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It was a crazy, and well, somewhat easy bike ride this year. No mental drama here!
The weekend forecast just kept getting worse and worse. Finally by Friday, it looked like a 70% chance of rain on Saturday with severe storms and flood watches for the entire route area.
Friday evening we had registration and spaghetti dinner carbo-load thang. The weather was just beautiful- sun beaming all around. We were all hoping that perhaps the meteorologists might be way off the mark and that the predicted cold front wouldn't move through. No such luck.
I totally enjoyed the registration process this time. Since I have been doing the training rides, I have gotten to know so many people. Most people know me from Peeair and Chester, but a few know me from the site and the powerhouse fundraising team YOU all are. I didn't over train this year ( I did waaaaaaaaay too many miles last year!) So my brain didn't get frizzle-frazzled, and mostly I felt part of something, rather than just apart from everyone. Really made a difference!
The experience from last year is like night and day.
I hate to admit it, but I was actually kind of hoping that the severe weather would roll in. Although I wanna “earn my keep” by killing myself on all those miles for you, but I was a bit relieved at maybe not having to ride 70 miles, sleep on the ground, and do it all over again. On the other hand, I just bought a new tent and a new rain jacket, so I wanted to make sure they got used! I certainly felt trained enough to take on the challenge.
Friday night, I packed up everything in giant zip lock baggies just in case the ride was soggy, but not so bad as to cancel. Chester was chomping on the…handle bar, anxious to get the bike out on the open road with our ride number 12 emblazoned on the side.
Sure enough, the Flash Flood watches and lightening forced David Smith to cancel Day One of the ride. There were gonna be some disappointed people who had really trained- mostly the beginners who went to every training rain and really pushed themselves to complete the ride. But not one person begrudged the decision. It just wasn't possible. It would have been miserable, and with the low water crossings and lighting, possibly deadly.
So instead of a ride on Saturday, we had breaksfast! Jason Marth and Ted Smith invited me (and my team) to go over to Magnolia Café to keep up the Carbo-loading. Jason and Ted are both Ride Leaders, and it felt great to be invited. Bill and Andrew from my team made it, while Faith and Jean ended up at the other Magnolia location (oops!).
Bill had spent more time helping Peeair get ready for his ride. He proudly showed off Peeair in the Magnolia parking lot all decked out in his rain gear.
Bill was beaming with pride, and I thought to myself, “My god! Look what I have turned my friends in to!?!?! My madness has spread.” Then I wondered where he found the cute lil rain hat for Peeair, and didn't give it a second thought.
At breakfast, we talked a lot about the cancellation- who was relieved, who managed to get the most sleep, and what we were gonna do with a whole day to ourselves since we had basically blocked out all that time to the ride.
It didn't rain much the rest of the day, but word had it that the crossings were filled with water and the campground would have been a mess.
I ended up going to the gym and working out and then did some cardio to work them pancakes off. I then came home and plowed through a bunch of images. I worked a lot on Michael B's images, and here are two shots you can take a look at.
This first one I thought would be appropriate for the amount of rain we got this weekend.
I think I might focus on some more artistic shots, though I don't want to change my focus too much, otherwise my newer stuff won't match the older stuff, and if I ever get around to a book, it should all have a consistent feel to it.
Saturday night I watched Winged Migration on DVD. CAUTION- Don't watch this and operate heavy machinery! It may be beautiful and some of the most amazing cinematography, but boy oh boy does it have all the ingredients to relax you right into deep REM!
By Saturday night, David's team had pulled together a new 50 mile route that would start at our overnight location (Krause Springs) and take us over some of the most beautiful hill country.
This was AMAZING piece of work. All the teams switched gears, changed the route, got the signage out, and coordinated pit stops, lunch stop, and even had teams stationed at every corner- all at the last minute and overnight! Not once do you ever have to look at a map while on this route. I've never seen anything like it. You don't go more than 5 minutes without having a SAG and Sweep or Emergency contact nearby. (BTW…SAG means Support And Gear)
I was thrilled! 50 miles is punch and pie for me. Registration was between 8-10am, so I packed up the truck and got there about 8:30. Practically the entire volunteer crew showed up-- over 200 for the almost 300 riders! On the drive out, the roads were dry, but I could see rain falling in the distance. But nothing really severe! Phew!
It took me a while to track down all my teammates. First I found Andrew, Jen and Amanda, who were partaking in a light breakfast snack- All primed and ready to ride!
Andrew had tried to find a sheep to ride with, (being from College Station) but no livestock could be found that wasn't already shacked up with an Aggie, so this whacky chicken was all he could find. Andrew hadn't ever ridden with a Camelback before, and riding with a flopping stuffed animal on your back can get downright annoying. I expected to find that chicken tossed to the side of the road soon enough!
I was surprised and happy to see Miss Rita Garza all decked out in costume and ready to ride. Here she is in her cheerleading outfit, along with her very own personal cheer team! Rita didn't get a lot of training in this year and confided in me that she was also a bit relieved at the mile reprieve! She still finished the ride looking like a superstar!
Mmmmmmmmmm…uber-sexy Jason Marth. Woof. Jason's part of the Ride Leaders and Training team. (Ted Smith and Ellen are the other coordinators) I got to really hang with Jason a lot this ride, and definitely have an innocent 'lil crush on the guy. Yum!
Ok, enough boy watching, time to get down to it!
We actually started out on the Krause Springs grounds and we had to ride out on about .5 miles of very sandy and muddy road. It was a shaky start, and the light rain didn't help. Andrew dumped his bike immediately, and several other cyclist hit the very soft ground. We all ended up step walking-riding our bikes for that first section.
The first 20 miles of the ride were a little nerve wracking as the sprinkles kept our slick wheels more slickery and our sunglasses fogged and moisture dropped. I barely remember them. I road with team members Mark, Andrew and Bill for the beginning of the ride. Andrew was real strong, but had two flat tires, a chain problem, and didn't like his new Camelback. H Bill fell back just a very short distance, so Mark and I basically did the entire ride together.
We stopped at the first pit stop and it was amazingly busy. Everyone was riding together and staying close. I talked to Gary Dent, the HCRA website guy. THIS guy is why ChaosInAustin can be a major force in fundraising. Without his efforts, people from all over the world wouldn't be able to make donations online. He's put up with me naggin' him on several occasions as I try to push the limits of the website to accomodate all your requests. I also lost one of the lenses from my sunglasses at this first pit stop, but he found it and had it ready for me at the lunch pit! THANK YOU GARY!
A lot of people recognized Chester from the training rides, and since Bill was riding with Peeair a few miles back, people would ride up on me and yell “Hey! I just saw Peeair back there!” Chester totally breaks the ice, and I met soooo many people. I would ride up on them and they would ask who my riding buddy was. After that, it was easy to strike up a conversation.
When we got to the lunch pit (30 miles into the ride) I wasn't really hungry, but ate the turkey out of the inside of my samwich and had a cookie and a glass a water. Since the rain really leveled the playing field and kept everyone's pace down, I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot people show up at once at the pit. More social opportunities! FUN!
The rains slacked off, but the air was way moist, as evidenced by the fogging of the camera lense. I kept my camera packed up for most of the ride because of this. Very few ride pics, but I was counting on the many photographers to take up the slack.
The roads were dirty, and ride sponsors Bicycle Sport Shop were kept busy repairing chains and flat tires.
I didn't want to dawdle long at the lunch pit- I'm not used to stopping while riding, and my legs get cold quickly, so Mark and took off soon after eating. After that, we pretty much road on our own to finish line.
Mark and I stopped and took this picture after one challenging but short climb at the 42 mile mark. By this time the light rain had stopped, and well, I was just getting warmed up. Mark hadn't had a lot of opportunity to train, so he was feeling it, but the guy is a lifetime biker and those legs just never forget. He seemed a little concerned that he was holding me back, but I was enjoying riding with him. Besides, if I took off I might finish three minutes ahead of him. Much more fun to ride with someone.
Before I knew it, we were pulling back into Krause Springs where David Smith was greeting each and every rider with a medallion! He made sure everyone stopped and he thanked them with a hug and a kiss. I stood by and cheered the riders as they came in, and I tell ya, that was THE BEST part of the ride. Seeing all those people who trained, who didn't think they could do 50 miles in one day, let alone do it in the rain, come in all dazed but beaming with pride. Very cool!
Training buddies Jenna and Anna walk across the final (and treacherous!) cattle guard.( Go Team Motive!)
Andrew rolled in next, a little unhappy with his equipment, but still beaming with his accomplishment. He trained really hard, and I think he was looking forward to the two day task. Next year Andrew! Hmmmm..where did that camelback and chicken get to?
Ted Smith arrives. Ted heads up Team Motive, as well as the training rides. Go Ted!
Bill came in next. His knee was giving him problems, so he was looking a bit pained. I suspect Peeair kicked him at one of the rest stops. He gets SO competitive, and I bet he didn't like Chester being ahead of him.
Speaking of innocent crushes. Ron Gerling, who was on the marketing team. Got to do a few training rides with him. I was crushed to find out he's already got a partner. ~sigh~ All the good ones are taken.
These two fruity females (?!) were my favorite Pit stop cheerleaders! They stood by me in the cheering line and put forth tons of energy to the exhausted riders.
Bill got changed and joined Mark and I at the cheering line. After only 5 minutes, he was looking fresh and in far less pain, though he ended up having to lip around the camp (I feel soooo guilty!)
He turned to me while we were standing there and thanked me for talking him into to doing the ride. I was a floored! Here I had made him just suffer through all this, and he was thanking me! It was great to have him along. It was good feeling, and feel certain I can talk him into doing it again next….I just won't ask him on Monday!
Faith rolled in next. Her and Jean had arrived late, and were actually driving into the campground as the horde of cyclist pulled out. So they made good time catching up with us!
Lou Diamond Phillips was riding for The Big Johnson's, so everyone was a dither about having a real live star on the ride. Their team won Best Team Theme as they road in honor of a guy named Johnson (they had a picture of him holding a cocktail) and they each had mounted a martini glass on top of their helmets in tribute. The entire team came in as one, and it was really quite impressive to see!
Coming in next were Jen (Andrew's sister) and Amanda. Both started out doing the training rides on mountain bikes. On the last training ride they finally got on some road bikes. The difference was like night and day for them. They both completed the ride looking completely fresh! Look at them! At first I thought maybe I had this photos confused with a beginning of the ride photo, but no, here they are about to get their medallion.
Soon to be “Dr. Jean” was our final teammate to come in. Jean “just” finished her dissertation on Friday, so had been madly working on one of them doctoral thingies the last couple months. Jean is very fit, and despite the lack of training opportunities, came in beaming with pride and full of energy.
After that, people started leaving, even though there was massages to be had, two days worth of food to be eaten, awards and ceremonies. Fortunately the bulk of the people stayed to enjoy Krause Springs.
This tired cyclist napped on a picnic table. Just beyond him is the actual spring in Krause Springs, and I bet that cascading water was quite lulling.
The massage area was packed, and once again I skipped out on the massage. Don't really need it, and these massage people work like dogs, massaging for up to four hours!
The massage area was the place to be, so I hung out there. I chatted with Rob and Ron, and waited around as my teammates wandered in and out of the area. It was very relaxing and fun. (Photo by Paul H.)
We then had our tribute to all those that have died of AIDS.
We moved on to dinner, which was some really good BBQ. Seating was scarce, but I got to sit with friends new and old.
Team Brain and Spine won for most contributions. Raising $30,500 with their 32 member team!
We won for best single fundraiser with $10,850 raised!! We got an award, and this year, David had some special jerseys printed for some key award winners. I got all embarrassed as I got the award, so maybe there will be a good shot of it on the Ride website. Should be funny. The jersey has Top Fundraiser printed on the inside collar. Cool!
Andy won for best ride costume, and the boy road the whole way in this superman costume. I would have picked a hero with shorts pants..like..uh..Robin, so you gotta hand it to him, he did great!
Anyway, that's about the bulk of it…
One more IMPORTANT thang!
The iPod winner!!!!!
Congrats go out to Al from Colonial Heights, Virginia for his winning entry!
He will be notified via email, and hopefully we can get an update from him when the iPod arrives
Thank you thank you THANK YOU for supporting this cause. WE totally make a difference. Over 70 percent of what we raise goes right to AIDS services. Not some lame 15 percent! David Smith and his team make sure practically everything is donated, and he is the only full-time paid employee. Our efforts go straight to those who need it the most.
Special thanks to corporate sponsor Bill Evans and Ajaxx63.com!
Between us and all the other hard workers, we will likely make almost $400,000 in donations! That is A lot of money for a single two-day event, making it the biggest AIDS fundraiser in Austin history!
CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE WHO DONATED!
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