Solvang!

(Sorry that this post has been a little delayed, I'm still working overtime hours. I've been writing on and off in my downtime the past couple of weeks. Thanks for being patient! )

Solvang 2009

I am excited to announce that I am now officially a 100 mile bike rider!

I spent the week before Solvang anxiously awaiting the big day, so much so that I had most of my biking gear packed by Tuesday. When Friday afternoon finally arrived and I headed up the 101N, arriving at the Beullton Marriot around 5:45. I was just in time to check in and attend the Team in Training kick off pasta party. The party was held downstairs in the ballroom, and the stairway down to the food was lined with cheering coaches and mentors, many of whom also had purple TNT cowbells to clang in a welcoming racket. Quite a way to ring in the evening!

Dinner was tasty, though I noticed that it was weird to see everybody in their street clothes after months of helmets and sunglasses. Over spaghetti and chocolate mousse we had welcome speakers who congratulated everyone on a successful training season. There was also a lot of advice to keep hydrated, eat a lot, and to ride at a comfortable pace. I've been told that the Solvang route is the most difficult of the TNT rides in my area. Most of the climbing happens at the end of the ride, after mile 65, meaning that pacing yourself at the beginning is incredibly important. Mixed in with all of the advice for the coming day was a reminder to have fun! With newbie jitters it was easy to get caught up in anxiety. Awards were handed out to the top fundraisers, and to those who were completing a TNT triple crown (triathlon, marathon, and century rides.)

I got back to my hotel room around 8 to set up all of my gear and turn in early.

I put my numbers on my jersey.

And stuck a TNT temporary tattoo on my leg.

Along with some sports goo and power bars my Solvang welcome kit came with "Road Rash Balm." I guess it's better to be prepared.

We had a 6:15am call time, so I called my boyfriend for a pep talk, triple checked my alarm and then tried to get some sleep. In most cases I am not a fan of getting up early, but I felt so excited to start the race I would have gotten up at 4 if my coach had asked me to.

Before I knew it my alarm went off and it was time to squeeze into some spandex! (Kind of like the ice capades I imagine, but with less sequins.) I put on sunscreen, grabbed all my gear, downed an espresso and a sandwich and rolled my bike out of my hotel room. I felt incredibly ready and prepared to start the ride. My teammates and I gathered along the steps for a quick picture, but I think everyone was just as ready to go as I was.

I'm the one glowing in the middle.


Each team had helmet ornaments. Ours was a little 'white blood cell' dude. Texas had a little red cowboy hat. San Francisco had mini Chamois Butter packets.

It was still dark at 6:45 when we rolled out, and around 50 degrees. Starting so early felt like an advantage, as we had a head start by almost two hours on any of our practice rides. It was a little chilly, but I was very comfortable in all of my biking layers. Everything that I wore is designed to be easily removed and packed up into pockets, so I wasn't too worried about overheating as the temperature rose. It was such a relief to finally start the century after all of these months of preparation!

We started out at an easy pace. In the back of my mind I reminded myself that there was a long way to go, so I wasn't too keen fly through the first few miles. Our little group gradually spread out and I found myself riding with the amiable Sheldon, an assistant coach on the Eastside team. This was Sheldon's third year at Solvang, and I came to rely on his experience as the ride wore on.

The first hour I was just excited to be finally out there doing the ride. The day dawned cool and cloudy, but hey, I'm from Ohio, and I thrive on cloudy days. I enjoyed the vineyards, farms and mountains, and the first 25 miles really seemed to fly by.

We decided to skip the first SAG (support and gear) stop to save a little time and keep going while we were still fresh. We waved to Sheldon's family as we went by. Hearing his daughters and niece ringing their cowbells like crazy gave me a great burst of energy.

It was really fun to be out there with so many other cyclists! Solvang typically draws over 3500 bikers, which is a lot more than I've ever been around. We saw quite a few cycling clubs in super fast pace lines, several tandems teams, and a lot people like me who fall into the biking enthusiast category. Several people asked us about our helmet ornaments. A couple of people told us our "snowman had melted!" We just laughed and explained that "It's a white cancer fighting blood cell, we're part of Team in Training."

This photo is actually from my drive home, but its pretty close to our biking scenery! Lots of cows, horses and vineyards.

I didn't take very many pictures of the scenery during the ride, as I only had eyes for the finish line. Sheldon told me that this ride is more fun every year that he does it, as he can spend less time worrying about the route and more time enjoying the terrain. The beginning of the ride is reminiscent of southern France, with winding roads through vineyards and farm lands, and mountain scenery all around. If you had told me that I was in Provence I might have believed you, especially if you then offered me some spectacular local wine. As the ride wore on there were a few sections that took us into residential areas, but luckily the route was well marked and organized. There were even local police to wave us through tricky intersections, and colored arrows marked on the road to point the way.

We stopped SAG2 around mile 39. I wasn't really hungry but I devoured some of the offered food before refilling my water bottle. The ride is divided pretty evenly by five SAG stops, each with volunteers providing sandwiches, fruit, cookies, nuts, a kind word, and tune ups if needed. One of the key rules to endurance rides is to "Eat before you're hungry, and drink before you're thirsty." I've been told that so many times that I don't really want to know what happens if you wait.

Though the first half of the ride is pretty flat, there was one big hill up a highway that I do remember. I figured it was just a warm up for what was to come, and my muscles were well trained from all of those hills in Malibu. I didn't exactly zoom to the top, but I worked on keeping a steady pace. And its always great to reach the top and coast to the bottom.

50 Miles? That's nothing. I was ready to keep going!

SAG 3 was around mile 60. Sheldon and I had the good luck to reach it at the exact same time as my friends from L.A who came to cheer me on. It was great to see familiar faces.

I had some awesome friends who came up to Santa Barbara to cheer me on.

SAG three felt like the party stop. Bikers and spectators took over the parking lot of the Radisson hotel. There was music playing as everyone refueled, and the bikers seemed cheerful and ready to tackle the second, and more difficult part of this ride.

The sun came out a little bit!

After SAG 3 I figured I had another 10 miles of fairly flat terrain before I needed to worry about anything. We passed several strawberry fields that I was tempted to poach from, and had a relatively uneventful stretch of road.

At SAG4 we met up with Coach Ramone who gave us a pre-Foxen Canyon pep talk. Foxen Canyon is a notorious stretch of the ride that I had heard about from Solvang veterans. Ramone explained that the next 18 miles along Foxen Canyon was a false flat, meaning that there was a very slight upgrade. This kind of road can get tedious very quickly, with the upgrade making it difficult to build up momentum. Ramone and Sheldon told me that I needed to pace myself, because Foxen Canyon is not only long, it's followed by a relatively intense hill before reaching the final SAG stop at mile 91.

This is where things got tougher. The first six miles past SAG4 seemed fine as we continued through farmland and vineyards. I saw a lot of horses grazing, and was tempted momentarily every time I saw a "Stop here for wine tasting" sign. But the route got monotonous pretty quick. I think even Sheldon got a little tired of it after awhile. Eventually though we made it to the promised big uphill push. I was tired from biking all day, and more than a little shaky. There were honestly times on that last Foxen Canyon hill when I felt spent. If I hadn't had Sheldon there with me I probably would have considered walking up that hill. If I ever needed a pep talk in my life it was right then, and he was there telling me "You're almost there, you're doing great." We passed quite a few guys along the tree lined route who had had to stop and stretch or take a breather. But I just kept pedaling, and eventually, I pushed to the top. I don't think I've ever quite enjoyed a downhill as much as that one. I positively grinned the whole way. Getting to the last SAG felt amazing. At that point I was way beyond any distance I had done before and I felt a new appreciation for the padding in my bike shorts. We somehow managed to catch up with my teammates Brad, Greg, John and Julia, and had a reunion over our PB+Js. I can usually keep pace with all of them on flats, but they blow past me when it comes time to climb hills. I guess we were following pretty close behind them the entire time. We talked about the ride for a bit, and it was great to see that we had all made it so far together.

I was feeling a little wobbly, so I downed another caffeine fueled GU packet and ate half a sandwich before we continued. I had been dreading this part of the ride all day, mostly because someone thought it would be cute to name it "The Wall.' As we approached it I watched as teeny riders in the distance mounted to the top. I had one of those moments that I think most endurance athletes have, where mid-ride you berate yourself and ask yourself questions like "Are you crazy? What in the world do you think you're doing out here?" In the end though I had no choice really but to keep pedaling. By the time I was finished with my mental tirade I was already halfway up the hill, and I had Sheldon next to me saying "Just a little further! You can do it."

And you know what? He was right. I made it to the top and was rewarded a glorious downhill jaunt. All of the bikers around me were emitting an infectious energy as we entered into the home stretch. There were some final uphill switchbacks, but they seemed like nothing at that point in the ride. We had joined up with a jubilant group of bikers who cheered each other around each uphill turn.

After that it was literally all downhill until we reached Solvang. What a way to end a day of riding. The minute we turned from farmland into a residential area I asked Sheldon, "Is this it? Are we there?" And he said "Yup, this is Solvang, just a little further to go!" Pedaling into the little Dutch village I was absolutely beaming.





Batman and Robin barely beat me across the finish line.

Here's Sheldon and I, rolling into downtown Solvang.

Alright!!!

It was a little after 4pm, and I clocked in at 8 hours, 10 minutes, just a little behind Brad and Greg. There were hugs all around and Marylin handed out our medals. Brad jokingly said that his goal was to beat 9 hours, but I think he set it little high on purpose. I've been told I made great time for a first century. I figured it was not bad for someone who's longest ride was 12 miles back in October!

Here I am admiring my medal.

I feel honored to have been able to train with such a wonderful group of people. After the finish line we actually had 3 more miles to go. Remember how we started off at the Marriot? Well we had to get back there somehow. And my biking computer was clocking in at 98.5 miles, so I needed at least another 1.5 to feel truly satisfied.

After making it back to the Marriot I took a glorious shower. I'm happy to report that I felt exhausted, but not as sore as I had anticipated. My friends took me out to a delicious Italian dinner at Cafe Angelica. I knew it was going to be tasty when we could smell wafting garlic before we even walked in the door. I greatly enjoyed the garlic bread and local wines, and relished being able to eat whatever I pleased.

And then we went back to the bar at the Marriot to play some pool and celebrate.

And here we are later relaxing at the bar.

Alicia, Sarah and Chris ready to enjoy some Dutch pastries.

Joining up with TNT has been incredibly rewarding, and I am so happy that it ended well. Sure there were Saturdays when the last thing I wanted to do was get up at 6:30am to go bike, but every time I was out there with my team I felt incredibly accomplished and happy. It has been an opportunity to challenge myself, push to new limits, meet new people, discover new places, and learn a lot about biking, all while raising money for a wonderful cause, and in memory of a wonderful friend. I have also been amazed at all of the support and encouragement that I have received from friends and family.

Together we surpassed my fundraising minimum by $430, coming in at a total of $2,630. I don't think that there is enough I can say to express my gratitude to everyone for pitching in to support this admirable cause. Every day I feel blessed for my good health, and it feels wonderful to be able to give back to help those who are fighting blood cancers. The Greater L.A. chapter raised over $56,000. Combined with the San Francisco and Texas teams, the Solvang TNT riders managed to pull in a grand total of $268,000.

It's been a long road, but I have had a lot of support along the way. I want to say thank you to all of the coaches and mentors who took time out of their days to help me bike shop, train and deal with bike maintenance, to my grandma who sent me encouraging emails and beautiful cards, for my bike enthusiast uncle who so generously set me up with most of my gear, for my boyfriend and parents who kept telling me that I could do it, for the friends who helped me bake scones and cinnamon rolls to sell at work (and thank you to everyone at work for being hungry), my boyfriend's parents who went to all of their neighbors and helped me raise over $500, for my 5th grade teacher who responded to my letter out of the blue, for all my friends for putting up with me being anti-social on Friday nights so I could get ready for Saturday rides, and thank you to every single person who donated.

Honestly, it's going to be a little bit hard to let go of this whole experience. I'm already looking into other rides to do in the spring and summer!

For some more pictures check out a teammate's album at-
http://picasaweb.google.com/chris.mang/2009SolvangCenturyRide314#


Also there are professional pictures if you like that kind of thing, but they seem to be kind of expensive. If you would like me to print some of my pictures I would be happy to!

Woohoo!

More to come!

Just about ready to go

My car is packed with everything I own that is even remotely biking related. But most importantly I have my bike, and my helmet, and both shoes. Though everything else I have will greatly increase my comfort during the ride, they are technically not necessary. That being said, I triple checked to make sure that I have my gloves, windbreaker, bike shorts, sunscreen, snacks, camera...etc.

I'm counting down the minutes until I can leave work, won't be long now til I'm up in Santa Barbara at our Team in Training pre-ride pasta party.

All of my stuff, packing

Getting ready for Saturday I've started pulling all of my biking gear together. I'm surprised actually at how much stuff I have accumulated over the past few months. Throw in some espresso, sunscreen and my bike and I am good to go Saturday morning!

Looking good for the weekend!

I've been checking the weather report a few times a day all week. It hasn't changed much but I can't help myself. I've been told that one year they had hail and rain during part of the ride. I'm crossing my fingers that it will be as sunny as the forecast says.

Our last practice ride, and a picnic

Last Saturday we completed our final practice ride of the season, going a measly 50 miles along the PCH in Malibu. It feels great to be able to think of 50 miles as a 'short' ride.

We met up once again at Malibu Bluffs park around 8am to go over some Solvang details, and then we headed north for about 25 miles until we reached the main highway at Las Posas. The first half of the ride was deceptively easy. It was around 65 degrees with stunning sunshine, and I felt incredibly motivated and happy to be able to attend this last practice. However the minute we turned around and started biking south we headed into the wind. It was like we were biking uphill all the way home. The wind just seemed to steal all of my momentum, meaning I couldn't stop pedaling to cruise and give my legs a little rest. It was a little challenging and frustrating, but I wasn't about to stop. For one, I knew that I had done harder rides than this one. And two, we had an honored teammate driving our SAG wagon that day. This woman had survived cancer after four years of treatment, and then she signed up for a triathlon as soon as her doctor told her she was in remission. There was absolutley no way I could call this amazing woman and tell her "I don't really feel like biking into the wind today, can you pick me up?"

And third, I knew that as soon as I got back to Malibu Bluffs there would be a basket of these-

I need someone to ride in front of me on Saturday carrying a basket like this one. The ride would be so easy if I were chasing brownies the whole way!

Back at the park we had a great picnic with the next TNT century team. They're training for 'America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride" with goes around Lake Tahoe. I refueled on cookies, beer and a variety of other carb heavy items. I also brought veggie dogs carefully packed in a cooler, as Coach Dave promised to bring his grill, though I think I may have been the only one to try them (I promise they're not that bad... when you cover them in cheese and ketchup).

Unfortunately I had to go from the picnic straight to work (well I did go home and shower first). I sure could have used a nap!

A happy hello

I've received so many wonderful words of encouragement in the past few weeks. As the big ride approaches not a day goes by that I don't hear from friends and family letting me know that they will be thinking of me this Saturday. I was especially delighted to get this card in my mailbox yesterday.

My Grandma Dixie has been making beautiful greeting cards the past few years, and I always get a thrill when I see her handwriting on an envelope in my mail box.

How sweet is that?

Thanks for the support everybody! All of your confidence and support means the world to me.

"The Wild Bunch"

There is an interesting article in this morning's New York times called "The Wild Bunch." It paints an intriguing portrait of what biking was like in New York City in the 80's, and ends with an earnest plea to bikers to follow basic traffic laws, "...because they do hate us, they being nonbikers and us being bikers."

I found the article especially relevant as one of our mentors, Gary, was in a bike meets car accident last week, putting him out of commission for this year's Solvang Century. Marylin described it as "Well, they had to put his femur back into his leg, but he seemed fine on the phone..." but I missed the rest of the story because I was stuck on the phrase"FEMUR back into leg?" He'll be on crutches for a couple of months but is planning on doing the Cool Breeze Century this August.

Careful out there everybody.

Jersey

Look what I got! I think purple and green are really my colors, can't wait to show them off this Saturday!

My house to Malibu and back

Tomorrow morning is our last team practice of the season. We will be having a 50 mile ride, and at this point that seems not only manageable, but darn right short. Both the East and West Side teams will be biking together and I'm really looking forward to it, as I've missed out on the last few team gatherings. Though I have loved getting ready for this century, the timing has been a little stressful. My current movie finishes production at the end of March, meaning that I am currently working ten hour days throughout the week, and working every Saturday. I have special permission to come into work late this Saturday, as I really want to go to this last practice.

Though I have been busy the past few weeks, I've still been going to the gym almost everyday, and cycling on my own every Sunday. Last weekend I biked from my front door in Marina del Rey all the way to Neptune's Net in Malibu, and back, clocking in at 75 miles. That's about 14 miles further than I have ever gone before.

This photo is actually from the previous weekend's bike ride, when it was not as sunny.

I got up early on Sunday determined to do some serious miles. The beach bike path near my house stretches north a good ten miles before ending at Will Roger's State Park, so I decided to follow that and then segway up the PCH into Malibu. I felt especially motivated not only because I am so close to the main event, but also because it was a stunning day.


As I worked my way north I tuned my iPod to my work out mix to jam with some early 90's pop music and enjoyed the morning breeze off the ocean. I went past the Venice Beach boardwalk and decided that it is possibly the best place in Los Angeles to people watch. I saw one woman wearing a towell and lingerie, a guy biking with a black poodle in his back pack, and a fair assortment of early morning surfers, body builders and joggers. The Santa Monica pier, with its precariously situated roller coaster, loomed in the misty distance, but soon I had put it miles behind me as I rolled up into southern Malibu. I hopped onto the PCH and went another ten miles until I reached Malibu Bluffs, which is where the team usually meets to start our rides.


I have to say that it felt pretty amazing to have biked a distance that I usually drive, a distance that a few short months ago I never would have considered tackling. I took a break to stretch my legs and ate a snack, and my bike and I squeezed into the ladie's handicap restroom for a quick potty break. Luckily there were few people about to see me at my most paranoid, but this close to the Solvang it would be more than upsetting to have my bike lost or stolen.

From there I was on familiar terrain, and the next 16 miles seemed to fly by. Before I knew it those infamous hills just past Malibu Bluffs were past me, and I was cruising along beautiful coastline watching the surfers and volleyball players. Every once in awhile I looked at my cyclometer and mentally doubled the distance I traveled. Every landmark that I passed I would think "If I turned back here I will have gone 40 miles when I get back home."


In no time at all Mariah Carey was crooning into my ear as I rolled into Neptune's Net. I pulled into the parking lot to hang out for a few minutes with the other bikers, the kind who ride Harley's instead of Cannondales. I had reached 36 miles, a pretty darn respectable half way point.


The minute I turned around to head home I immediately noticed a complete lack of wind. Biking north all morning I had been going into the wind, and heading south it felt like I was just coasting downhill all the way home. When I got back to Malibu Bluffs I took another break and leisurely enjoyed my last energy bar. There was a small part of me that wished my car was parked there, so I could just load up and effortlessly drive home. But the larger part of me was excited that I had come so far, and I knew that the hardest part of my ride was now behind me. I filled up my water bottles and kept right on rolling towards home. The Santa Monica and Venice areas were more crowded later in the day, so it was a bit like playing Frogger as I weaved past roller bladers and beach cruisers.

Look at those mountains!

When I got back to the Marina I felt surpsingly good. I was pretty sore but I didn't feel completely worn out. I checked my miles and I noticed that just going home would leave me a few miles short of 75, so I actually took a detour down the Ballona Creek path to Dockweiler beach, and then biked around my cul de sac 6 times to get the numbers to creep up to an even 75. I don't know why I wasn't satisifed with 72.6, but there was a part of me that knew I could keep going and I wanted that 3/4 of a century under my belt. I finished the ride feeling very prepared for Solvang.

Later in the day I told my step dad about the miles I had traveled, and he joked that I could make it home to Ohio in about 45 days.

Things to look forward to-

Part of my information packet for next weekend includes a list of Solvang attractions, and right after a note about wine tasting comes -

"Food lovers really appreciate Solvang. They adore the Danish pastries, cookies and breads prepared in our bakeries....No visit is complete without tasting aebleskivers, the jam-draped, powdered sugar-dusted Danish pancake balls. So go for a walk around town and sample the good Danish food."



100 miles is going to feel like nothing when I have "the jam-draped, powdered sugar-dusted Danish pancake balls" to look forward to after the ride!

The Bicycle Diaries-BBC's The Changing World

As I was driving to a friend's house on Sunday evening I caught the beginning of a very interesting radio documentary produced by the BBC. It was part of a show called "The Changing World. " And what was it about? One of my favorite topics (as you may have noticed) - bikes. I only got to listen to a few minutes, but luckily the program is available online.

The first half of the program covers the Velib bicycle program popular in Paris. For a small fee people can rent any of the 20,600 bikes stationed around the fashionable city. I love the image of a French woman biking in high heels, her helmet perched demurely in her bike basket so as not to muss her hair.

The second half of the program takes place throughout the early morning streets of Delhi, India, following newspaper deliveries. The majority of newspapers in the Delhi are delivered precariously perched on bicycles. Many of the delivery men seem especially attached to their bikes, even going so far as to compare their value to that of a girlfriend.

As I've started to approach biking more as a sport than as a means of transportation, it is refreshing to listen the these stories about how and why people all over the world use bikes in their everyday lives.

Sitting disease

Last month's Bicycling Magazine had a rather alarming article about something dubbed 'sitting disease." Basically your odds of developing a variety of health conditions, such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, increase by a huge percent if you spend 8 hours a day or more sitting down. As I am one of the millions of Americans working at a computer all day, I took the article to heart. The article recommends standing up and walking around at least once an hour to prevent your body from going into resting metabolism, and outlines several exercises aimed at strengthening areas that are generally weakened by sitting for long periods. Check out the article in full here.