VeloBetty Ride 2/1/2009

You know those films where you are crying as the lame horse crosses the finish line 25 minutes behind all the other horses and everybody gives the horse a standing ovation? Well, I was that horse this weekend. And my cheering crowd was 2000 silver Olympic medalist Mari Holden. This woman is a saint! I made her climb the hills so slowly - she must have been going insane.
A little about my cycling experience… prior to this ride, my bike had been on the “road” only six times. Two of those times were sprint triathlons, another two were newbie rides on the 56 – no cars, one time was a bike clinic in Carlsbad and another was a few twirls around Fiesta Island. Other than that my bike training has consisted of riding in my living room on my trainer, or taking my bike to a Compu-trainer bike class at Coastal Sports and Wellness Medical Center in Sorrento Valley. But I’m a quick learner and can pretty much endure through anything – a 50 mile ride shouldn’t be that bad – right?
The morning started at Fletcher Cove in Solana Beach. It was a foggy freezing cold 45 degrees, but I knew that it would be warming up to 70-75 degrees by the time we got back; so shorts and short sleeves were the outfit of choice and a fleece sweatshirt that would get left behind in the car. VeloBetty is a new coached riding group for women. Lisa Jennings and Mari Holden are the coaches. I was a bit concerned because all the women looked like they knew each other and had been biking for ages. There were two women training for their next Ironman races – notice I am saying next – so they can obviously bike 112 miles. Everybody else seemed to have ridden the Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge – a 600 mile 7 day bike ride from San Francisco to San Diego. Yep – I was definitely the newbie and the only non-cyclist in the group. But the day was starting out well because Lisa said that we weren’t really doing 50 miles closer to 45. Wahoo!
As we were all getting ready to roll out an elderly gentlemen started flirting with some of the women. He kept saying how much money was tied up in the bikes and asking questions. Lisa put him to work by making him take a picture of the group. I was to find that there would be many photo taking stops along the way. Is this to have photo documentation of how much fun we are having, or how quickly we are falling apart?
We rode out of Fletcher Cove and headed over to Via de La Valle. I ride this road every single day – it is so different on a bike. I was the third girl in the line. This is a problem – I am not used to riding near people. And they all keep pointing out holes and rocks and trash in the path – this requires that you take your hands off the handlebars. I know that it is correct etiquette, but I have a death grip on my handle bars and there is no way that I can signal and ride at the same time – the person behind me is out of luck. Lisa drops back and rides beside me – does she know that she is potentially in a deadly position? I am an erratic cyclist – my bike drifts – and I seem unnaturally drawn to get as close as possible to parked cars. I fear for Lisa and myself. Although I have no feeling in my hands or feet because it is so cold, I am feeling good on my bike. I am able to hang with the group. They aren’t immediately dropping me. Life is good and the sun is beautiful. Our first gentle climb is right before the Polo grounds and it is at this point that I am to find my place in the group, the back of the pack with the clean-up coach. Lisa had that honor on the way out – Mari was the unlucky coach on the way back.
19 or 20 years ago I had ridden a 50 mile bike-a-thon for the OGHS football squad. Michelle Boden and Joe Stehly were with me that day and three other guys that I can’t remember. I have no idea why I thought I could ride 50 miles back then and what my parents were thinking allowing me to ride from OG out Del Dios back Palomar Airport Road finishing at Washington Park in Escondido. I don’t remember much except we stopped at Jack –in-the-Box in Cardiff and that I started hallucinating on Palomar Airport road. The football players dropped Michelle and me at some point on the coast and then Michelle dropped me somewhere on Palomar. I know the support van redirected me when I started to get on the freeway. But I made it that day on a ten speed tween Schwinn, without a helmet, without bike shorts, without a water bottle and I was going to make it today.
Back to reality, the next little climb was onto Del Dios highway as you approach the Village church – steep, but short. I was struggling but still in hanging distance with the group. Turn the corner and the lead pack is waiting for us. I’m not sure what it is, but I don’t remember much about actual scenery on the ride. I think I am so focused on not dying that everything else fades into the background – although I do remember thinking that the shadow trees were pretty – had I started hallucinating already?
From mile 5 to mile 15 it is pretty much a long slow grade with few flat or downhill sections. I got to play with my gears and basically felt like I was spinning, but going nowhere fast. Humbling, but I was still feeling like I wasn’t a complete albatross around the group’s neck. Lisa diverted us for some scary downhill near Hernandez Hideaway. I have come to the conclusion that I like flat roads. I ride my brakes on the downhills and I try to spin to get the lactic acid out of my legs, but end up free spinning and feeling dangerously out of control and shifting into a higher chain ring when I am screaming down a hill on my bike at 30mph is unlikely to happen. My skills are just not that sharp yet. I have one brief shining moment of not being the slowest rider as we crest over Del Dios across Via Rancho Road into Escondido. We have a photo stop and group hug at the mosque. The mosque is located on El Diablo Road. Does anyone else think that they should change the name of the street? I take this opportunity to drink some electrolyte and take a Clif Block. I won’t even look at my Garmin. I don’t want to know how many miles are left.
We turn left and through a part of Escondido that I do not know. We end up on Harmony Grove Road or Elfin Forest – not sure which, but everybody is uber-excited because it is freshly paved. I am just happy with the lack of traffic. Mari now switches with Lisa to round up the back of the pack. Lisa starts leading a pace line. I decline to join the line – again I am still not that comfortable riding someone’s wheel and don’t want to be responsible for a horrific crash. Besides in triathlon drafting is illegal so I need to learn to slog it on my own. The road surface is nice, but Mari makes the mistake of telling me that there are only two more climbs on the ride – I’m sure in her mind there really were only two more climbs, but any small grade at this point is a climb for me. From miles 15 to mile 20 we have rollers ranging from +3% to -3% grade. It sounds gentle and nice, but if you struggle with changing gears – this is a true test. By now my death grip on the handlebars was making the palms of my hands hurt. I was wearing padded gloves, but I obviously am leaning too much of my body weight on the front of my bike – guess this is why Lisa and Mari keep telling me to bend my elbows and breathe. Being on a bike and being relaxed seems somewhat oxymoronic to me.
At this point all I see are hills. In my mind I keep telling myself that this is like the nine minute interval on the compu-trainer – sadly rarely are there4 minute rest intervals. At mile 25 somewhere in San Elijo village we stop for a restroom, croissant, photo break. I am just happy to get off the bike. I make the mistake of looking at my Garmin – we are only a little more than halfway done? Surely the Garmin GPS has stopped functioning. I sip my electrolyte – hoping for some magical elixir energy and pop another block.
We roll out and at this point I still have faith in Mari and have put my bike back into the big chain ring. Mari is able to ride and talk on her cell phone at the same time. I know that we as women are supposed to be good multi-taskers, but I am still impressed. Mari is not feeling well – could it be because I am making her ride so slowly? She thinks it was the sushi she had the night before – I think she’s just being kind. At this point Lisa leads us to another hill – this is an unexpected hill for Mari and for me I try valiantly to shift gears, but end up locking up my bike. My chain has fallen off the derailleur. I am just so impressed that I managed to unclip from my pedals before falling over that the fact that something is wrong with my bike is secondary. Mari gets her hands dirty and gets my chain back on course. We continue to ride. This section becomes a blur all I know is that after one climb I can see in the far distance the ocean -my salvation. At some point we end up on La Costa Avenue and have actually somewhat caught up with the pack. They again start a pace line that I again decline. I don’t want to mess with their fun. Mari and I miss a light across the 5 on La Costa so we get separated from the group she yells for Lisa, but the wind is gusting and the group rides on. Mari is all alone with the slow newbie. I miss the light as we turn left onto Pacific Coast Highway. This is a chance for me to catch my breath and realize that I need to do a lot more outdoor biking. Once I make it across I tell Mari that she can ride ahead. I know my way home from here. I am not going to get so lucky. It is this point that she broaches my lack of lycra bike shorts. I have a pair of Pearl Izumi shorts that allow me to enter my coffee shop without being arrested for indecent exposure. They have a good bike chamois in them – and no one knows that I am pretending to be a cyclist. Mari is not won over by this fashion argument nor my desire to have liposuction when wearing “real” bike shorts -obviously a woman who has never struggled with her body image. It is at this point that I am seriously scared. Riding through Leucadia there is no bike path – you are in the road with the cars and there are a lot of cars. In Encinitas we turn off the main road and head to Swamis. The group is hanging out on the sidewalk waiting for us. I feel a lump in my throat. I really am the lame horse.
We make it back to Fletcher Cove – 40 miles in 3 hours and 14 minutes. Everyone is so nice and tells me that this was not an easy ride for a beginner. The good news I think I could continue to ride another 16 miles – the bad news, the thought of doing a half marathon – not so appealing. Even driving in my car my legs felt like they should be pedaling.
Next week the great Western Loop Ride – I have a feeling that this one may break me. Even the other riders are scared about this course – I’m going with ignorance is bliss. See you on the road!
Because someday I will improve this is the info from my Garmin friend
Total Time: 3:14:43:01
Average Pace: 4:55/mile
Average Speed: 12.2 mph
Max Speed: 30.3 mph
Total Calories: 1865 (The only number I like)
Ave Heart Rate: 122 bpm (this makes it sound like I wasn’t trying)
Max Heart Rate:160 bpm
Total Ascent: 2461 ft
Total Descent: 2482 ft