I miss the triplets - NOT!
What a ride. We started at about 5:15 and got into a little paceline. It was cool to watch the sky lighten up. It was pretty shades of pink and lavendar. But I now I know why they say, "Red skies in the morning, sailors take warning."
There was one climb before the first rest stop. I haven't done my computer download yet, so I don't know the exact numbers. We had a few sprinkles before the stop, as we pulled out it began to drizzle.
It was fairly flat for awhile and then some long shallow rollers. We pulled into the second rest stop and the skies just opened up. This stop had real bathrooms and the line for the women's room was non-existant. I switched jackets in the bathroom and put on my balaclava before we left. I felt like my shoes were filled with water. My shorts were totally soaked. I was squeezing water out of the chamois. The rain was so bad here that a bunch of people dropped out. There was no way to SAG everyone in (they would have needed a bus), so at least 3 groups called taxis.
After this stop we climbed up a few short, kind of steep stair steps. I had my first mental moment here, "Why am I doing this?". The rain and the cold wind were blowing down the hill right into my face. I pulled my balacalva up, right over my nose. That made me happier and turned a dismal moment back into an adventure.
Just before we stopped at the checkpoint in Morro Bay, we helped a guy with a flat tire, gave him one of our tubes. We turned in our poker chips at Morro Bay. It had stopped raining at this point and was just overcast. We continued on to lunch.
At the lunch stop, I took off my shoes and tried to let my socks dry a bit. Sometime after lunch, Thom got a flat. I found glass in his tire. His second tube was toast, so I gave him mine. By the time we got to Pismo Beach the sun was out!
More riding - Thom was feel pretty crummy. More riding, up some hills, down some hills, some flat. We got to the 4th stop and Thom decided to SAG in. He rode 145 miles, the most he's ever done and with out really training.
It was pretty flat to the 5th stop. I got there at about 6:30. It was a little chilly, but I opted to not have the Ramen. Probably a good call, since the last climb came right after this stop. I had my second mental moment as I started the climb. It was dark, I knew the hill was three miles long, but I couldn't see any of my instruments without turning on my small clip light. I don't really like being alone in the dark. Then I noticed the stars and I could see the lights of othe riders ahead of me. So,I just kept going.
We had been warned that the descent was kind of treacherous. I guess it's all in what you're used to. I didn't think it was bad at all, but I descend the chopped up side of Morgan Territory fairly often.
The route then had some rollers back into town. My ride time was 13 hours, 17 minutes. My total time was 15:25 or so.
I never felt physically crummy. My legs felt strong the whole day, I ate well. The wicked expensive LG were fabulous even after getting totally soaked. I wish I were a little faster, but whatever.
I did it! :D
V.
