100km goal....complete

Wow, two blogs in one week, I'm on a roll! Lol  I've had some time to sit and think about my 100km bike ride yesterday so now I'm going to try to put into words how it went. 
100km bike ride is nothing to be taken lightly.  It's a LONG time to be on a bike and once you start it there is really nothing you can do but finish it for the most part. I was pretty hyped up about it for most of the week and I promised myself I would have a few minutes just to relax before I got picked up at the park to head to Lawrencetown Beach.  I was waiting at Dewolf Park in Bedford overlooking the Bedford Basin and what a beautiful morning!!  Not a cloud in the sky, a bit windy but not too bad and crisp but not freezing cold.  I stood out on the rocks for a bit just taking in the beauty and going over in my head what exactly I was about to do. I would say I haven't been this excited in a long time but that would be wrong as I seem to be excited for all my weekend excursions lately. This excitement was just different.  Not only was I about to hurt but I was about to accomplish another goal, something I didn't see happening any time soon. I was a pretty happy camper. :)  I did find it odd that a few people walking by told me "not to jump" that I had so much to live for or that it was too cold to jump/swim. Did I look that scared for what was coming my way, seriously? lol Not long after I arrived Chris did too and we were off on this new journey. Thankfully Chris likes to talk so I didn't have time on the car ride over to be nervous or even to think about it. :)
We arrived at Lawrencetown Beach and holy crap, it was chilly AND WINDY!  Chris assured me we'd be ok for the first half but the last half was going to be really tough as we'd have the wind right on us.  We did the normal checks and before I knew it we were off, for a freaking 100km ride!  I still couldn't believe it.  I was actually going to do this!!!
The first part of the ride was on a road I am familiar with, and actually have come to love. I have fallen in love with biking by the water.  Just something so peaceful, pretty, breathtaking, and the air just smells different, clean, fresh....just different in a great way.  It's like I just want to breathe in as much of it as I possilby can. The last few weeks I keep thinking I hope this isn't the last time I get out here but with each trip I know the winter is coming and sadly we can't bike forever.  Chris did say he'd keep picking routes into Nov as long as the weather holds up and it doesn't get too cold (even suggesting another 50 or 100km).  This road is nice too because we get to ride side by side for the most part, until we come to a hill and he blows past me, that is. lol  That's nicer than having to bike one behind the other for the whole way that's for sure.  I tried to pace myself as I knew I had a LONG way to go and didn't want to tire myself out right from the start.  We did really well and before we knew it we were on the #7 highway ( I think Chris said), which was much busier with traffic but only one car gave us a nasty horn honk and I think I even called him/her a few choice names as they had plenty of room to go around us. Most cars in the country, at least out that way have been pretty good about giving us our space. We drove single file for a while, sharing the drafting duties but I have to say, I haven't quite mastered that yet as Chris is faster than me.  It's coming though.  When I was leading I did push myself a bit harder as I don't want him getting too bored behind me.  When I can just causly turn to the side and see his tire I know I'm either moving too slow or that he's drafting me really good.  Either way he's never complained and said the front person sets the pace, until we come to hills. lol I have accepted that he kicks my ass on the hills, pretty much every one of them but I know he's going to be at the top waiting for me or he slows a bit for me to cactch up. He always remarks that even though he's more "seasoned" (I love how he puts that...lol) on the hills that my recovery time once I reach the top is pretty good.  That always makes me feel better. I have also learned that when you are leading and you move out to the left that it's a cue for the other person to move in front and take over. I didn't know that. I think last night was I was also yelling "car back" in my sleep as that's what you do when you are the person behind. Funny, when I did my race today and noticed people coming up from behind I wanted to yell it too. lol I'm also starting to learn lots of new hand signals as well. We did go off this highway a few times to take a more scienic and quieter route which was nice. 
In what seemed like a short time later we turned off to start the next part of our ride.  We stopped here because he wanted to make sure it was the correct turnoff and I needed a drink.  For some reason I haven't mastered being able to drink and drive yet.  Fueled by a few dark chocolate almonds and we were off.  Mental note, no more dark chocolate almonds for Chris....lol Can you say WIRED!!! lol  That again was a beautiful road along the water. However, I didn't think the hills would ever end!!  What goes up does come down but unfortuantly the down was greeted by another up for the most part. lol  It was all good though, I was happy.  A bit of a challenge is always a good thing.  I also did my first "girly" scream as I was hit by some bug and paniced that it was still on me.  My fear was a bee or a wasp.  Chris checked me out, said there was nothing there and asked if I was allergic.  I said no, just deathly afraid, you know...anotherwards a chicken shit. :)
So, I've heard a few times that Chris has taken the wrong turns because Google Maps has lied to him.  As we're riding along he said we have to stop and check something, he looked at his directions and said yup, we're going the right way. I told him I trusted him, I think, but that trust soon faded away as I could see he was looking more and more confused by his surroundings.  Then he said we had to stop and check again. By this time I had lost pretty much all trust that we were going the right way (I wasn't mad though as the scenery was amazing) AND the "thoughtful cyclist" - not what I called him exactly, stopped right at the bottom of a freaking hill...do you know how hard it is to take a steeper hill from a complete stop??? He thought it was cute and funny, me not so much!! lol His reasoning was if we decided to turn around then we wouldn't have to take the hill. I guess he was screwed either way as I would have commented that him making me take the hill and THEN having us turn around was just cruel. lol All in good fun though.  We had some strong gusts of wind on this road, I remember two which almost took me off my bike.  Things started to get really chilly at this point as there we some clouds moving in and even a few flurries in the air. Brrr...time to get moving.  We did stop at one point allowing me to get quick drink before moving back onto highway 7.
Chris said we did very well time wise coming out and at some points he had problems keeping up with me ( I find that hard to believe but it was still nice to hear) and we were on point for being back to the car in the timeframe Paul set out for us, even though that was not the intent. Honestly ,when I'm biking like this time goes out the window, I don't care as it's not about the time at all!! I have plently of other things to be timing. Someday biking may be about that but I think Chris is trying to break me of that mindset.  I think what I need to do is be able to balance both, taking in the gorgeous views AND having a decent ride time.  That will come with practice.  We travelled on this road for what seemed like forever.  I couldn't seem to get moving because the wind was on me, I was starting to feel a little deflated and every car was pissing me off, for no reason, just because it was there.  I soon realized what was happening, I was hitting the wall.  I had gone about 70ish km's by this point.  I was wondering if I had the power to go the rest of the way but realized I had no choice.  I kept pedalling though until I seen Chris cross the street.  I was confused but I also crossed.  He got off his bike to walk around and stretch out and strongly urged me to do the same thing.  Finally I gave in and got off and it was the best thing for me.  I was a little stiff, a bit hungry and just needed the break.  We stretched, and I had a builder bar to eat and felt totally refueled again.  It was just the break I needed at the most perfect time!! Periodically Chris would ask if I was ok or how things were going.  I kept telling him great but I have to admit now the little bit there was really tough mentally for me. At this point we knew we were getting close but he said there was another tough part coming as the wind would be on us along the coast. We moved onward and upward and had a pretty good ride.  We traveled a bit further and pulled over again.  I had a drink and he had a quick bite to eat.  He asked me how I was doing and asked if anything hurt.  To his surprise I said my neck hurt from being hunched over a bit.  He wondered if he should say anything (I could tell) but then did say he noticed I looked tense and also that my backpack I carry isn't really "biker friendly". I welcomed the feed back and perhpas we can find a way to improve my tension in time. Then he said we were pretty close to the car and suggested I lead us home.  At that point I could feel a wave of emotion pass through my body.  I was actually going to finish this.  I was going to accomplish my goal.  I could feel my eyes well up but no way was I going to blink and cry like a girl. lol I said sure and we were off.  I decided to tell him that I could very well cry back at the car and Chris being Chris said there is no crying in cycling.  Then he realized I was serious and said if I needed to cry I could.  I was hoping I could hold it together but sometimes, me being me, I just can't.  As we got closer to the car I started thinking about how the day went, how great I felt, how thrilled I was to be accomplishing this goal, how it wasn't the ride from hell, how much I have forgotten how it feels to reach a big goal, how great it felt to work hard for something that was important to me, how just like every other goal I was scared to start it but felt freaking awesome when I was finishing it, how nice it was to have someone there supporting me, who wanted to see me reach this goal, someone who was freaking cold as hell but never once blamed me even though it was my idea to bike 100km the last weekend in Oct. Yes, it's funny all the things I was thinking about as I knew the car was getting closer. Chris asked me how I wanted to finish, on a quiet note taking in the minute or if I wanted it to be a loud occasion.  I didn't really care as long as I finished strong.  He suggested, jokingly I think, that we sprint to the end.  If anyone remembers my running days, Paul always told me to "see the devil" near the end and that's what sprint to the end meant to me.  I wanted to say frig you to the devil, you haven't beaten me today!! I think Chris was a bit shocked when I said sure but we took off as fast as we could!!  What a great way to finish!!!!!  When I stopped my bike I bent over the handlebars for a few seconds, mainly to make sure I could stop my tears and keep the breakdown from starting and I must say I did very well.  Chris did the congratulartoy things and I was on top of the freaking world!!!!!  I did wipe away a few tears as I got in the car while he put both bikes on the racks but by the time he got in the car I was all dry. :)  Not only did I accomplish a new goal but it was in totally different circumstances then any other goal I've ever accomplished.  I think this goal was needed for mental reasons as much as for the physical side. I realized that although my life has changed a lot it doesn't mean I have to stop dreaming of accomplishing things that are important to me.  I can still have dreams and goals just like I always have.  I will just have a different way of reaching those goals now and may have different people supporting me throughout.  That's not a bad thing.  The excitement and passion can still be there and it is.  Chris mentioned that he thought I did really well considering I haven't done a lot of serious biking. I biked twice this year, and then the rest of the time was this month with him. He said some people train all year for what I did in very short time.  Hearing things like that always mean so much to me. It's nice to be recognized for my hard work, dedication and effort sometimes.
So looking back would I say it was worth it, ABSOLUTELY!! Would I change anything, nope, I don't think so.  I wish it wouldn't have been so windy at times, and not so cool too but those are things I can't control. The experience was out of this world.  It takes a lot to make me speechless but I really couldn't put into words how great, amazingly awesomely fantistic I felt (are those even words..lol). Having things go as smootly as they did, no issues except for wind was great! I think we were both pretty tired and hungry at the end, although I couldn't admit to being tired until my adreneline wore off around 9:30.  Then holy crap, everything was sore, stiff and tired. One thing I do know for certain is that if he would have suggested another bike ride this afternoon I would have gone but my God, my butt would have hated me forever and a day as I still can't pee right! :)  But hey, I'm already trying to think of a new goal to accomplish.  So, stay tuned folks becasue with me nobody knows what could be coming next. A ride up Mount Washington is still playing on my mind and I know Chris is doing it for sure next summer, hmmm.....

100km bike ride...bring it on!!

It's been a while since my last post and as you all know a lot of stuff has been going on in my life.  I'm ashamed to admit it but for the last bit of the summer my fitness suffered due to all the drama. Seemed like I lost my "get up and go". Luckily I have a very supportive team of friends who helped me get back on track again, for them I will be forever thankful.  As most of you know my fitness God, Paul convinced me to get into biking as a way of staying active since he advised on me taking some time off from running. I fought him a bit but eventually I gave in an listened to him (I've learned that Paul is always right so I don't know why I even bother arguing...lol) and came to enjoy it.  The most I had ever biked was 50km (that was my goal last year, which I reached on my last ride of the season) so I threw out there that this year it had to be 100km, it just seemed logical to me. lol So, Graham and I bought a bike trainer and I used it a bit over the winter but it wasn't quite the same as being outside, but better than nothing.  By the time Spring came I was excited to get back out and hit the streets.  The first few hills made me think I was going to die, ok, all the hills made me think that but being stubborn as I am I said I'll fix you, I did hill training on my bike.  I remember going up and down hills as many times as I possibly could in the Millwood Subdivision. Mind you they are nothing like the hills I had coming up in my future but they'd do. I expressed desire to still do 100k so we decided that we'd do one in August in the Valley and well...obviously that never happened. 
In July I went out to Canmore for Paul's bootcamp but this one was going to be a bit different. Instead of hiking for two days we'd be biking for one and hiking for the other.  I remember the ride was going to be 50k and I was ok with that as I'd done that distance before.  However, when all was said and done it turned out to be 70km.  The most amazing bike ride of my life.  Being in the mountains like that, OH MY GOD!!!  Some of the visions will be engrained in my memory forever!!  Special thanks to Paul who taught me how to draft (even after a near collision...lol) and spent some time riding with me and enjoying the views and to Craig who made sure I was never alone, particularly as I rode through downtown Banff and was scared out of my mind.  I still remember cursing EVERY red stop light too!! :)  We biked up a mountain as well.  I can't remember which one (Tunnel or Sulphor perhaps but I could be wrong) and all I remember thinking was I paid how much to be tortured like this?  And once I got to the top I thought...I paid how much....it was worth EVERY freaking penny!!!!!  What an amazing feeling!!!  Biking 70k AND to the top of a mountain....freaking YAY!!!!!!!! I do have to admit though riding back with Paul I remember saying there better be some pop in your fridge for me Mr. Plakas, and low and behold there was!!  The best Diet Coke I ever drank!!!! :)
As August approached I knew I wouldn't be doing my 100km ride in the Valley and I felt sad about it. I thought I had trained pretty good for it, didn't have too much of a problem with Paul's ride (sore butt was about it) and now I had to let that goal go.  Someday I would do my 100km, just not now.
Actually, I had pretty much given up hope of riding outside at all anymore.  I had my bike trainer and that's how my riding was going to be.  I'm not a fan of riding outside alone in case something were to happen and I needed help. There is just safety in numbers in my mind. I casually mentioned it to a girlfriend of mine at the gym and she said OMG...do I have the person for you!!!  A friend of her's was always asking her to go biking with him but she hadn't for whatever reason.  She said she'd pass my contact info along and after about a month of trying to figure things out we were able to get together for our first ride.  I was scared to death...and beyond as I knew this guy was a serious biker, could whip my butt (and probably would), would make me eat his dust....ok, you get the picture, he's a SERIOUS cyclist!!  Cycled from Halifax to Montreal a few times, traveled from one end of the NL to the other and some smaller tours in NS.  A SERIOUS biker!!!!  So, almost a month ago I was feeling brave and went on my first ride with him.  It was scared for SO many reasons but I had a blast!!  Funny thing is he opened my eyes to the fact that riding doesn't have to be about beating the clock (for me everything is about beating the clock, as most of you already know) and could be about taking in the scenery.  Our first ride was very beautiful but the rides we've done since then are even more beautiful in my mind.  Maybe it's because I'm a bit more relaxed on these rides. The only thing I fear is the hills. :)  Perhaps someday we can revisit that first location again.  Ok...now on to my goal! Last weekend Chris suggested that we do a 160km bike ride as a group (ok, a few of us) and nobody really seemed to bite. I was interested but figured it was too much for me. Then I mentioned a 100km and it sounded like it was a possibility but when the plan came out for this weekend it was for a 38k ride, which I was totally ok with as it was one that I said I wanted to do anyway.  Yeah, 38km wouldn't be so bad and it's in a very pretty area.  But something about that 100km was nagging away at me.  So, later Monday evening I emailed Chris saying if you ever decide to do a 100km ride this season I'm in.  I gave him all kinds of reasons to not do it as I didn't want him to feel pressured. After all, he's the pro and maybe he thought I wouldn't be able to handle a 100k but was too kind to tell me.  It wasn't long until I got a reply....yup, sure we should do it this weekend, are ya up for it?  My reply back was...ummm...yeah....sure....which really translated to OH MY FREAKING GOD WHAT DID I JUST GET MYSELF INTO??? :)  However, I was game and the plans have been made!   This is a very huge deal for me.  Not only because it's a 100km, and I know it's going to be tough mentally, physically and really hard on my butt but also because I'm going to accomplish one goal that I didn't see happening any time soon. I'm trying to figure out how to fuel properly before the ride, what/when I need to eat so I don't bonk (yes, that's a term) during the ride and what to wear for warmth but not overdress.  So many things going through my head.  But you know what...I'm mostly looking forward to getting out on my bike, riding a 100km, not dying and having lots of fun witth a friend!!  If anything, on these last 4 weeks I've been riding, that is what I've learned the most.  Biking doesn't have to be all about time. It can be a great way to tour (as I've heard lots of stories) and it can be a great way to get out and spend some time with friends.  On Saturday I will be marking one more goal off my bucket list. I'm beyond SUPER excited about it and want to enjoy EVERY minute of it, even the ones when I'm sure I'm about to die and I KNOW there will be at least a few of those. And one more important thing, butt...I'm very sorry but you are in for a world of pain.  I know you don't believe me but it will be SO WORTH IT!!! I will be sure to post about my experience on fb on Sat and will try to do a blog on the weekend too. So, after doing a 100km what crazy thing will I come up with next? Stay tuned to see....

By the way special thanks to Catherine Lukeman who introdueced me to someone just as crazy as I am when it comes to certain parts of fitnees and thanks to Chris for sending me the first invite and never looking back.  I know I am much slower than you but you've always made me feel welcome and never made me feel less adequte than you are on a bike. Thank you for helping me to make this goal possible. I will be sure to thank you for making it a success when I do my next post. :)

Thunder Buns Cycling Club all the way...baby!!! :)