The Harpeth River Ride far exceeded my expectations. Obviously, I really didn't have any idea what to expect, as this was my first organized bike ride. On Friday afternoon after work, I took myself over to Nissan where they had the Bike Expo and to pick up my race day packet. Like most Running Expos, there were vendors handing out free stuff - but more freebies than at previous running expos I have attended! Score! As I was pulling into Nissan, I saw a group of people riding their bikes down Carothers and thought, "hmmm, they look super fancy and fast....." I ran into an former co-worker of mine, who was riding the Century (100 freggin' miles) on Saturday and he about tripped over himself getting to me with his phone flailing about in the air - "M, M! LOOK AT THIS! LOOK AT THIS!!!....."
Lance Freggin' Armstrong was on his phone with his cheesy grin next to him. Jealous. Yes - envy is a sin.
I took off up to the Expo to see if I, too, could score such an awesome photo on my phone (which, more on my phone later....) But, that fancy and fast group of people I saw on Carothers just so happened to be L.A. and his posse. Day late, dolla short.
FAIL.
Saturday morning, I rose bright and early at 4:50am to get prepared for the unknown miles that would lie ahead. I did my normal PB&J on whole wheat bagel, my go-to pre-race breakfast and loaded up all of my stuff in the Jeep.
I felt hard core - top down on the Jeep, bike strapped on the back.
It was race day, folks.
I got to Nissan and was completely overwhelmed and almost turned around. Bikers can be intimidating. Especially bikers that look like they know what they're doing. Fake it til ya make it, M. I unloaded my bike and got all my gear strapped on and peddled to the start. Let me just say - there's a LOT more equipment to deal with in a bike race. ha! Running - just you, your Gu, and your shoes. Biking? You have a whole trunk load of stuff to strap on and so do all the other 2,000 riders.
The ride began very slowly. I was thankful - at that point - that I didn't have clip in shoes/peddles. There were many stops and starts until we finally took off. Lancer was in the front - waaaaaay far in the front, and far away from my measly little 44 miler group start. Sad face.
Once we got on the road, I quickly realized that this was going to be the hilliest ride I had ever been on. Rolling hill after rolling hill after climb after climb - I was so thankful for the downhills and flats when they arrived. All in all, I felt amazing. My legs felt strong, my cardio was rockin' -
it was just a ride in the park, well, not quite. But good enough for me that day.
I made it to the 1/2 mark and was thankful for the rest stop to stretch my legs and refuel and water. One huuuuge difference in bike rides and running is the rest stop situation. In running races - there are water stops nearly every mile and you do your best to strategically slurp down water without messing with your pace and are in and out in a jiffy. Not with biking! When I pulled up to the 1/2 way point rest stop - I was shocked. People literally laid their bikes down in the grassy lawn and were hanging out. So, I did the same and hobbled over to the spread. Yea - I said spread. There was a huge table with pb&j 1/2 sammys, 1/2 bananas, orange wedges, watermelon slices, boiled potatoes, pretzels, trailmix, fig newtons, cookies, freeze pops, water, & gatorade. Whaaaaa? I didn't know we were going to a picnic! I brought a Gu, but decided instead to snag 1/2 banana and 1/2 of a pb&j. It hit the spot. I re-filled my water bottles, hit up the porta potty, and got back on the road - 10 minutes later. 10 minutes. What? There's no real time goal here :)
After the 1/2 way point, I started to understand why bikers used a few of the items of gear, and was also thankful for some of my recent purchases. Friday night, I bought a CamelBack water bottle. Brilliant. It doesn't necessarily keep water cold, it just keeps it from getting hot. I had been using a cheap free bottle I snagged at a previous race expo and the water would literally be HOT. So, I was thankful for my new water bottle. I also bought some gloves. Yea - hard core. But, they were also so worth it. My hands have been sore and sticky after past rides and the gloves definitely helped in that aspect.
As mile 30, 35, 40 creeped up - my feet fell asleep and my butt HURT. Oh.... that's why people wear those tights that have a diaper in the seat..... Oh, that's why people use clip in shoes/peddles. I learned from another rider that he had issues with his feet falling asleep before he got clip-ins. I told him before we started that I hadn't ever experienced that before.... until about mile 25. My feet literally were tingling from the arch of my foot to my toes. Crazy, but not unbearable. I huffed and puffed sailed into the finish with my helmeted head held high and oh so proud!
I learned several lessons in my first bike ride -
1) get the padded shorts
2) suck it up and get the shoes so you're more efficient and you're freggin' feet don't fall asleep
3) biking is just as rewarding as running - who knew?
I have fallen in love with biking! I am already researching other bike rides that I can sign up for this year and have an ultimate goal to do a Century Ride and the Jack & Back! Maybe not this year... but one day :)
Sadly, my phone crapped out and I lost all of the pictures I took this weekend aside from this one that I posted on Facebook!
Hard Core? No? Geek? Yes... Happy Biking Geek :)
Though I have fallen in love with biking and how amazing my body felt after the ride, I am still longing after my first love. You all know that first love - the one you can't have, the one that leaves you a mess and sometimes in tears, hurt to the bone? That one.
For me - that love comes by the name Running.
Update: I ran 1 whole painless mile last night and squealed with excitement.
My plan is to take it slow and work my way back into it -
just like that old stupid boyfriend that you tried over and over again to make it work. Ha!
(pray for me - open water swimming is hard.)
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