41 days - the Tour de Lance

OK, so it rained, and today I learned more about how dedicated I am to riding and beating my diabetes. The Tour de Lance is a ride east of Austin in a town called Elgin. The ride has varying lengths, from 32 to 70+ miles. I chose the 32 miler because I did 15 miles yesterday and because it was raining. I decided to ride in the rain, so I guess I must be serious!

So there were only six riders, and I rode in a group of four to do the 32 mile course. The other two riders did the long course. One rider in our group fell over "clipped in" before we started out and damaged her gear shifter, so after a short try to do the course, she and a companion went home.

That left just two of us, myself and Sherry. Not too long after we went on, we came to a set of railroad tracks and one of the scariest crashes I have ever seen in person. To cross railroad tracks, especially when wet, one must angle the bike 90 degrees to the tracks, or the tires may catch and you will fall over.

When Sherry crossed, she caught a tire and went down on her left side really hard. Well, I keep talking about being "clipped in". When your feet are clipped to the pedals, you can't put out a foot to stop yourself from falling. Sherry is tall, and without the ability to put out a foot, her head whipped really hard into the ground with a crack. For an instant I thought she would be out cold and I'd be calling for an ambulance, but amazingly she bounced back. Wow! I checked on her a little bit later to make sure she didn't suffer any delayed concussion effects, but she seemed ok. Still, she is definitely going to need a new helmet. Another great reason to ALWAYS wear a your helmet when riding.

So the ride went on - Sherry is definitely the trooper after a crash like that. The rain slowed a bit, and we were able to enjoy the ride through the country. Lots of farm scenery and animals, lots of country roads, homes and the occasional church.

But there were also lots of hills. At about the halfway mark, I made the mistake of thinking (and even saying out loud) it would be downhill back to Elgin, but alas, that was not to be. The hills were not steep hills mind you, but just enough to put the burn into your legs. And for some strange reason, there seemed to be more up hills than down hills :)

But really the story of the ride was the rain, and still more rain. We were soaked through and still rode on, so good for us.

As I have never ridden 30 miles before, it was an educational ride for me, learning more about how much my body could do. Since this ride follows a 15 miler from yesterday, I feel very good that I can do the two days of the MS 150 and the two days of the Tour de Cure, but it still won't be easy. I can tell that I really have to train every day if I can to finish these events in good time and in good health.

Cheers boys!