5 AM. Another early morning. This is the weekend, right? Fred, Lisa, and I get ready, head down to the start of the ride to pick up our packets. I check my tires, and – surprise – the rear tire is low. And the stem is broken. I try to pump it up anyway. I really don’t feel like changing a flat right now. Nope. Not gonna work. So I change the flat, and make my way up to pick up my ride packet – t-shirt, map, other swag. Did I mention it’s cold and windy? Anyway, as luck would have it, I run in to Kyle and Ryan. Fred and Lisa are probably long gone by this time. The three of us get our stuff, drop it off at our cars, and are ready to head out. Wait. Kyle’s having problems with the cleats on his shoes. “Anyone have a philip’s screwdriver?”. Luckily, I have one in my car. Alright, ready to go? Yeah. ...Wait. Now the other shoe is having problems. Argh.
Finally, we’re on our way. Again, starting off easy to warm up the legs. It also helps that it’s slightly downhill. We make the turn North on Hwy 89, and are greeted by a headwind. We begin the climb up to Emerald Bay and stop to take off our shells and snap a couple photos. Climb, climb, climb. What’s this? An ambulance passes us, and a short time later, a fire engine too. We later find out that someone wiped out on one of the hills. I pause near the top of the climb to take a couple more photos before I shoot down the hill to the Vikingsholm rest stop. Luckily this spot is pretty well sheltered from the wind. Wheee! I hit about 42 mph, passing people, hitting the turns just right. I think I even crossed into the other lane a couple times because people were riding slow out in the middle of the lane. I stop at Vikingsholm and wait for Ryan and Kyle, and do the usual rest stop routine. Food, drink, pee. Of course this one is a little different. This is also my breakfast. And my genius self left my gatorade bottles in the fridge back at the condo. Thank goodness they gave us water bottles with our ride swag. I fill that up with gatorade before I leave.
Back on the road and up to D.L. Bliss State Park, and then rocketing downhill once again. There’s a woman with a bullhorn warning us that we’re coming up to the spot where an accident occurred earlier. Okay. I’ll be careful, but I still rocket down the hill. And then I see how the accident may have happened. I’m coming down, and catch a crosswind gust… not a great feeling when you’re going 40+mph. It pushes me sideways a bit, but I manage to keep the rubber on the bottom.
I pass a Team in Training rider from Illinois and chat with her a bit as we ride to the Homewood rest stop. Apparently there were 120 riders from Chicago who raised $720,000. Team in Training raised a total of $7,000,000 across the country from this ride. All along the route there are people along the sides of the road cheering on all the Team in Training riders, and, all the riders, actually. I meet up with Kyle and Ryan again at the Homewood rest stop, grab some food, and we make our way back out. As we approach Tahoe City, things get a little slow and nerve-racking. The riders are all single-file, going slow. There are cars to our left, going slow (we’re approaching the point where the 72-mile and 100-mile routes diverge. Being the genius that I am, I try passing some people, nearly lose my shoulder to a rear-view mirror, and decide to get back in line. I see Kyle pulled off to the side, so Ryan and I pull over. The two of them are going for the full century. Being a mere mortal (and having ridden 65 or so the previous day), I stick with the shorter course.
I continue straight up to Tahoe City and hang a right. It’s mostly a gentle climb with a couple short descents to King’s Beach, where we have a lunch rest stop. It’s still breezy and chilly, so I grab some food, eat, pee, take in the view for a bit, and get back on the road. About a mile or two up the road, I see someone pulled over in a driveway, working on her bike. I ask if she’s got what she needs, and she says she could use some help. Being a professional tire-changer now, I help her get her tire back on correctly and filled up. Back on my merry way up the hill. A few minutes later, she catches me, thanks me again, and cruises on up the hill. 30 seconds later, I shift to a lower gear and my chain drops off. Crap. I get the chain back on and continue spinning up the hill.
The climb to Spooner Junction is a very long, gradual climb. I pause to scarf down a caffeinated power gel, and find myself riding in a line of 3 cute women. I tell them I’m just going to let them pull me up the hill. “That’s fine, you’re pushing us up the hill!”. Sure. But I have a better view. :-)
Ah. Spooner Junction, mile 60. I thank the women I was riding with as they continue on past the rest stop. I can finally wash the chain grease off my hands. And eat. I see flat-tire girl is here too. The bike mechanic is working on her bike – I guess she had a cracked tire. Good thing she’s getting it fixed before the descent. I get back out and start down the hill. Lisa warned me about this part. She said it was windy last year, and holy cow, was it windy now. Headwinds and crosswinds. I should’ve been able to go 30 or 35 mph down this hill without even trying, but my speedometer was only reading about 25. 25mph ground speed, probably close to 45 air speed.
Continuing down the hill and back towards State Line, I pass a few people, and then another woman passes me. So I decide to play some catch-up, pass her, and continue cruising. She passes me a few minutes later and I play catch-up some more as get closer to the finish. Just as we make the final turn, I pull up next to her and we cross the finish line together. There were dozens of people standing there, cheering as we roll in.
I park my bike and walk around a bit. I find a massage booth. A dollar a minute “donation”. I’m in. The woman works on my shoulders and upper back for ten minutes, digging in with the points on her elbows to loosen all the knots. It’s magical. Don’t get me wrong – it hurts, but it feels so good to feel the knots just melt away. Back at the condo, I find my gatorade, re-heat last night’s spaghetti and garlic bread, and go to town. After showering, it’s time for an afternoon of sitting, eating, rehydrating, and napping.
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