Anyway, my hope was to finish the ride and not feel like I'd been taken out behind the barn for good ass whoopin' when I finished. You know, have fun.
Jeanette Summers and I headed off into the darkness around 5:30. It was fun trying to catch the next blinking tail light down the road. When you catch that one, you look for the next one. Connect the dots. Then, connect the green jackets. Just trying to keep a good, steady pace and not get too "used up" in the first half of the ride... and, not stop too long at rest stops. By mile 100, I was under 6 hours total ride time with only 9 minutes paused, so I was feeling pretty optimistic about a 12 hour finish.
But, I hadn't found any good pace lines or people to work with since sunrise. As I headed to the lunch stop at mile 113, I spotted a tandem in my rearview mirror! Hallelujah! Rest break! It didn't last... the road tilted up, the tandem slowed... and I was solo again. Drat! (this is family rated, right?)
I ate a half sandwich at lunch, then jumped back on the bike because I saw a pretty good sized group leaving. As we started to head south and toward the ocean, the wind picked up and the group spread out. I rode the next 20 or so miles with a guy from Salt Lake City. He told me that last year he couldn't even see the ocean because the rain and fog were so bad.
Still, the wind was picking up and we were 70 miles from the finish. I was starting to head for the back of the barn... the wind was relentless. Headwind, crosswind, gusts, sand and dust blowing horizontally across the road. I looked with longing at any road that gave any hope of heading down wind. But, noooooo.
At the last rest stop, around mile 140, the road finally turned inland so we had a crosswind as we headed for Foxen Canyon and Ballard roads to the finish.
My Garmin battery pooped out before I finished, so I just learned from an organizer e-mail that my time was 13:40 (with 40 minutes stopped).
I didn't quite get my ass whooped by the ride. I really enjoyed riding in the Buellton / Solvang / Santa Maria / San Luis Obispo / Morro Bay / Pismo Beach area. It's a very beautiful part of our state!
I also got to eat dinner at the Mexican Place and Betty's (Training Camp favorites) for breakfast. What a way to work up an appetite.
Frank
