Roll Call - Little Red Riding Hood

[sulis]

Well I'm a bit late, but better late than never.

Despite the wind and cold and a few sprinkling rain showers that everyone else has already talked about, I had a great time. It was tough to decide what to wear before leaving. But I ended up with fleece lined tights, arm warmers and my wind jacket. There were times that I wished I had taken my heavier jacket but I survived. I found it fun to see how everyone chose to dress for the ride....lots of difference body temperatures.

I saw Lifesgreat before the start. And during a long straight away saw the AV jersey fly by me - I knew it was Yellow so I called out. She came back and we chatted a bit. I caught up with her at the end too.

I ended up riding 80 miles. I'm really pleased with that as I had not trained at all for this ride. You can count on very few fingers that number of times I have ridden this year. But there is something about riding with others that increases your energy. The rest stops were stocked with a great variety. Loved loved loved the licorice and grapes and the bite size Luna bars - wish I could buy those somewhere. I adored the giant downhill - it made all the climbing worth while. I did not mind the route change this year - if it helps keep us out of the way of so many cars ang allows us to keep the ride going forward, than I can deal with that. The last 20 miles were absolute killer though.

True to my pre-ride post, I did what I could to encourage the No Wide Ride motto. Sometimes it was more successful than others. I was consistant with announcing my passing and always said thank you to anyone who singled up or moved over to allow me to pass. Hopefully positive reinforcement will help to encourage better riding by all of us.

At one point, I don't quite remember where, I did come upon a pile up just moments after it happened. It was very scary for the riders I am sure. And I hope no one was hurt too badly. However, the group had passed me just a few minutes earlier and were riding 4 to 5 across the road. So when they turned the corner they really were putting themselves in a hazardous situation.

Upon my return to Wellsville I overheard a conversation between some volunteers that the police had indeed been ticketing people for riding wide.

[Kano]

Upon my return to Wellsville I overheard a conversation between some volunteers that the police had indeed been ticketing people for riding wide.

I suppose in a way it's mean to say GOOD! But if it takes a fine for people to learn the lesson that we bikers have to share the road too, then GOOD that the police were enforcing it!

I want this ride to stay around until I get to do it at least once!

Karen in Boise

[Flybye]

Life as a mother and wife and owner of a batch of puppies has kept me from posting so far.

I rode up with Shiraz and others who aren't converts to TE (yet ). We had great conversations and solved many of the current day world dilemas in our two hour trip to Logan. We stopped at Al's for some ride snacks/drinks and headed to the Best Western Weston Inn - a recommend for next year. We unloaded our bikes and set out for the Firehouse.

Dinner was great. Yellow took some great pictures that she posted earlier. Don't let her fool you by her comments, she is very much a beautiful individual, both inside and out. It was great to meet her. Some people you just click with and I now consider her a friend. She is a strong and knowledgeable rider. I enjoyed meeting Alex, Lifesgreat, and Cyclasutra. How fun to be able to put a face to a name. It was also fun to meet their friends that came along (more TE converts???)

We headed back to the hotel for more conversation and some sleep.

This ride was my first century. It took 7-71/2 hours of actual on the bike time, even though I started at 8:30am and finished at 9:45pm. Yes, you read that right. Buckle up, the story is a little long, but a fun and adventurous one, to say the least.

Wow, what was with the wind in the first place? I was like the rest of you - too warm, too cold. I even got hailed on briefly. I purchased a jersey and long finger gloves in the park the night before the ride and was extremely happy with that decision. I had given myself permission to bail on the ride if it was too windy. I was happy that the wind was a head wind on the first of the ride, because that only meant one thing, tailwinds coming home, right?? I CAN NOT BELIEVE THAT THE WIND SHIFTED AT LUNCH!! Headwinds both ways? I might have bailed at lunch, but I didn't know how I was getting home to Idaho, so I kept on riding...........................

Things started to get interesting around mile 20 when my cell phone rang. My dog back home had her first puppy and I got the play by play discourse from my kids about how they discovered the first pup and how my husband had to cut the sack off of it to save it because the mother dog, Roxie, didn't know what it was (her first pup from her first litter) and ran and hid. While we were on the phone with each other, my dog had two more pups. The kids were so excited that I had to hear the story three different times, once from each of them. I ended the phone conversation and hit the road.

While I was riding, I thought through the process of how I was going to get home if Roxie had a difficult time birthing the rest of the puppies and my husband had to take her to the vet. Even though I rode down with Shiraz and company, my husband and kids had planned to leave Roxie under the watch of our neighbor and pick me up in Utah. This plan was hatched before we knew that she'd have her pups that day - in our minds it was more of a precaution than anything.

It was about this time in my ride that I reached the intersection where the 100 mile riders were to go North and the 80 mile riders were to go East. I had spent about 40 minutes on the phone and lost enough ride time that I missed the cut off for the 100 mile course. The closed course sign was up, although they were letting riders through as long as they understood that the sag wagons were done with the loop and that the lunch station might have slim pickins' by the time we reached it.

I left a message with Shiraz hoping that she'd catch the message and that I could abort the ride and head home with them, as they were riding a shorter course. I was hoping to spare my very busy puppy delivering husband the job of coming to get me and free him up in case of an emergency. I took the 80 mile route while I hoped for a return call from Shiraz.

I hit the lunch station and ate. Again I called home and told my husband that I couldn't catch a ride home as I had not heard from Shiraz. My neighbor, who is a blessing in so many ways, offered to come to Logan and pick me up. What a lifesaver this woman is.

I rode into the park with 80 miles, had my faux champagne, and hit the road again. I was able to ride into the Logan with 90 miles under my belt, or is it spandex waistline?? I met my gracious neighbor. We ate dinner, picked up my luggage from the hotel, toured the U of U campus via the car, and headed for home.

I needed 10 more miles to make 100. I wanted it so badly that I was willing to get it done even if it meant sliding into the driveway at 11:59pm!!
We reached Blackfoot (my hometown) at 9:00 pm. I knew that if I went home and saw my husband, kids, and puppies (10 was the final count at 5:45) that I would stay home and be disappointed with 90. My wonderful neighbor dropped me off at the bike path, where I FROZE my rump roast off and finished up the last 10 miles. I cruised into the driveway at 10:00 with a big old smile on my face.

It was a great end to a great day. My first century. My first time having a dog with puppies. A great big bear hug by a wonderful man. Smiling, animated faces of three kids talking in unison and telling stories of how amazing it was to see their beloved dog have babies. A fantastic neighbor who would do anything for someone in need. A dog so proud of her babies. A hot bath. A good nights sleep. A God who answered my prayers for a safe ride.

I will post ride and puppy pictures later! It's 5:00 here and people think that they need dinner.

[Flybye]

Another thought...I agree that it is good that women were getting ticketed for riding 3+ wide. It was frustrating when I needed to pass and couldn't. At one point I asked a group if they would ride two wide so that I didn't have to cross the yellow line to pass them.
I think that things were better this year as far as riding wide goes. I really don't know how to avoid the congestion for the first 10 miles or so. Having an early rest stop seemed to help.
If this year was a trial for next, I wonder how they felt that the ride went. I sure feel like the Utah bike club did their job well.

[CyclaSutra]

WOw! Everybody had great rides, sounds like, but Flybye, that's amazing. I don't think I would have had the chutzpah to put my butt on the saddle for another 10 miles after being in a warm, cozy car! My first LRRH three years ago, I did take the wrong route, following a bunch of ladybugs onto the metric route. Once I figured that out, I ended up "inventing" a route with the map to try to make the 100. I only ended up with 96 at the park that year, and you bet I just decided that was close enough for government work. You are one tough lady!

On Friday, I towed Stella down to the Malibu campground in Logan Canyon, so disappointed when I backed her into a slot full of black mud! Cara, Kelsey and I decided it would be more fun to shop in the rain than sit around a cold campsite, so off to Logan. Cara got a new helmet for $37 (! much cheaper than in JH), Kelsey got a $3 workout shirt from a thrift shop and I lusted after down jackets – "I'm so tired of being COLD" – but didn't get one.

Dinner was fabulous chatting with fun TE ladies and I was so touched to get my first baby gifts from ANYONE... adorable books from Yellow. I couldn't decide-- duck on a bike or the juggling pug -- they're both my favorites.

I headed out with Cara on the 45 route while Kelsey sprinted ahead for 102. Spent the first 10 miles answering her questions about how to ride a road bike, etiquitte, shifting, when to pass, etc. We were both appalled at the riding wide (and peeps stopped IN THE ROAD waiting for their friends) for the first 5-10 miles, but it got much better once we passed most of the wobbly ladies on mtn bikes. The hail hit us at about mile 5, and I kept telling myself it was only sleet. No waterproof layer. But I bailed and stood under a horse trailer for a minute anyway, worried it was going to get bigger.

My knickers were a good choice, but I wished I had located the pair I got from V on TE, much better chamois. Long-sleeved jersey also stayed on and zipped all day, plus an undershirt. Windbreaker came off briefly.

Wow, being preggers, and not on the bike much I guess, makes you tired! I really think 45 is ALL I could have done. THe last 5 miles I was so whooped, I couldn't walk over to the last rest stop. I had to skip the fake champagne, I just was sort of tired of the madness. We nabbed Wendy's, then back to the campsite for a nap!

You know, I've only gained 2-3 pounds so far of baby weight, but spandex certainly brings it out! I look, uh, more preggers than I am. Here's a pic of little JJ on her first long ride, Cara's creative wardrobe choices and us by the campfire.

OKY Dokey, photos not attaching well. I'm going to try to post this and add photos later.

[Flybye]

Well, better WAY late than nevuh-evuh I would have posted earlier but our pc monitor bit the dust the day before the ride. We were messing around with it last night to ship it off for repairs. We unplugged it and plugged it back in and BINGO - it works. Sheesh. It's kind of like smacking something to make it work - only perhaps we were the ones that needed smacked !

Here are some shots from Little Red. The first picture is of friend #1, friend #2, Flybye (me), friend #3, Shiraz, and Yellow. Next a picture of a portion of the start crowd, and last, Little Red Riding Hood in the flesh.

[yellow]

Hey! Didjall see these??

Shiraz



Yellow



Flybye



You have to search by helmet color and type of bike!