It’s December, last shopping Saturday before Christmas. I’ve still got 1/3 of my presents to buy. What to do? I know! 200 miles!

I began my ride at 5.50, it was 36F out and still dropping. An hour later, I thought my toes and fingers were going to fall off, they HURT. I don’t know for sure, but the temperature had to get very close to freezing. Since at that point I was going north on a road which had lost its pavement somewhere, and in the middle of kept up and irrigated lawns… I was cold! I found myself longing for somewhere I could pick up an extra pair of gloves. My designated route did not offer me much, so I kept pedaling towards the riding sun. Thankfully, it started warming up, at least enough so that my fingers no longer felt like shards of pain (yes, I’m a wuss). I found myself crawling up towards Fountain Hills as the sun peeped it’s head out at me. Ah, sweet creature, how I bask in your warmth!

Still half frozen, I crawled around a few hills and made my way out of the city around McDowell Mtn. A fun series of hills that eventually cumulated in Nine Mile. I’m not sure what grade Nine mile is, but it is a steady grade. I found myself wondering if I could go faster, but didn’t have the will to push it to terribly much. I didn’t know it, but my reward was soon to be had. Dynamite has a lovely downward angle to it, and I got to soar down it at 32-35 miles per hour. Soon I hooked up with Pima and enjoyed 25-29mph speeds until I was dumped back into the city main.

I headed south, in good spirits. I could finally feel my toes and I had hope that I could actually accomplish my 200 miles goal today. I visited my club’s start/end point to use the facilities and ended up hooking up with Teamtiny (our club’s top mileage guy) for the next 21 miles. Roger helped me plan out a route to accomplish the last leg of my journey. My goal was to be home at 9pm. We both felt it was doable, provided there were no mishaps. Should never have mentioned mishaps….

I left his company at the end of the road (literally) and went south. I took a wrong turn and ended up riding through a crazy construction area. There weren’t any workers, but I had to pull over a couple times to let cars pass me. They were all kind about it. No one honked or anything. I ended up in Queen Creek. It was not quite what I was expecting for that city, a little more rustic. I caught Riggs Road and headed west. Go west, young woman!

Uhoh… Why’s this bozo sitting in his car on the side of the road? Keep pedaling… ummmmm….there’s another bozo. What is he doing?? He’s pulled in front of me, and driving half on the dirt, half on the road, kicking up a nasty dust cloud. I pull back and watch him drive through a series of right turn only lanes. Wait! It’s the same bozo! I pass him cautiously, thankful he’s a distance over to the right, and he’s hanging out the window staring at me. I start praying and make my decision now. I’m abandoning Roger’s route and going north the first road I recognize.

The next stop sign is Power. Yahoo!. Yes, those of you who know the valley, I rode Power all the way up. There’s actually a period of it where there are 3 large lanes in either direction and big bike lanes. Then it narrowed back down to a 4 lane thoroughfare without a shoulder. Back to the city and hang a left on Guadeloupe. (I did make a short stop at a farmer’s market for bananas, dried peaches and water.) I decided to go back to my original plan, and get to Performance for some warmer hand and foot materials. At mile 148 I hit my mishap. We have a lovely intersection at Elliot and Kyrene where a set of train tracks crosses the road diagonally. I was crossing those when a red truck entered my bike lane. I did not turn my tire sharp enough and wham! One cyclist down! I pulled myself up, inspected body and bike for injuries. Paused a moment to allow the fuzziness in my head to pass. Then I straightened my seat and was off, albeit a little gingerly. I made it to the store, cleaned up my wounds, and bandaged the one on my side. I picked up some Gore gloves, wool socks and those little booties that go on the outside of your shoes. Thus armed, I headed out into the darkness to finish my last 50 miles. One last loup of Guadeloupe and I was on the home run. On ASU campus, I noticed a 1.5 mile deficiency, so I did what any one of you would have done; I paced up and down campus to achieve that distance.

Then it was the home stretch. Only 4 miles to go, and I found myself just pedaling… I think about 12 miles an hour, though there was some climbing involved.

At 9.15pm I climbed off my bike, 200.06 miles richer. My riding time was 12:44:20 for an average of 15.7 mph. Not too shabby.

I ended up sore, but happy. And I did it!