I love the mass starts on some of the doubles. There's a sense of excitement and anticipation in the group as 150 riders head out for a challenging day of riding. As we head up, the group spreads out, so there is a stream of tail lights ahead and occasional flashes of headlights in the rear view mirror.
This was my 4th DMD, so I knew what I was getting into (yes, I guess I'm a slow learner). In 2010, I rode it as part of the stage race and did pretty well, for me, at 15:31. Last year, I tackled it again, hoping to improve my time. Instead, I got my first ambulance ride, which was a whole lot slower. This year, I just wanted to ride, to enjoy the day and the challenge.
It was a beautiful day! The weather couldn't have been better.
I found I really enjoyed riding along at a moderate pace, enjoying the day, the roads, the scenery and occasionally riding with others. I found that I had "hill amnesia." I'm pretty sure those hills were 2-3 miles shorter the last time I did the ride. Yes, there were times when I wondered what in the world I was doing out there and a few times I wondered if I had enough pedal strokes left to crest a hill.
At the final rest stop I joined four others for the final stretch to the lasagne. It was fun, doing a "night ride," hanging out with a group that was finishing a challenging ride.
I took two hours longer this year to finish the ride. I had a great, fulfilling ride - other than sitting on the saddle for two more hours, that is!
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