June 11th rides...

[Shimpie]

Running Mommy, I've already started the RAAM cheering squad!

The 2006 Race Across America began this morning in Oceanside at 9am. My mom-in-law (too be) and I rode down to the pier to join the send off ride. When we got to the pier, we discovered hundreds of cyclists lined up to cheer. The MC was annoucing all the riders' names. Many were from all over the world including Hungary and Sweden. What a way to tour a foreign country! A trumpet player played a lovely version of the National Anthem and then they were off! The riders all rode down the pier ramp while onlookers clapped and whistled. After the last rider got on their way, the parade of supporters followed. WHAT A SCENE! It was a huge train of bikers that stretched well over a mile long. Cars and people on the street just stopped and stared.

Apparently today's start was the "solo" rider start. On Tuesday, they do the "team" send off at 2pm. I figured that out after I got home and read up on the whole race. I really only found out about RAAM on Saturday night. Many of the team riders were already in town and participated in the "solo" send off. There was whole team in pink and a recumbent team in bright orange. I didn't catch any of the team names since they weren't announced.

The RAAM send off was a very touching sight. I was very glad to have had the opportunity to participate, as far as I could and as fast as I could. When they say race, they mean race. Woooh, those riders are fast.

[Shimpie]

I guess I can't count. The RAAM news says there were 1,500 people present at the send off parade.

http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/fil...e/20061106.htm

Here are some pics that I grabbed off the RAAM forum. I didn't think to bring a camera, but it's exactly what I saw this morning.

[uk elephant]

I completed my very first charity ride! 40 miles in aid of The Orchid Cancer Appeal. Got up what is for me ridiculously early on a Sunday morning. Had to catch the train at 7am to get to the start well in time to register before 9. As I was sitting there waiting for the ride to start, I was getting more and more nervous. What if it's too far? What if I get lost? I had no need to worry. The route was well marked the whole way, and the 40 miles were no problem at all despite the terrible weather. It was bright sunshine, 30C and not a breath of wind anywhere. I tend to boil when it gets above 20. But I had sunscreen on and kept drinking water the whole way and managed just fine. Not in any record time, but I'm happy with it anyway. Took me 3h15min of actual riding time, pluss a total of 30min break time (a few minutes in the shade now and then and a 15min break half way to eat a brownie). Turned out to be a great day! Now I'm ready for the next one, which I guess will be AidsRide next year. I had better keep up with the training!

[Crankin]

I lead my first ride of the season with my husband, on my new bike! We were supposed to get the bikes on Thursday, but we didn't get them until Saturday. Since it was raining on Saturday, we didn't get to ride them at all before our ride. We got to the meeting place early, and rode about 3 miles, just so I could get used to the feel of the bike. It was a great ride. We had 10 people, and all were evenly matched in riding ability. There were 2 women who were a bit slower, but my friend, who helped us and rode sweep was with them all of the way. The weather was gorgeous! After all of the rain, it seemed weird to have a sunny day. The ride went through beautiful areas, mostly wooded, lots of ponds, etc. We stopped and ate lunch at the grist mill pond, near the Wayside Inn (Longfellow's Wayside Inn, for you history buffs). There were tons of cyclists stopped there, like everyone had been let out of their cage. When we got back to our cars, a bunch of us went into the restaurant where we had parked (at a local airfield) and had a very weird combination of dessert, appetizers, soup, and champagne cocktails! It was a very nice group of sociable people.
27.4 miles, with a couple of good climbs.

[Patti37]

I did my longest ride ever...I still cannot believe I did it.

I rode 65 miles...some of it painful. It felt so good when I was done. What a sense of accomplishment.

I am paying for it right now...I do not think I will be out on the bike today.

[mimitabby]

I graduated from Antioch University yesterday. I got out my favorite orange Jersey and my new danskin shorts and got on the tandem with my hubby wearing his ancient purple with white polkadots jersey and rode from our house to the downtown Westin where the ceremony was. As we arrived I donned my big black gown and put on the funny little hat and tassle and sat in that
hot auditorium for 3 hours in bike duds chuckling to myself about it.

[jobob]

Wow, congratulations mimi !

[maillotpois]

Fun rides!!

I did a 115 miler with 11,110 feet of climbing in Marin to prepare for the Death Ride. I had a few folks in my group do the ride and I rode with this one woman I have been coaching and I swear if I have to pull her up Carson she is doing all five passes!

Our ride started in Kentfield, climbed to the top of Mt. Tamalpais via Alpine Dam (and like tomgrrl - everything below Tam was covered in fog - very cool.) We then descended to Stinson Beach and saw waves of Dipsea runners running alongside us, which was super cool. (The Dipsea was yesterday also).

Then we rode south along the coast and turned in to climb most of the way up Mt. Tam again. Then some descents and costal roolers and we climbed the Marshall Wall (the harder side IMHO) and did an out and back over Wilson Hill (so two times Wilson) and them some moderate climbs (Cheese Factory, Whites Hill) to home.

Great ride - it was COLD all day, though.

[alpinerabbit]

So....

I completed 100 km two days in a row.

I was already sort of drained when we left sunday morning, this was going to be the climbing day when saturday was "flat". I can appreciate how hard it must be for the pros to do this 2-3 weeks in a row, and how tempting a little "help" (read doping) must be if you do this for a living.

NEway, we climbed up that killer hill/pass again, which starts with a 17% switchback and continues at 10% for another 3-4 km. I needed 3 stops, the second one I was completely exhausted, nearly dropped off the bike and cried my heart out, just shaking - then gritted my teeth for legs 3 and, after another stop, 4.
It was HOT. 33°C - my first ride in heat. Nearly fainted before the road went into the forest.

Up there we saw another guy who just arrived, and continued up another small ramp next to the farmhouse, but - couldn't believe our eyes - he stoppeth not - and smack! dropped off the ramp, 1m high, and his front wheel was gone - and I don't want to know what happened to his carbon frame.
He couldn't unclip in time. The bike was BRAND NEW! He was humorous and unhurt, so we left him waiting for his friends coming up behind him.

We agreed not to cross the second pass we had planned, but instead to go directly downhill - and proceeded into paradise,



as we'd never been on the back side of that mountain, and on to the finish of today's tour de suisse stage. hehe. We rode through the finish line (in the wrong direction) about 30 minutes before they arrived - with all the spectators already there, felt pretty cool . Then we watched the gladiators (see above re: suffering day after day) arrive before plodding home for another 30 km.

I hurt in the nether regions, a bit of chafing and just too much pressure on soft tissue (outside the pelvic bone area, luckily not the labia et al.) and I had a hard time with my hands. I lean too far forward putting too much weight on my hands - numbed my little finger so much on day 1 that was still weak in the evening of the second day, although I managed to not allow them to go numb.

I think I have the option to raise the stem a little more and perhaps buy a shorter stem - they come in as short as 70 mm. Any recommendations?

[SadieKate]

Mimi, big congratulations! What a way to celebrate. Reminded me of my wedding day when Bubba and I, still in our wedding finery, walked over to one of the LBS before we went home.

[mimitabby]

Mimi, big congratulations! What a way to celebrate. Reminded me of my wedding day when Bubba and I, still in our wedding finery, walked over to one of the LBS before we went home.

That would have been fun to see. Too bad you didn't ride off into the sunset on a bicycle built for two

[SadieKate]

Well, our friends gave us money instead of "stuff" so we could buy a tandem. A couple of weeks later we did ride off on that bicycle built for two.