my first "event"

[Kano]

Tater -- please let me know how to get more information on the one in August! 30 miles at a time will probably be a walk in the park by then! DPITA will NOT talk me into the century though!

I pretty much figured that the Tour de Boise is more a fun event than a true race -- the dude on the flyer looks more like us than a racer!

Karen in Boise

[Tater]

Here you go Kano. The website is www.bcidahofoundation.org. This is practically in my backyard, so I will most likely bike to the start. We will have to meet up if you and hubby decide to do it!

August 12, 2006 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Routes: Four courses will be set for many levels of fun including distances of 100, 50, 30 and 15 miles. Each supported route heads south and loops back. See our Web site for individual maps.

Helmets & Safety: An ANSI approved helmet designed for bicycle riding is required and a rearview mirror is recommended. The route is not chosen for its safety. No trailers or other child carriers allowed.

Be in Shape: All participants are reminded that they should not attempt the Blue Cruise Wheels for Wellness unless they are capable of riding the full mileage they have chosen. To enjoy the event, the ride should not be your first long bicycle ride of the season.

After-Ride Party: As riders finish their leg of the 2006 Blue Cruise Wheels for Wellness they will be welcomed to a picnic at the Blue Cross of Idaho (an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association) campus, 3000 E. Pine Avenue, Meridian, ID. Please join us from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for this fun after-ride party complete with live blues music. Each registered rider will be entered into a drawing for great prizes. Lunch tickets for non-riders are $5 each.

T-Shirts: As part of the entry fee, Blue Cruise Wheels for Wellness riders will receive the 2006 Blue Cruise Wheels for Wellness T-Shirt. Souvenir T-shirts will be available for purchase at the event.

6:00 a.m. Late Registration Begins
7:00 a.m. Start of 100 Mile Route
8:30 a.m. Start of 50 Mile Route
9:30 a.m. Start of 30 Mile Route
10:30 a.m. Start of 15 Mile Route

[Kano]

Thank you, Tater! I'll pass this information along -- I know we can do a thirty, maybe by mid-august, we'll be ready for fifty even!

And blues music at the after party -- that's sure incentive to do one or the other!

Karen in Boise

[sunrunner]

Oooh, good luck and have fun I'm looking to do my very first event as well in the next few weeks....i'm so nervous....but i'm just going to go and hope to have fun and enjoy the ride....HUGS

[Kano]

What fun!

Rode the Tour today, and it turned out to be any one of several lengths, depending on whose computer we looked at. My computer said it was 31.2 miles, and I rode it at an average of about 11.5mph. Sounds slow, but in spite of Tater's post describing the route as "flat" (and yes, people came out on all kinds of bikes -- one dog rode in a trailer, some kids rode in trailers, etc.) I found the hills. MUCH of the ride was more in the 14-18 mph range, but my speed dropped incredibly whenever I found an invisible hill. The visible ones were worse -- I felt good when I climbed them at 6mph! Earl grumbled a bit that I was slowing down, but I did NOT walk up any of them, and that was good enough for me! The last ten miles or so was a bit slower than the first twenty too -- nothing like getting tired to slow a girl down! It might also have been a little more up hill than on the way out --- we were on the same road for that stretch!

They had three groups -- fast, medium, and slow. We picked the slow group. I think we were pretty much in the middle of that "pack." Earl and I were VERY glad we had our own water when the water had run out before we got to the rest stop (which also had no bathrooms!) Water was hard to find at the post-ride party too -- must be those speedy folks get incredibly thirsty! Plenty of food though!

On the way back to the car -- which was about a half mile "ramble" -- we discovered that our next door neighbor was also on the ride!

EARL'S NAPPING ALREADY! And he thinks I got worn out! That's what he gets for riding on the big ring all the time!!!

Karen in Boise

[Tater]

Hills around Boise?? No way! Glad you had fun! I guess one gal's hill is another's speed bump!

[Kano]

Tater, they MUST have been hills -- people were walking their bikes up 'em! We did have one downhill that I was REALLY glad we weren't going to have to go up on the way back -- woulda killed me...

The invisible hills, though -- they sneak up on you. Those are the long, slow, gradual climbs...

I'll admit: I'm learning to do hills. We live at the top of one, and I can get from bottom to top -- in the granny gear, granted, but I get there!


This was a good ride for me, though -- I can move today! I think that's cuz sometimes, I get tempted, and succumb to the big ring, but I forced myself to stay in the middle range yesterday! I'm guessing that saved my bacon! (oh, wait, I'm riding to get rid of my bacon!)

(We're thinking about the 50 for the Blue Cruise)

Karen in Boise