Tour de Poway

I've gotten a couple of emails and I've talked to a couple of friends and it turns out that there really are people who read my blog and they noticed my absence. Ooops. Sorry about that... It's that same old problem... I set this up to be my creative space; my scrapbooking and stamping blog, and lately I have been filling it up with cycling news, so I felt guilty and besides...aren't you all tired of hearing about cycling? (apparently not, since that's what I've been getting emails about...) and so I am here and I am repentent...haha...

No wonder I got emails. I didn't realize it has been a whole month since I posted!! You probably thought that the Coronado bridge did me in and I have given up. Not so, not so...

Shortly after we finished the Bike the Bay, Jane (the temptress) was making plans for our next big ride. I called Candace and told her I was pretty sure Jane was trying to kill us because what did she pick? The Tour de Poway. We ended up compromising. Jane and Karen signed up for the 50; Candace and I signed up for the 18...and even then we were pretty sure the hills would still kill us.

For me, it was almost the ride that wasn't. I spent the whole month working on hills and I was feeling pretty good. Mapmyride even made it seem like it was similar in climbing to my commute... I was ready for this... and then....

• Mon - Bike fell over on driveway and bent derailleur in. Josh bent it back and adjusted.


• Tues - Bike "feels funny" and I'm slower than molasses.


• Wed - Gave up the big booty seat in hopes that would make me faster. Just made me sore.


• Thurs - Chain came off bike and got stuck. Couldn't finish ride.


• Fri - Rest day


• Saturday - Josh attempted to fix chain, it broke. Put on new chain, bike shifts funny. Begged Inky's Bike Shop to take a look. They said no more cheap chains. Put a different chain on and told me to move basket mount. Put big booty seat back on. Too sore to attempt it for Tour de Poway.


• Sunday - Headache that I've had since wednesday is now approaching migraine status. Took Excedrin Migraine and went to put everything in driveway....No helmet... it's in the back of the car!!! The car that Josh took to his soccer game.... Had to buy helmet on way to ride.

But miracles of miracles, somehow I actually made it to the ride and my bike ran perfectly. The headache kind of sucked, but I was determined to ride. I ended up taking some ibuprofen partway through and it knocked it down to tolerable. Other than that, I felt great!!!! I was one of the SLOWEST riders, but I really didn't care.

Candace and I ended up being a good match. I was slow and she needed rest on the hills so she would stop and I'd catch up and we'd ride together until she pulled away. There were a couple of hills that were pretty harsh, but I never walked my bike!!!!!!! After the bridge, it has been my goal to never walk again. So far, so good.

Headache update: Doc says, sinus infection. At least I have some meds now. Should be better soon.