Over the past four months, the 53 members (yours truly included) of the Fresno Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma’s Society’s Team In Training program rode hundreds of hours, thousands of miles and raised thousands of dollars in an effort to advance research for Leukemia, Lymphoma and other blood-related cancers (now, that’s a sentence). The culmination of the training and fundraising was America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride – a 100-mile circuit around Lake Tahoe – this past Sunday. The weather was spectacular, the event inspiring and the training that our incredible coaches provided was much appreciated as we hit the road among more than 3,300 cyclists, 1,800 of whom represented Team In Training.
The event kicked off with a staggered start at 6:00 am, under clear skies and temperatures in the high 30s. Family, friends and fans lined the streets as the various chapters, representing states as far away as Vermont and Florida, pushed off. It was an amazing experience that would only increase as the miles sped by, the climbs overcome, the descents carved, and the ultimate accomplishment realized. Cyclists crossed the finish line throughout the day, from those who pushed themselves to finish in just under five hours to those who made a day of it, taking in the breathtaking vistas, the well-supported rest stops and the camaraderie that comes with being part of such a great cause.
There is a lot to say and describe, and my personal experience is highlighted below. But to keep this from going on too long, I’ll cut to the chase…
Highlights
· While most of the 1,800 TNT participants wore 20th Anniversary TNT Jerseys, each chapter stood out by topping their helmets with a memento representing their particular region of the country. The Fresno Chapter gave a nod to the Central Valley by donning boxes of locally grown California Raisins. Sacramento, by far the largest TNT contingent, sported stress ball tomatoes and the other chapters unleashed their creativity as well. My favorite helmet toppers: Hershey Kiss (Central PA); Soft Pretzel (Western PA); U.S. Capitol (National Team); Shark Fin (San Jose, Silicon Valley); and the Cheese Head (Wisconsin).
· The hundreds of fans who rang cow bells, waved home-made signs and shouted words of encouragement at the peaks of the seemingly endless climbs.
· The shirts that read: “It’s Just A Hill. Get Over It.”
· The Finish Line. After 100 miles, each and every rider turned the corner and was immediately greeted with shouting friends, family and fellow riders, who lined the last hundred yards of the ride. The amazing part was that the level of enthusiasm for the first rider, who arrived before noon was as strong as it was for the last, who crossed the finish line at 7:00. You’d have to see it to believe it – and really appreciate it.
· The cold Fat Tire placed in my hand the second I got off the bike.
The Important Results
· The 53-member Fresno Team In Training Cycling Team raised more than $175,000 for the Leukemia And Lymphoma Society.
· The 1,800 TNT members who participated in this year’s America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride raised more than $6,000,000.
· The more than 360,000 TNT participants in the program’s 20-year history have raised more than $850 million.
The “No I” in Team Results, aka: How Carey Did
Thanks to everyone’s encouragement, advice, motivation and support, I had one heck of a ride. And I am still awake at this point to write about it, which is a good thing. I hit the road with my team at 6:15 and made my way through a 12-mile warm up to the first climb of the day, an 800-foot ascent to the Emerald Bay overlook on the west side of the lake. It must be said at this point that our coaches did a fantastic job of getting us ready. The first part of the climb was cake, for me and for every member of the team. It was obvious that those teams who did not benefit from the foothills that we trained on were not loving the first climb. Knowing that souvenir pictures were taken at the very peak of the ascent, I decided that I would – for the first time in three tries – have a decent picture taken, i.e, one that was not taken five seconds before it looked like I would pass out. In better shape than years past, I got out of the saddle, climbed the final 50 yards, looked at the camera and knew a great picture was taken. (Unfortunately, that was not the case as no picture was caught, accept for the last third of my tire…hmm…I guess I was just too fast.)
The first descent immediately followed, which was a great – and cold – relief. At this point, Kelly (a teammate I had only really met the previous day) and I had separated from the small group we were with. We skipped the first rest stop and took on the ensuing climbs and rollers that dotted the next 20 miles. After a quick stop to reload on water and food, we headed back out for the next 23 miles. We felt strong, passed a lot of riders and had a blast. We pace lined behind larger groups, until we were unable to contain our enthusiasm and powered by them. In the back of my head, I knew there were still 70 miles to go, but I have never been one to pace myself, so we pushed forward.
After a few steep, but short climbs, we headed north to Truckee. To ride around the lake is 72 miles, which I have done the past two Septembers. In order to make it a Century, the event organizers take cyclists up 14 miles to the town of Truckee. Following the Truckee river, we followed a bike path for the first eight miles, then hit the highway for the last six. On the way, we saw coming in the other direction five members of our team, the platinum group. These guys are studs. They were out for speed, pushing hard…if the lake had disappeared, I am not sure if they would have noticed. When they passed us, we were only about seven miles behind…we were pretty psyched about our pace. With a gentle downgrade and rather significant tailwind, we were easily sustaining speeds of 26 miles per hour. Too fast for so early, but like I said…
The reality of negative grades and tailwinds reared its ugly head as we left the rest stop and headed back to the lake. Twenty-six miles per hour turned into 18, 15, 11. And while my spitfire of a teammate was a blast to ride with, she’s small and not the best to draft behind. But we got through it. We made it back to the main route around the lake, where we had about ten miles to go before the lunch break at mile 70. We passed a number of riders (needless to say, we are also getting passed by many a rider, but what fun is it to relay that tidbit?). Anyway, we came upon a woman wearing an Army Strong cycling jersey. With some people you can just tell. She was a cyclist. She had great form and we tucked in behind her and went as a group. Did I say that the next stop was lunch? I was ravenous. On a downhill where my innate skill (read: weight) makes me a force to be reckoned with, I thanked her for the pull and told her it was my turn to return the favor. The last four miles flew by. Hey, when there’s food up ahead, you better get out of my way. We made it to lunch, grabbed a sandwich and took off after about 15 minutes.
Seventy miles down, 30 to go, including an eight-mile climb up Spooner Junction on Tahoe’s east side. I popped three more Ibuprofens (that would make 11 on the day) and off we went. Now, after a rest stop one’s legs are always a little rubbery. It takes a little time to warm them up. Unfortunately, we were immediately presented with a half-mile climb, rather steep. My teammate cranked away and crested without difficulty. I followed. With difficulty. But the ensuing downhill was fantastic: fast and curvy. We took a five-mile ride through some mega homes near Incline Village and then made a right to begin the final major climb of the day, a 1,000-foot ascent to the top of Spooner Junction.
We followed a Cheesehead from Wisconsin but the grade of the climb and the 80 previous miles began to take their toll. Kelly, steady as a metronome (or is it consistent?, I get my clichés mixed up once in a while), climbed without trouble. I decided it was a good time to appreciate the beautiful scenery at a gentle, but rather exhausting 5.9 mph. After a couple of false peaks, a dropped chain and a desire for this part to be over, I made it to the last rest stop at mile 87…the farthest I had ever gone on a bike.
Knowing that I would pass her on the huge descent to come, Kelly decided to forgo the final rest stop. Um, yeah, that wasn’t going to fly with me. I gladly, mercifully stopped, refilled the bottles, had a banana and pushed forward to end this ride. The downhill was great, though a headwind tempered any great speeds that I had hoped to see. Probably all for the better. At this point, you think the ride is over, but there are still three short, but steep climbs to tackle. But with the adrenaline pumping – and the granny gear spinning – I got through them, saw the finish line and sprinted to the end, where the aforementioned welcoming party was in full force.
A great end to a great ride and a great four months of training with TNT. Great. Just great. Really great.
Final Results
· Miles: 100.17
· Time: 6:12:50
· Average Speed: 16.12
· Total Ascent: 4,652 feet
· Top Speed: 43.5 mph
· Funds Raised: $2,800
And I think that is about it except for the part where I bury the lede: All my thanks and appreciation to each and everyone of you for your support and encouragement. It was really a fantastic experience and one that I look forward to doing again next year. The training was great (I know I have a thesaurus around here somewhere), the ride spectacular, but most importantly was all the money that Team In Training participants from around the country raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the inspiring stories shared by the honorees for whom we trained and rode.
0 comments:
Post a Comment