I wanted to do this ride. I was looking forward to this ride. I was excited. I'd trained for it. I knew I could finish the ride. But there was a problem - pshaw, there's always a problem. So, let's start with the problem. Wednesday of the week prior my throat started hurting; I had a runny nose and was coughing. I thought that was due to breathing in some oxides while working on a patina job. Such irritation goes away in a day – no big deal.
However, Thursday, I wasn't feeling much better. Friday didn't bring any change. Friday night's sleep was reastless and sweaty – like I was getting over a fever. Saturday morning my throat still felt irritated and I was coughing a bit. Nonetheless I wanted to ride the 600K and told myself I'd see how things panned out. If I was week, I'd abandon the ride early. I figured I know after the first 30 miles. It had crossed my mind that riding with a cold was bad. I considered not starting the ride and waiting two weeks for the next closest 600K. But I wanted to ride this ride.
So there I was at the ride start excited and ready to ride, but a little It was good to see faces from the prior events. I recognized Greg and Stacy, Mel and Rita ( from up north - presumably here to get her 600K done early) Ruth was there - she said she'd memorized the route. It turns out I knew Greg from a summer school program that I attended in High School. Sometimes the world seems so small.
The ride started at 5:00. We rolled down to the coast and down Pacific Coast highway on to Oceanside. The event organizer knew that there was a triathalon in the general area and we all assumed we'd have to use the freeway get around the Army base. But the road closure was much earlier. The bike trail entry was closed and the police wouldn't let us through. We chatted to the police and told them we needed to get to Oceanside and they told us we'd have to wait three hours for the event to end. There was no other route south. "Forget that!! I'm not waiting three hours" I thought. I rolled on to the freeway. I started out behind a group of three – but they rode like idiots and I felt it safest just to pass them. I rode on the freeway for 25 miles and saw two people with flats. Boy am I glad I didn't get any flats on the freeway: the noise and chaos is very distracting. Soon the freeway riding was over and I was at the Oceanside control at mile 76. I felt good.
I had to make another course correction to get around the triathalon, but after that it was clear sailing up the bike trail and into some hills. The first climb up sleeping Indian went fairly well. I pulled up alongside Constantin, who'd flatted on the freeway. At the Oceanside control he noticed his tire had a nasty gash in the sidewall. Somebody suggested he boot the tire with a dollar bill. His tire was flat again. I gave him one of my glue-on tire boots and explained how it worked. Those boots must work failry well. I rode into the overnight with him, so I know the boot held for 140 miles ( yay !! ) He got a tire and some more tubes at a later control ( good thinking.)
At the next control ( mile 93 ) I decided I deserved some real food and stopped at a taco stand to eat a bunch of greasy tacos ( yum !! ) and drink some Coke. The next section of the ride included the major climbs of the day and I wanted some fuel.. 20 minutes later I felt energized and in a good frame of mind. When I got back on the bike I found myself behind the same group of three who's riding skills worried me. I slowed down the pace and let them ride on ahead. The seriously hilly part of the ride was next. From mile 95 to mile 108, the hills were steep and relentless. Sandia Creek was very steep. From the bottom of the hill, I watched a rider walk her bike up the hill. I stopped twice on the way to the top, but chose not to walk the bike. I felt like I rode the hilly section well. I was worried that whatever affliction I had would sap me of energy. It didn't.
At the next control ( mile 110,) a group coalesced: myself, Ruth ( who I rode the 300K with ) Peter and Constatin ( the guy I gave the tire boot.) We ended up riding the balance of the ride together. I really enjoyed riding with them. I'd been seeing them all day and somehow we just bunched together at this point. I'd been joking with Ruth most of the morning and the jokes continued into the night. Constatin was a very powerful rider. I guess he hung out with us, so he wouldn't have to navigate the route by himself. Or, perhaps Constatin wanted to hang out with Peter – they both rode with a club in LA.
The balance of the route was fairly flat and we made good time. On the way to Lake Paris, we were riding into a stiff headwind a bee struck me in the face and stung my left cheek. I couldn't get the stinger out by myself, but Ruth got me all fixed up. That was the only bad thing that happened to me all day. Amazing !!!
As the ride wore on I began to tire. The temperatures were dropping, the group's pace slowed. Constantin couldn't understand why everyone was going so slow. “That's what happens when the sun goes down” I told him - I'd experienced this before, but couldn't understand it either. We grumbled a few comments to each other, but always ended up waiting for the rest of the group when we'd get too far ahead.
Around mile 200 my butt was getting really sore. Around mile 220 the pain increased. I'd stand up to get my shorts “unstuck” from my butt and have to gingerly settle myself down to a seated riding position. Then I'd have to endure the pain and discomfort for a few minutes while my body reacquainted itself with the pain. I'd experienced this same pain in the prior 600K, so it wasn't anything new. Talking was painful. As I was riding, I began thinking about giving up on the ride. Riding another 140 miles on my sore ass with sore throat that prevented any conversation was unimaginable.
I arrived at the overnight at 2:30 after 20:30 of riding. I thought about the right thing to do. I knew I'd need some sleep. I didn't want to sleep someplace with the others for fear of getting them sick. I really wanted to finish the ride with Ruth and Constantin. Knowing I probably wasn't thinking straight after 20 hours of riding, I decided to take a nap in the car and see how I felt in the morning. It felt soooo good to take off the bike shorts and take a nap.
I woke up around 5:00. I had the energy to continue. My butt still hurt and I was sick: I has some congestion in the lungs and was coughing, my throat still hurt and I was hoarse. I didn't want to get sicker. Worried about getting pneumonia or something worse, I called the event organizer and abandoned the ride.
I REALLY enjoyed this ride. The route was challenging. The weather was perfect. The company was excellent. I rode well.
What I learned:
- When sick give some thought to not riding. Consider saving energy for a later ride.
- On the other hand, I had a fantastic time riding with Ruth, Constantin, Peter and everybody else. Sometimes the company one keeps makes all the difference
- I rode well. The short section that I was able to record on the Garmin shows this.
- 100 miles into the ride I still felt fresh, and only began to feel fatigue at the 200 mile mark – amazing! I'm thinking that the prior back to back 100 mile days allowed me to feel this way.
- I need to fix the hurting ass thing. I experienced some pain after the 400K, and realized that this wouldn't work for the 1200K. I wasn't thinking that this would play a role in the 600. The shorts I use are fine for the shorter 120 mile rides – even the back-to-back weekends. Something needs to change. The time to experiment with this is now !