Hi all! Jayde (age 13) and I had a great time Saturday! He is so proud of himself for doing 3 Joy Ride laps which was seven miles through the woods and creek beds, over logs etc... I am proud of him as well... he has never enjoyed riding bikes much. It's all I can do to get him to ride with me once a month on my daily rides. I fully expected him to do one lap and be done, but he wanted to keep riding even after 6:00 came and went. That is awesome. :)

Me, I loved my Glory ride as well. The glory ride was that woodsy 7 miles plus another 7 miles out through pastures and up into hills and back. As most of you know, I have never ridden any kind of organized event and this one was a perfect place to start. Though I'm still having a hard time believing that was only 14 miles. I ride 14 miles every day, and though it is pavement, I just can't imagine that Saturday's trail, with all of its switchbacks was the same distance. It was amazing. There was the perfect amount of technical features as well as endurance features. I talked to several riders who I consider to be very experienced and very fit and they felt challenged by the ride. One said "I'll be better prepared for that "out there" next year." I think that's so cool.

My favorite part was the wooded section. I did think I was going to kill myself twice and I somehow got back under control in time to avoid having to put the ambulance to use. :) I did have to apologize to the guy who almost ran over me when I came down the first drop and wound up missing the turn and landing in front of him on the lower trail. :)

Out on the second half of the glory ride, I could not believe how incredibly bumpy that was due to the hoof marks on the trail. Cows normally use those paths and those little hoofmarks were brutal. I think that, alone, wore me out more than anything else. When I went through the first field I was totally amazed that my bike was all still together. I had to remind myself that this kind of riding is what the bike (Gary Fisher Aquila) was made for instead of the usual pavement rides that I do. I have had that bike since 1997. I have put about 3000 miles on the odometer, and have never asked this much of it.

Across the road was the hilly section. When I crossed the road and started the next phase of the ride, I was TOTALLY not prepared for all of the twists and switchbacks. I don't know how many of you have ever listened to C.W. McCall.. but after a while I could not get the lyrics to "Wolf Creek Pass" out of my head: "it was hairpin county and switchback city. one of 'em looked like a can full'a worms; another one looked like malaria germs." :) There, I revealed a little of my redneck upbringing. You can see some course photos here http://www.cruisetheblues.com/ though you really can't see all the switchbacks.

Eventually, I began a pattern of pushing my bike up the hills, stopping to breathe and thank God for the incredibly cool, 14 mph, North wind, and then hopping back on the bike to ride down the hills. After a while, I plopped down to breathe as the first round of "second shift" riders started to lap me. I'm not sure how many of those guys were solo riders but they were all so cool to watch... all I could think about was how badly I want to get that fit to be able to pedal my bike through all of that rough terrain. Some were puffin' and grunting.. but all were clearly enjoying the ride. Since I always stopped at the tops of the hills it was really neat to watch them struggling to get up the hills and then to hear them yelling with excitement as they flew down the other side. So cool.

I was amazed that so many times I thought I was in the home stretch and then the trail would curve back around. Even after I got back across the road I was totally surprised at how much the trail switched back over and over. It was all I could do to remain optimistic that I could get through this. I really like that. I love that I had to push myself so much, that I had to keep my mind and my body moving in the right direction. I really am not sure when the last time was that I asked so much of my body.

I was totally not prepared for how much the trail riding would be different from pavement riding. I ride 14 miles a day at least 5 days a week without fail. Rain or shine. When I started the race on Saturday, I only took one frozen bottle of Gatorade with me. I thought that was all I'd need since my usual ride doesn't even make me drink half of that. When I got back across the road to the SAG station, I went to get a drink of water and found that the cups hadn't even been opened yet. That was a little surprising to me given all of the full water bottles I saw that had bounced off the bikes and were laying around the trail. :)

When I finished the one lap I rode Saturday, I came back and sat by my car and cooled off. I was super dizzy and felt a bit sick at my stomach. I felt like my mouth and throat and esophagus were coated with dirt. After talking to one rider, I learned that allergies are a big thing when she is riding in that area... that made me remember that I had felt this same amount of pain and dizziness a few weeks ago when I had a bad allergic reaction. After talking to her, I went to my car and got out my inhaler and after a few puffs I was feeling so much better... but I decided that it was best not to try another lap. I was very proud of the fact that I completed one and I would not have to say I dropped out of the race. This doesn't mean I don't intend to push and challenge myself. I just feel that, for my first experience, finishing one full lap where I heard and saw experienced riders struggling, I am happy I completed any part of it. I did my lap in 3 hours.. most riders did theirs in 1 1/2 hours.

I was very self conscious about showing up there at the race and being around all of these physically active and physically fit people but they all made me feel very much like I belonged there.

The farm where this event was held is beautiful. I never go on any rides without my camera, but Saturday I left it behind because I didn't know whether I could keep it safe. After those jackhammer rides through the fields, I'm glad I did, but next time I will have a special way to carry it because the views from all around the place were just incredible.

Anyway.. there's my update. Thanks for all of the birthday wishes!