Thursday, May 31, 2012

Surviving the Century

The Santa Fe Century is full of lies.

David, looking strong enough to pull me up the hills
Race officials lied when they called it a 100-mile bike ride (it's actually 103.9). David lied when he told me it was an easy ride (it's actually the 2nd hardest thing I've done in my life). And I lied to my body when I said, "no, silly kneecaps, you're not about to explode. And I'm sorry rear end, but I think you're over-reacting to the fact that we've been sitting on a bike saddle for 7 hours now."
But, lies and all, I almost doubled the furthest distance I've ever biked in one day last Sunday.

The scenery was beautiful (people come from all over the west to do this race). And it was so cool to see amazing cyclists doing what they love, and to be near so many people who nod in approval when we tell them we're training to bike across the country - like it's the most natural thing to do in the world!
Feeling deceptively good
at the 2nd Rest Stop

Another thing that amazed me was the variable in speed caused by the tandem. 40+ mph on the downhills comes much easier for us than single bikers, and I think the guy who caught our wake down the steepest of those hills got quite a thrill ride as he drafted his way down behind us. Our speed and weight also carry us further beyond the hills, allowing us to coast for very long periods of time. We didn't suffer too much on the uphills either (a fair amount of my own stubborn competitiveness might have been a factor there).
103.9 miles later, with the windburn
and grease stains to prove it!

All in all, we're feeling more confident than ever that we might actually be able to finish this crazy trip we're embarking on. If you want to see the stats of our ride, you can check those out here.

2 comments:

  1. No comments about how a tandem is like the magical unicorn of the biking world?

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    1. Ha, yes, the tandem is indeed the magical unicorn of the biking world. I could do an entire post on the novelty of riding a tandem and the jokes that follow, but maybe I'm saving that material for a rainy day :)

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