Yesterday afternoon, the team arrived back in Austin after a long, cold, windy day on the road- the final day of our Spring Break Training Ride which totaled just under 170 miles over the course of three days. On Thursday morning, we loaded our bags into the trailer and pulled out for Bastrop, Texas at the crack of dawn. The morning started off chilly, but it eventually warmed up and turned into a beautiful day. We rode for 57 miles to Bastrop with two rest stops- one in the parking lot of HEB and one for lunch at Sonic where they donated a free burger, fries, and a drink to each rider. I was in charge of "sweeping" on Thursday, which meant I rode with Dan (ride director) and Arvin at the back of the group, always staying behind the slowest rider to make sure no one got lost or left too far behind. It was a leisurely pace and good conversation.
That afternoon, we arrived at Bastrop Church of Christ where we were provided a place to sleep, eat, and shower for two days and nights. The congregation had only been in this building for two years, so it was new, clean, and most importantly, there was plenty of floor space for 54 sleeping bags! We separated into rooms, and my room, or the "cool room" as we later labeled it, included Ana, Kristen, Kate P., Kate S., Amira, Emily, Jackie, and me. After a cold shower, (55 gallon hot water tank for 54 riders...) we ate dinner and soon turned in for the night. We were all exhausted and knew the next morning would be an early start: alarms were set for 5:45 a.m.
Friday morning we woke up to John Fitch and the rest of the breakfast committee ready to serve us a hot meal. They had woken up at 5:15 to cook 5 dozen eggs for the team! They also had warm tortillas, cheese, and salsa for incredible breakfast tacos, oranges, and bagels. After our ride dedication, we rolled out of the church around 8 a.m. Friday was also perfect weather and the route was beautiful! We managed to log about 15-20 miles in a state park that had very pretty trees, wide smooth roads, and some steep hills. We totaled 62 miles on Friday, with two rest stops where we refueled on power bars, bananas, and of course jars and jars of peanut butter you could slather on anything and everything you wanted.
After another icy shower, we had the best dinner (again credited to Fitch, as well as the Church of Christ congregation)! We had smoked BBQ chicken, potato salad, beans, and a delicious assortment of desserts brought by the church members. I felt spoiled to be eating so well on this trip! Here is a picture of the shopping John and Paul did at Costco before we left Austin:
After dinner, five of our team members presented our program to the church members who joined us for dinner. It was one of the first times our team had presented, but it will be something we present 20-30 times over the course of the summer. We use the acronym T-E-X-A-S to present statistics and prevention tips about cancer to our audience. T is for Tobacco-Free, E is for Eat Right, X is for Exercise, A is for Apply Sunscreen, and S is for Screening and Self-Exams.
We all slept hard that night. For some of us, 62 miles had been the furthest we had ridden in one day, not to mention the 57 miles ridden the day before. We were getting sore, but most of all, we were hoping for the best for Saturday. The weather forecast said thunderstorms and highs in the fifties. Few of us had ever ridden in rain before, much less a 55 mile ride in a thunderstorm. Additionally, unlike this summer where we should be prepared gear-wise for almost any weather, some riders hadn't packed arm and leg warmers, long fingered gloves, or rain gear for this short three day trip. Gotta love Texas weather...
When we woke up on Saturday, it was pouring. We could hear the thunder all throughout breakfast, ominous of the day ahead. A lot of us were nervous if not downright scared to be on the road that day. Our ride got pushed back to 9 a.m., hoping the rain would clear by the time we rolled out. In preparation, we wrapped out feet in plastic bags and taped our ankles to keep the water from seeping in. On the plus side, I was excited to finally put my rain jacket to the test.
Thankfully, the thunder and lightning did subside, but it was still raining when we left the church. I was fortunate to have brought most of the gear I needed to stay warm, if not dry. I joined up to ride with the two Kates and Erica that morning (unlike other Saturday rides, we were all in charge of our own directions on this trip and riding with buddies- much like it will be this summer). A couple miles out, we decided it wasn't so bad...maybe even a little fun? But then, at about mile 6, I felt the first leakage to my right shoe. My shoe was soon filled with cold rainwater, and the plastic bag failed miserably. Then I felt it all down my right leg. But even then, it was just water. I tried not to think about it and kept pedaling. We soon got to TX-95, the highway we would stay on for 15 miles- what should have taken us about an hour. We felt the wind start to pick up and all agreed that it was much worse than the rain. The temperature was also dropping and at this point, we were all soaked. We took turns at the front of the pace line, with the rider in front taking the full force of the wind. We counted down the miles and were relieved after more than an hour, to be only 5-7 miles from the rest-stop. But right around mile 20, Erica's feet were so cold she needed to stop. She was to the point of tears, and we could tell she was in a lot of pain. We called the "sag wagon" (the cars with riders who weren't riding that day) to come pick her up from where we were and take her on to the rest-stop. We waited for 15 minutes in the cold rain, standing still, but finally they came for her.
Getting back on the bike after that was tough, but being so close to finishing, we were determined to make it there as quickly as possible. 20-30 minutes later, we were at the rest-stop at the HEB parking lot. Unfortunately, there was no shelter from the weather besides the actual HEB grocery store. I grabbed 3 tortillas from the trailer and ate the absolute best banana with peanut butter I've ever eaten in my life. I also discovered a new tasty snack- wrapping a banana with peanut butter in a tortilla! We went to the restrooms in the HEB and assessed the damage. I found another teammate in tears from the pain in her feet- damn those plastic bags. We wrung out our socks, and stayed inside for a good 20 minutes. Kate and I even bought a cup of .99 cent coffee, which actually helped me warm up quite a bit.
24 miles down, but still 26 to go. Once we felt ready, we began the final leg of the trip... home to Austin! The rain was gone, but it was still cold, overcast, and WINDY. The route couldn't have been much flatter. It should have been a quick, scenic, 25 miles. But when we got out into the open flat stretches, we faced 20 MPH winds. Where we could have been setting a quick pace of 18-20 MPH, we were crawling at 8-9 MPH in our lowest gears. The wind was so strong our bikes would swerve and sometimes I thought the wind would sweep my wheels completely off the pavement and I'd fall on my side to the ground. It was the hardest ride any of us had faced. We all had points when we were doing everything we could to hold it together. I can't imagine trying to ride alone that day and I'm happy I had Kate, Kate, and Kelly on the route home with me- they were awesome.
When we finally pulled into the intramural field parking lot (our final destination), I was so glad to have finished that ride. I realized then that it is days like yesterday that really prove our dedication and our commitment to this cause. If it was easy every day, it would be an easy feat to accomplish. It's the hard days that really test our strength and our drive and sets us apart as an incredible organization accomplishing incredible goals. Over the course of the three days, we had a couple falls, one rider with a serious road rash injury, and some near hypothermic teammates. I was glad to have made it through safely and almost entirely unscathed. I am proud of my team, and even though it was difficult, it made me even more excited for the summer. I got closer with several girls on the team (we are already sad the team will be splitting to take two separate routes this summer) and I now know I can ride consecutive days- though our mileage will continue to increase. My next challenge: 100 Mile Century Test on April 17th!
(Pictures courtesy of fellow riders Kathryn Flowers, Basia Borodziewicz, and John Fitch- still working on the best/safest way to carry my camera along)
Please visit http://www.texas4000.org/give/give to find out how you can help.
