Tour de Cure: Reflections, Part I

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It's hard to believe that the 2011 Tour de Cure has come and gone.  I'd like to take a moment to thank everybody who supported the American Diabetes Association with a donation; overall, the NC riders raised over $200,000!

Anjela & Richard

When I signed up five months ago, the thought of riding 100 miles was a stretch; doing it two days in a row was insanity.  After all, I hadn't ridden more than 40 miles in over 25 years.  Getting past that 40-mile mark was a real challenge; I had a number of obstacles to overcome, and with the help and support of my family I was able to face each challenge and find a solution.  I'd especially like to thank my brother William for his help in developing nutritional and hydration plans that worked for me, and my wife for being so supportive in so many ways.  It's not easy to be married to an aspiring long-distance cyclist; I spent many a Saturday or Sunday away from home for 8 to 10 hours; it's cut into our 'us' time, and her sacrifice is truly appreciated.  Even though she worries every time I get on my bike, her thoughtfulness and support has kept me going, and made each post-ride recovery much, much easier.

Clyde the Commuter

Our Five year wedding anniversary was the day before the Tour; we spent much of the day running errands together to take care of pre-ride details; In an effort to have a somewhat normal day, I left getting Clyde squared away until late that night.  I had my pre-ride oatmeal at 2 a.m. before I went to bed, and then had a yogurt the next morning, which left me the ability to drink plenty right before the ride.

As a result, I got to bed so late that I got less than five hours of sleep.  You can see why I love coffee so much.  I made a pot Saturday morning, drank a couple of cups before I went out the door, and took two travel mugs with me so I could drink them before the start.  At least this time I wasn't too full to drink it all.

We arrived a little before 7 a.m.  I spent the next 10 minutes getting everything put together.  There were many more people there than I anticipated; I later learned there were 535 riders; it seemed like over half of them were riding the 75/100 mile course on Saturday.  There was a wide variety of bikes, but I'm pretty sure mine was the only commuter.  The starting line got quickly crowded; when it came time to leave, it was elbow-to-elbow, which made avoiding collisions an interesting way to start the ride.

Fig Bars: Inexpensive,
Effective, Dry, and Tasteless

My plan for the ride was the same I'd used previously: Aesop's Tortoise.  This has three parts.  First, have as few stops as possible.  Second, keep stops as brief as possible.  Third, keep the pedals turning without blowing up my knees that I'd need on day two.  To that end, I had two water bottles to keep hydrated, plenty of fig bars to keep my energy levels up, and a firm determination to stay in the saddle while climbing hills, unless I needed to stretch my legs or back.

Crossing the Finish; I'm not tired;
I'm checking my odometer.

I was able to stick with that plan for the first forty miles; after that, the temperatures rose enough that I was going through my water much faster than anticipated.  That meant an adjustment in stops, but other than that things went swimmingly.  That is, until I missed a turn, and ended up adding a couple of miles before I got back on track.

I spent most of Saturday riding with one group or another.  I'd be overtaken by a group of slightly faster riders, and I'd stick with them until the next rest stop, where they'd stop while I kept riding.  Often, the same riders would catch up to me again about halfway to the next stop, where we'd repeat the process.  There were a some who must have passed me a half dozen times.

OK, maybe just a little tired.

By the end of the ride, I'd stopped for water four times, had two stops to deal with a loose rear fender, and had my own personal detour.  I finished about 109 miles in 7 hours, 30 minutes, and found my beloved wife waiting for me at the finish.  After the ride, there was lunch, some activities, dinner, prizes, awards, and an update from Tony Cervati on his Tour Divide preparations.  He's a great guy and great advocate for living life to the fullest, regardless of diabetes.

As Anjela drove us back to our hotel, I was glad the day was done, and was looking forward to a good night's rest before the second day of the tour.