We drove up to Westchester, Jim, Frankie froglegs, and myself. We had signed up for the 100 mile
ride but we arrived late so we decided to just ride the 50 mile instead. We started the ride and
everyone was already long gone.
The weather was gorgeous, the sun was shining brightly, yet there was a little chill in the morning
air. We were expecting a tough ride. The Westchester area is ALL hilly. Right off the start, the
climbing began. We worked as a team, drafting to beat the wind as best as possible.
We reached the first stop checkpoint at about mile 17 only to discover that they had closed it, we
arrived too late. We started freaking out after we found out that we were slowly running out of
liquids and food. A couple of other guys arrived at the checkpoint with the same reaction, they had
taken a wrong turn somewhere and got lost and missed the food stop. We checked the map and schedule,
the next checkpoint would be at mile 31, and it was closing in 1/2 hour. So we had to make 14 miles
in 1/2 hour...impossible on these hilly roads...
I was determined to make it, at least before they packed up all the refreshments and food to leave.
I decided to take the lead and make the boys work up a good hardy sweat...
We cranked. With a 1/4 of Cytomax leftover in my waterbottle and a GU pack, I knew I was going to
pay for this effort. I kept looking at my odometer to measure out the distance left as we rode on. I
kept wanting to reach for my waterbottle, but kept having second thoughts...what if we got there and
the checkpoint was closed and I had nothing left in my bottle, what would I do then? With about 2
miles or so left to the checkpoint, I started to bonk. The head spins began.
200 feet down the road, I saw heaven. They were just cleaning up and packing the food and
refreshments. The 3 of us rode in and looking like ravaging wolves as we attacked the food and
drinks. The organizers just stared at us in awe and were probably wondering where the hell we came
from. We ate and drank merrily.
We continued on. I wanted to finish the hellish ride as quickly as possible so I took the lead for
most of the remaining of the ride and pulled the boys. We suffered. We suffered hard. The heat of
the early afternoon began to take its effect on us.
We completed the ride and got back to the start/finish area. We looked up to see than an outdoor
buffet had been set up by the organizers. There was all sorts of delicious food prepared and
waiting, so we joined the many other participants and stuffed our faces with delight.
Today, I am paying for it :-(
- CA-G
Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!