the rest stops became steadily fewer as did the water and snacks and the amount of restrooms with toilet paper. At one rest stop we were held back from leaving while life flight flew in to pick someone up. I don't know if they crashed or became dangerously dehydrated, but I heard that at least 3 people had to end their ride this way. Ambulances and SAG wagons were a frequent sight. The SAG wagons would pick people up once they decided they couldn't make it anymore and take them to another rest stop down the line or to the very end, and this was a LOT of people. Of the people I knew who were participating this year my partner is the only person, other than myself, that I know who finished without "SAGing". Apparently more people did this than in any year before. The Ride Marshall's who followed the cyclists on motorcycles were very encouraging as were most of the SAG drivers. I had to make it to La Grange before the sun set or they'd have to bring me in. I was one of the last people to pull into the camp for the evening, but I didn't SAG, and I didn't walk my bike up a single hill. Melissa cheered me home and then guided a weak, dazed, and disoriented me to our tent. I had a pretty tasty veggie burger for dinner while hearing the tail end of a cheesy cover band in the background. I decided waiting hours to shower seemed like a waste of my time and just staggered back to the tent to pass out. It took a little while for my heart to slow down, but I slept soundly however brief it was.
DAY TWO 4-13-08
La Grange to Bastrop
I woke up early, around 4 something, and stumbled towards the pancakes and coffee in the freezing cold. Somehow we managed to dress, pack, and roll up the tent in a decent amount of time. We tossed our luggage back on the trucks and then waited in line to start again. The wait was longer and colder than the day before. We were on the road by 8:00. The first part of the ride was extremely bumpy and the forecast of less wind was quickly proven to be false. A CITGO sponsored rest stop did their best to pull off a pirate theme, but all they seemed to have pulled together were some bandanna's and fake gold coins. They tried! Coming into Bastrop was frightening as this is where the notoriously biggest, most challenging hill of them all is. I passed rider after rider walking their bikes up the side of it, but I never dismounted and I made it without much pain. This is when I knew for sure that I was going to complete the 150+ miles. I made it to lunch by 12:30. My mother and sister met me at this lunch stop for which I was extremely grateful. When we walked over to the tent for lunch we found that they'd run out! They had a few sandwiches with lettuce, tomato, and pickles only, but as starving as I was that wasn't going to cut it. As Moms often do mine saved the day by running out to pick up some nearby fast food. This drastically increased the time I had planned to spend at lunch, but was necessary to finish the ride.
Bastrop to Austin
The last 35 miles or so of the ride were mostly a blur. I promised myself that I wouldn't quit unless I crashed or threw up. I came close to both of these a few times. At one of the rest stops I saw the SAG crew that had cheered me home the night before. They seemed very surprised and glad to see me out there again, and I told them again what I'd told them before. I'm not giving up. I refilled my water, ate my 12,334,897 orange slice and banana half and got back on my bike. I remember thinking about what parts of me didn't hurt at this point as sort of a glass half full sort of thing. The only thing that never hurt was my head, and I can thank my dorky helmet for that. For the whole ride I was either "rider 2211" or "shiny helmet girl". So it goes. 2 miles or so away from the finish line I was following the orange cones when the cops who were deep in conversation before shouted out that I had missed my turn. Because I was in a tight space near a busy road I hopped off my bike to turn around. When I paused for a moment to take a gulp of water since I was already dismounted a SAG van pulled up next to me and shouted that I needed to get back on my bike and get moving because they were about to start shutting down the ride. He pulled away and in a panic to get going I dropped my bike and felt the sharp gears gouge into the back of my leg. Only two miles away and I was bleeding. Oh well. I jumped back on my bike and kept at it. I felt blood trickling down my leg and looked back to see it pooling in the back of my shoe. It didn't hurt at the time. I was too busy, too wound up, to feel it. Those last 2 miles were hilly, but doable. As I approached the finish line there were my supportive SAG drivers and Ride Marshall's from the night before cheering me to the end. Next I saw my Mother and Sister with a group of friends they had made while waiting. It was confusing to see strangers shouting my name as I crossed the finish line. And there I was. I finished. I wasn't sure where to go from there or what to do. Although hundreds of people remained the area was still deserted in comparison to the thousands it was set up to accommodate. I looked down at my leg which looked pretty frightening and decided finding a medic was the first thing I should do. Well, unfortunately the medical crews had all gone home along with all of the food and volunteers and luggage crews. 10 minutes after my finish the final pair came riding in with the entire fleet of Ride Marshall's following behind. I recognized them from my late finish the night before and paused to cheer them in. See, I wasn't the slowEST! Then I met up with my family, found a woman with a first aid kit, congratulated the ladies who had just finished, hunted down my bags, and walked several blocks to my Mother's car. It felt good to walk. My Mother again treated me to a meal, and I drank the first shake I have ever felt that I earned in my life. Then I passed out. I remember getting home and insisting on showering. I'm so glad I did. I have never been so dirty.
Here I am today. Sore and proud.
Who wants to do it with me next year?