07 MS Tour DAY 1
At 5:00 am the alarm went off and I was pushed out of bed by excitement, apprehension,anticipation and muted fear. This past years riding in preparation for 2 days under the spotlight has culminated into one thought, will I make it or ride in the SAG vehicle. Have I absorbed enough calories ?, is my stamina up to snuff ?, will the bike perform ?, questions that can only be answered these next 2 days. Marie drove me to the starting line, my shirt pockets filled with best wishes, gatorade and doubtful confidence. The starting crowd was familiar from years past, the Elvis team , the Buttwatchers, the Goonpatrol, the Road sharks, and this year my bike mechanic Jonathan ,riding , Eric taking his place at stop 3.Unloaded my bike, pumped up the tires, checked all my gear , donned my numbers and joined the crowd. Now all fears were gone, I was another rider, all reservation disappeared, time to function and I was ready. The starting fireworks go off and I join the legions , about 1000, on 2 days journey, for me an inner journey, none the less a journey. The first few miles most riders are paced by adrenalin, I on the other hand set my pace and stick to it no matter how slow. At mile 1 a rider stops to repair his flat tire, an annual event, there's always a flat in the first turn, I on the other hand allow the crowds to clear the path for me picking up nails, sharp rocks, and glass. I'm blessed with my kind of weather, more warm than cool, slightly overcast, slight breeze out the south. The first 10 miles I bore witness to most of the riders passing me, I became disheartened though when the kid on the tricycle, the old man with his cane mounted on his recumbent and the rider with a full size speaker blaring fight songs mounted on his rear carrier, all passed me with elegant ease. Curses I think to myself,, they'll all fail when we hit the alps, my strategy will prevail. Part 2 of my plan, I pass by the first rest stop, jumped ahead of 200 riders. Onward and onward I pedaled searching my grove, body becoming a machine and functions without thought. From Rest stop 2 to the end the side of the road is spattered with spent riders and broke bikes waiting for a SAG pick up. I count my blessings and ride on . At stop 3 I talk to Eric the Bike tech, not too many flats this year as he aligns a wheel for a rider. I let him know that my bike and I are functioning well, just slow. I gulp the the available grub , grapes , oranges, nuts, fig newtons, and 10k. I keep telling myself, eat before your hungry and drink before your thirsty. Its about 5 miles to lunch when I meet with my old friend King Kong the mountain, big as ever and daring me to scamper up it's side. In my world its an Alp, a Pyrenees, I imagine the top being snow covered and the road lined with spectators cheering us on to the top. I don't take its dare and artfully work my way up using my gears and cunning, never stopping to question the path, just to do it, searching my MP3 player and finding "Born to be Wild" , cranking the volume up to help spur my calves to give that extra effort needed to not stop, as I peak to top the oxygen mask falls out on my bike from the pressure change, I thought for a minute I saw a mountain goat, or maybe its the lack of oxygen playing tricks with my mind. I went into a daze momentarily and pictured myself on the red Western Flyer of my childhood, my right pant leg rolled up, my arms pulling back on the extra wide handle bars, pushing that one gear to it's max.As I crested I began to regain consciousness and looking down reved up the adrenalin.The down side gave me the rest I needed, I coasted for about a mile before having to pedal again. 32 miles an hour gets scary on just 2 wheels.Lunch break, whilst I chew on a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich, my mind has done complete turnaround, I know I'll make it , maybe slow but I'll make it. Now I can enjoy the ride, fresh air, picturesque scenery, the smell of dairy's and not a milk smell , the pastures of cattle and horses, the llama farm, the emu farm , an occasional goat and here comes another hill. Hill after hill after hill, after hill, my thighs feel the effort and develop that slow constant burning. I am undaunted and tackle each as if I were cresting Mount Everest. Rest stop 5, take time to checkout equipment, spend an little time recuperating , load up on food and drink, decide to crank it up a bit, I'm feeling good, I started down a desolate area, very wooded, big shoulders and shallow hills. Suddenly my nose twitched and picked up a foul smell.. As I rode on it became prevalent and more foul, 2 young men come up from behind, I turn to the first one and remark , "smell that?, "what?" he says, "that stench, you don't smell it ?,", "What is that", he yells to his partner and me. My attention is drawn to the right , my eyes pick up a shadow moving in the woods, "what was that!" I thought, tall, slow, and stinky. We approached a turn then I recognized the area, its' where last years "Big Foot" sighting took place. I grabbed my camera ready to shoot, the shadow's gone, I dare not stop, not that curious, I snapped some pictures of footprints on the shoulder ( see photo section part 3 ) . The 2 young men and I moved on to the next hill and agreed to act like nothing happened, who'd believe us anyway.Next rest stop, number 6, last stop , I can smell the finish line, I'm confident, relaxed, enjoying the break, drinking, eating, joking, chit chatting with the volunteer workers, I've kicked ass even though according to the volunteers there's only about 10 riders behind me, not counting the hundreds that have dropped out. Crossing the interstate signaled me about 5 miles left, time to pour it on and finish this puppy in eight and a half hours. The woods get deeper , the hills are smaller , the entrance to the park is in sight and I'm pedaling for all I have. I approach the finish line and the crowds are encouraging me , probably looked like I needed help .Turned in my bike , found Marie and don't think I've ever felt this good after the first day,looking forward to tomorrow with aspirations of doing even better.Time to eat plenty, drink plenty and rest. .
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