On most long bike rides I end up with a theme song of sorts. It's usually a random song that pops into my head that I hum, chant, and sometimes even belt out at the top of my lungs throughout the ride. I've found singing helps distract me when I need a distraction from the pain of a steep climb, the terror of a terrifying decent or just tired legs and a sore bottom. It's weird but it works. Last weeks century my theme song was "It's Only The Wind" by Billy Dean. Heh. Heh. So fitting. As was yesterdays theme song which happened to be:
"Every Storm (runs out of rain)" by Gary Allen.
And it's true.. every storm does eventually run out of rain. Unfortunately yesterdays storm didn't run out until about two hours after they shut down the ride. I knew going into the ride that we were bound to get wet, I just didn't realize how wet!
As we began the ride Saturday morning in downtown Salt Lake it was a light drizzle. Even though I was only in my bike shorts and a light long sleeve jersey I was plenty toasty thanks to the pace we were keeping. The sky kept darkening and the rain kept coming down thicker and thicker but Dave and I still biked along talking and laughing and just enjoying the event. About 10 miles in we noticed quite a few people were turning around. Interesting. About mile 18 we arrived at the first aid station and stopped in for a quick potty break (we were in a hurry at the start line and didn't have time) and to refill our water bottles. Looking back I wish we had just kept going because stopping allowed our bodies to cool down. As we hopped back on our bikes to start out again we noticed that about 3/4 of the riders were turning left and heading back towards Salt Lake (most of them the elites) and only 1/4 were continuing on with the ride. Dave and I made the decision to continue on. There was NO way I was wasting a babysitter on a 32 mile ride!
After only a few minutes on the bike Dave mentioned that he was really cold and that maybe it would be best to turn around. I convinced him we would be fine and the rain would probably start to clear up in a bit so we kept on going. I still laugh about that. Anyone who knows us knows that I am the overly cautious and practical one and that Dave is the throw-all-caution-to-the wind type. I probably should have listened to him ;). He has already sent several friendly "I told you so"s my way.
Dave and I have both biked in the rain before. No big deal. Buuut, as we quickly discovered, biking in the rain, wind AND the cold (45 degrees) is a completely different experience. The rain, did not in fact let up, but got worse. It started pooling on the sides of the road and we were forced to ride in the middle of the lane to avoid battling through 2 inches of water on our skinny bike tires. A couple of big trucks took offense to this and decided to "show us" by barreling down the opposite side of the road with their horns blaring all the while spraying us with muck and cold water. Nice people. I should mention these were rural back roads with light traffic and plenty of room for bikes and cars. I'm so glad no one got hurt.
The rain started pounding down so hard it stung. And still.. I biked along with a smile on my face. I'm not sure why but I was still having a blast. I think it was the adventure of it all. As the miles wore on I noticed that I could no longer feel my feet and my hands were so cold and stiff I could no longer use them to shift. I was praying I wouldn't encounter a situation that would require me to brake quickly because I knew there was no way I would be able to. Things got cold. Really cold.
As Dave and I pulled into the second aid station we started to laugh between our chattering teeth. We. Were. DRENCHED. As we tried to walk along on our icebox feet towards the build your own hoagie station it became apparent our ride was at an end. No one was continuing on. The race directors were shuttling bikers to the front runner station so they could hop a ride on the train to return to Salt Lake. We would find out later that only 27 out of the 1800 riders made it to the third and final aid station and turn around point. Crazy!
Right next to the park that housed the second aid station was a fire station. The fire department took pity on all of us freezing bikers and opened up their bay to us. Dave and I sloshed on over and crammed inside with another 200 or so bikers.
Even though the heat was cranked Dave and I were shaking violently. I've never been so cold. The firefighters were awesome. Some bikers were in pretty bad shape and the firefighters were going above and beyond to help. They had no obligation to do so. One firefighter came over quite concerned that I was too cold and led me along trying to find me a blanket. All the blankets were in use though. One biker we passed actually gave me her blanket (although I argued against it). The blanket was soaked. Ha! It's the thought that counts and I was touched by her generous offering. The firefighter was still quite concerned (I couldn't stop shaking) and offered me a warm shower. As delightful as that sounded I declined ;).
They were only able to shuttle 4 bikers at a time to the front runner station so there was a long wait ahead of us. Dave called our brother-in-law and begged him to come rescue us. And he did.. he took us back to his house (where our kids were) and we were hooked up with a warm shower, dry clothes and a ride back to Salt Lake. I've said it before and I'll say it again but Dave and I have so many amazing and kind people in our lives. So blessed.
As unforgettable and as much fun as yesterdays ride was I will admit, I'm pretty bummed we were only able to get 45 miles in. I was all geared up for another 100 mile ride. I think I was looking for a little redemption after the painful century from last week. I've been looking around for another century event that we can do but have yet to find one that will fit into our crazy schedule. Not to mention I'm starting to feel like a neglectful parent for leaving my kiddos so much in the name of biking.
Training for my first half marathon starts tomorrow though! I'm excited for that.
No comments:
Post a Comment