Tour De Summerlin Ride Report

Reasons why I don’t have a coach:

Imagine this conversation:

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-Hi Coach!

-Yeah, had a great weekend.

-Oh, um... the swim? Yeah, funny thing happened on the way to the pool. I took a wrong turn and ended up on the bike.

-Yeah, so then I took another wrong turn and ended up in the Tour de Summerlin bike ride. You know the one that rides all around Summerlin? Right, that one.

-Um...the distance? Well...80 miles.

-What? Yeah 80 miles.

-Hmm…oh yeah coach. I know. I know that 80 miles wasn’t on the plan.

-What’s that? The furthest I’ve ever ridden? 35. Yeah, 35 miles.

-Yeah, coach, I realize that 80 is more two times as far as I’ve EVER ridden before.

-Yeah coach, I realize that that was stupid. I realize that I could have potentially hurt myself.

-Uh…yeah coach. I do realize that 80 miles is NO WHERE near my current training distance. Yes, I realize that the Olympic is only 11 days away.

-Hmm…25 miles, I think right. 25 miles is the distance I have to ride.

-80 is umm…yeah right, more than 3 times the amount that I need. Right coach.

-Oh...the HR training? Well…that kind of went right out the window. Yeah, coach...I don’t know. I kind of just rode. Didn’t really pay attention to the HR. let me check…um yeah. I was all over the place. Zone 5,4,3,2. One? No never touched one.

-Yeah, OK coach. Have a nice day too.

-Oh...coach? I’m thinking about doing it again, next week!

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So, you see? Way too hard to explain. Did you sense the awkwardness?

That’s why my coach is a piece of paper. (It's a lot easier to explain things to paper)

But the ride...Was Awesome!

Imagine 500 bikes zooming through the streets. The police have blocked all traffic, so we are flying! The first 10 miles are downhill and before I know it, I’m flying down the street at 25 mph without pedaling. The group it pulling me along.

Through the streets and around the corners: SWOOSH! It feels like the tour de France and I look around and see the army of jerseys flying around the corner. All the colors and shapes blend into one gigantic snake that serpentines through the road, its glimmering scales reflecting a different color every time I look up.

It was breathtaking.

That is until the police are done with us and the street signs start breaking up the group and finally the hills hit and then it truthfully is breathtaking.

Despite all the hills, I have to say (declare) that you ‘blue diamond’ riders are wimps compared to the ‘lake mead’ riders.

Those are hills? HA! That’s a bump in the road compared to Lake Mead.

Mind you…those ARE hills after 60+ miles, but had I hit them with fresh legs….

The Tour de Summerlin 80 mile ride is broken into 5 rest stops. The first one doesn’t come until mile 25 and then they come about every 8-15.

The original plan was to ride the first part of the ride (which should give me about 45 miles) and see how I feel.

Umm…does anyone see a problem with this logic? You don’t feel ‘bad’ until it’s too late! You never know when you’re done until you're DONE.

I seemed fine by mile 45, so I just kept going. By the time I hit Blue Diamond, I was feeling tired, but not ‘done’.

I would say it wasn’t until mile 72 that I was ‘DONE’! I passed the last rest stop in lieu of being finished sooner (how hard can it be? It’s only 10 miles left!). I hit a hill and promptly had my legs fall off. I couldn’t manage any speed and was about to step off and walk a little bit, when heaven arrived in the form of a rider group who said “hop on our wheels and ride along”

HOLY COW! Not only did they save me but I actually got to ride with a group. My first wheel suck! My first pull! Woohoo!

The original goal was not to touch granny (gear) and I made it until 72. But I have to say, not only did I touch the old lady, I knocked the crap out of her! I was all over her like white on rice!

Thanks granny!

(Oh coach: yeah, you were right, the 5 miles the next day…they HURT!)