[Aden] Shipping my bike turned out to be a cinch, thanks to the loan of a hard-shell case (much obliged, Jane!). Southwest Airlines only charges their standard oversize luggage fee for bikes—$50 each way—considerably less than any other airline or express company.
[Dona] Aden and I drove up to Ventura on Thursday, taking the coastal route up Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Hwy) through Malibu. Seeing the ocean brought back all kinds of childhood memories for both of us. We vowed that we would romp in the ocean before the weekend was over. The Marriott Courtyard was doing maintenance on their rooms, so they upgraded us to their sister property, the Residence Inn—with kitchenettes! We had packed our blender for protein shakes and our coffee grinder and press so we were thrilled. Nice digs!
On Friday, the rest of the Red Hawk Bicycle Club gang arrived from Temecula (about 18 riders in all) and we hung out by the pool & Jacuzzi in the afternoon. Later, we went out to Macaroni Grill for dinner together (carbo-loading!)—I think I enjoy the camaraderie almost as much as the actual cycling!
Arriving at the event starting area at 6:00am on Saturday, it initially felt like a race (with 1,500 entrants!), but there is a distinctly different aura surrounding a "ride"—more relaxed and there is less eyeballing of the “competition"... In fact, many clubs got together for group photos and motivational cheers. A really positive ambiance, and the vendors’ tents lent a bit of a carnival atmosphere. As you can see, Aden really drew all the attention with his nifty Charlottesville jersey!
Aden and I had made a pact to keep our pace down around 16mph no matter what everyone else was doing for at least the first half of the ride, and we were sorely tempted to increase that speed, thanks to the infectious excitement and overzealous jackrabbit start that everyone else indulged in. The Red Hawk group left us in the dust, but no matter... The weather was cool (low 70s) and overcast as one might expect from early morning coastal weather and the first 13 miles (and the last 13, as it was an out-and-back…) were right along the beach. Wonderful!
The first rest stop was at 13 miles and though it almost seemed silly to stop that soon, we had committed to stop and refill our bottles at every rest stop—besides, why miss ANY of what the ride had to offer? The Ventura Kiwanis volunteers (hurray for the selfless volunteers, as ANY athletic event of ANY kind couldn't occur without them) were very friendly and well prepared. Water, lemonade, bananas, cantaloupe, oranges, cookies of various flavors, bagels, pb&j—the usual fare. I nibbled, but Aden stuck tenaciously to his prearranged nutrition plan and left their bountiful repast untouched.
This was NOT a flat 100 miles as we had originally assumed. We hit the first climb at about 20 miles—which came as a bit of a surprise, but the ascent was reasonably gradual and our legs were strong.
[Aden] At one point during the descent from this climb, one of the Red Hawk crew bumped another cyclist’s rear wheel and suffered a pretty rough crash at about 26mph—he had to be evac’ed by the SAG folks. Seems I know someone who did something remarkably similar…
We then headed slightly inland traveling north from Ventura. We encountered more hills and climbed and climbed and climbed, zig-zagging our way up winding country roads through a very pretty (and steep!) canyon and on over the crest of the mountain. But what goes up must come down, and we enjoyed a devilishly fast downhill. FUN!
[Dona] After 56 miles of blissful riding, we had reached the turnaround point and third rest stop. Wow! A beautiful wooded park with lots of picnic tables shaded by pine trees, and an epicurean feast of deli-style meats and cheeses and condiments (and cookies!)... RIDE TO EAT!!! We had caught up with the rest of the Red Hawk crew by this point (imagine that…), so we all sat together and kicked back—but not for too long, as we still had another 50 miles to go!
After lunch, Aden and I both felt wonderful and we were soon tooling along the coastline at Santa Barbara (drop-dead gorgeous!). I took the lead and for quite a few miles we were cruising at 21-24mph—just whizzing along like a two-person pace line. Our conservative strategy had paid off big-time, and we felt like we had just started a day of riding. Amazing! The whole way back to Ventura was relatively flat riding punctuated by some gentle rollers along the coast, and the sun was out by now, but it was still very comfortable. At the last rest stop, the volunteers delighted us with Cool Breeze’s trademark popsicles! No one was in a hurry to leave—so unlike a race!
We intermittently met up with the Red Hawk group along the return leg, which was kind of cool. But in the end, our pace strategy resulted in our finishing well ahead of the group. For the last 20 miles, Aden and I agreed to drop our pace back to 18mph to be able to enjoy the ocean and just drink in the whole beach scene: miles of RVs and people lounging next to their BBQ setups—I was much happier on the bike, the wind in my face and the magic of my leg muscles pumping away the miles.
[Aden] The final leg was so exhilarating that we were almost sad to be nearing the end of this transformational experience. Needless to say, we finished strong. Our ride time was about six and a half hours, and after we loaded our bikes, we headed down to the beach to fulfill our earlier pledge. Peeling off sweaty riding duds and changing into our swim suits, we charged out through the breakers like a couple of exuberant children, screeching when we hit the chilly water and diving headlong into the surf like the fish we had both been in our youth. Then we stretched out on our towels and let the waning rays of the sinking sun warm us and dry us off. Pure magic!
The following morning we both felt great—no aches, pains, sore spots, numbness, etc. In fact, after we took a down day, we did a 25-mile “recovery” ride through two canyons (Rainbow & Rice) near Temecula. Plenty of climbing, but mostly progressive grades (no “walls”). When we got back in, we felt like we’d hardly ridden at all—amazing what a century will do for you! (Hard for me to get my head around the fact that this year's Tour de Madison was my first group ride!)
Though Dona is an accomplished triathlete, we were both “century virgins” so Cool Breeze was a major milestone for us both. As my dearie-o aptly exclaimed: “I feel so alive and hopeful! Such a celebration of life and vitality!”
In closing, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to all the MadCyclists who have so generously mentored and supported me as I’ve continued to develop my cycling skills. Jane and Bates in particular have demonstrated such an overwhelming generosity of spirit. How blessed I am to have friends like these—and all the rest of you, too! I couldn’t have done it without you, each and every one. Thank you.
1 comment:
Great commentary, Dona and Aden! It was almost like we were there with you. Not that we could have kept up...
I can't wait to ride with you, Dona - hurry and come out for a visit.
One last thing. Aden, I don't think anyone will have to worry about their rear wheel getting clipped by you any more. :) (I will still tease you unmercifully about it, though.)
Post a Comment