Oh boy, this was just great. I did the ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) 50 mile charity ride today. All week long, the forecast was saying heavy rain and t-storms. Driving to the start in Wayland early this morning, the roads were still a little damp, the air was even a little chilly, but, it was easy to tell that this was going to be one of those "magic" days. It didn't disappoint.
I don't know how many riders there were at the event. I think it was somewhere between 100 and 200. The rides were 10, 25, 50 and 70. I agonized all week between the 50 and the 70 until I came down with a pretty horrible cold on Friday. I didn't feel too sick but I just couldn't breathe. I opted for the 50 and I'm glad I did.
It was a staggered start with the longer rides starting earlier. My ride went off at 9:00 am. I started fairly slow because I just had no idea how I would respond to the cold. After about 10 miles or so, I decided to push things a little and moved up to the front of what you might call the B group. I think the top riders were up over a 20 mph pace or so. Forget it. I was cruising along at a best-of-the-season 16. I was also concerned that I couldn't maintain that pace over the full route.
Blew by the first rest stop at 11 miles. Too soon. The next one was at the 19 mark. I tried one of those Gu things... chocolate-raspberry. Just awful. No idea whether it helped with my energy level.
What I love about events like this, or really any group ride, is the sheer joy of riding with other riders. And, imagine this, the ones you end up riding with are going the same pace you are. Go figure. I met this very nice woman who told me she did oncology surgery. Man could she climb. Frankly, my climbing stinks. At times, going up some of the tougher hills, I ended up a good half-mile behind her. I was much faster, though, when the road flattened out. I suppose I'm more of a sprinter than a climber. I like to tell myself that but the truth is I really need to get stronger on the hills. My riding friend told me she does spinning classes all the time and thought they really helped her. Perhaps I'll think about getting a trainer when the winter arrives. The better ones seem so damned expensive though. We'll see.
The ride took us through Wayland, Sudbury, Hudson, Bolton, Harvard, Acton, Concord and back in to Sudbury and Wayland. There were no killer hills but there were also very few level roads. Up-down-up-down... it was a great workout through some really beautiful country roads.
Wanna see the routes for all the rides? I was "the mapper" for the event. Here are the links:
10 mile ride
25 mile ride
50 mile ride
70 mile ride (combines the 25 and the 50)
For another day, MapMyRide was OK but it was a bit of a PITA. I'm switching to RideWithGPS even though I don't use a GPS... at least not so far. That's a topic for another day and another forum.
Anyway, keep an eye out for the "Ride to Defeat ALS" next September. There were all kinds of prizes and jerseys and food and a very, very high energy atmosphere surrounding the event. This one's a keeper; I'll definitely do it again next year.
I finished in a little under 3 hours. I couldn't be happier.
Next? Can I get my act together to ride from Ashland to Longmeadow (just South of Springfield)? It's about 70+ miles but there are some fairly nasty hills along the way. I need more distance training and more hill work if I'm going to put this one on the calendar.
OK, time for my post-ride nap. Night all.