Denver (Quarter) Century Ride
Jun. 19th, 2018 06:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhiannonstoneOn Saturday I did the Denver Century Ride, or at least about a quarter of it. The headline: I finished! And I finished with most of the same people I crossed the starting line with, which feels like an accomplishment to me, especially given how long it's been since I've done a timeboxed, large-group ride and how much I hated life for several stretches. And in spite of those moments of hating life, it was a lot of fun.
Here are three things that are lies:
"mostly flat"
"mostly cloudy"
"25 miles"
Other than the heat and sun I was doing just dandy until we hit the first climb at mile 15. And, look, I know that for most cyclists in good shape, that was not "a climb." But it was up a hill that's so very a hill that the neighborhood literally has "Hill" in the name, and it sucked. I challenged myself to stay on the bike instead of succumbing to the temptation to hop off and walk it like I usually do, and when I got to the park at the top of the hill, I collapsed on the grass for a bit. The SAG wagon happened by and gosh I am so grateful for them but I have never figured out how to properly and politely express "I am thankful for you and appreciate that you stopped to see if I was OK and offer me every foodstuff you have in your car but I am really OK and I really need to you to go away and let me recover in peace so I don't have to waste the breath I am trying to catch reassuring you." Thumbs-up is supposed to work, but it never does.
I caught my breath, slogged through an annoyingly perfectly flat bit (perfectly flat means no opportunity to stop pedaling and coast!) to the one and only rest stop at mile 18, and pushed myself through a love-hate relationship with gravity about 4mph faster than my average for the last 10 miles of ups and downs. I probably shouldn't have pushed myself, the ride home and the next day would have felt much better if I hadn't. But it was nice to have a fellow Athena catch up with me just before the finish line to tell me my pace kept her going. <3
People were expectedly super friendly and supportive overall, and there were only 2 people I wanted to punch: the parent who lectured her ~7-year-old son on his attitude and technique as he was struggling up the aforementioned hill as if he were a professional athlete who needed a tough-love pep talk, and the guy who thought it would be HI-larious to come up to me as I was clearly dying on the final overpass to ask "So how many laps are you gonna do today? Hahahaha." I did not respond with the single raised finger I wanted to, but I death-glared the back of his helmet so hard when he passed me.
I would definitely do this again next year. I'm looking forward to a much more leisurely long ride this weekend, though.
Here are three things that are lies:
"mostly flat"
"mostly cloudy"
"25 miles"
Other than the heat and sun I was doing just dandy until we hit the first climb at mile 15. And, look, I know that for most cyclists in good shape, that was not "a climb." But it was up a hill that's so very a hill that the neighborhood literally has "Hill" in the name, and it sucked. I challenged myself to stay on the bike instead of succumbing to the temptation to hop off and walk it like I usually do, and when I got to the park at the top of the hill, I collapsed on the grass for a bit. The SAG wagon happened by and gosh I am so grateful for them but I have never figured out how to properly and politely express "I am thankful for you and appreciate that you stopped to see if I was OK and offer me every foodstuff you have in your car but I am really OK and I really need to you to go away and let me recover in peace so I don't have to waste the breath I am trying to catch reassuring you." Thumbs-up is supposed to work, but it never does.
I caught my breath, slogged through an annoyingly perfectly flat bit (perfectly flat means no opportunity to stop pedaling and coast!) to the one and only rest stop at mile 18, and pushed myself through a love-hate relationship with gravity about 4mph faster than my average for the last 10 miles of ups and downs. I probably shouldn't have pushed myself, the ride home and the next day would have felt much better if I hadn't. But it was nice to have a fellow Athena catch up with me just before the finish line to tell me my pace kept her going. <3
People were expectedly super friendly and supportive overall, and there were only 2 people I wanted to punch: the parent who lectured her ~7-year-old son on his attitude and technique as he was struggling up the aforementioned hill as if he were a professional athlete who needed a tough-love pep talk, and the guy who thought it would be HI-larious to come up to me as I was clearly dying on the final overpass to ask "So how many laps are you gonna do today? Hahahaha." I did not respond with the single raised finger I wanted to, but I death-glared the back of his helmet so hard when he passed me.
I would definitely do this again next year. I'm looking forward to a much more leisurely long ride this weekend, though.
