With us in Group 2 was Mike Henderson, one of two radio contestants from the Scott&BR Cycling Team left in the competition who are vying for that one free coveted spot on the Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge. Nina is the other radio contestant who is left, and she was riding in Group 4.Nina showed me a bruise on her thigh that she got riding the ot
her day. Ouch! Evidently a car didn't see her and almost plowed her over. She managed to stay clear of the car, but got caught in between the railroad tracks and fell over. Luckily, she is going to be ok and it didn't stop her from getting out and riding this monster ride today.During the morning announcements, Kristine Entwistle (QMDC Director) made a sad announcement about a fellow QMDC rider who was training in Arizona. The rider was hit by a car this weekend and was killed. It turns out that the rider was Scott Kaplan's cousin. Kristine was a little choked up because she knew this person and he had ridden in the QMDC before. Our hearts and prayers go out to Scott Kaplan and his cousin's family.
Kristine also asked us to watch out for each other on the road and be safe. We did just that. Since it was a small group today, it was pretty easy to stay together. As a matter of fact, a few times we stopped to wait for other riders only to find that everyone was there already, so we could just keep going. This kept us moving along.
The ride took us up through Del Dios and through Escondido. Since
our usual SAG stop wasn't at the top of Del Dios Highway, we opted to stop for a bathroom break at the local community center which consisted of one Port-a-Potty. With 12 riders and only one of these, it made for a pretty long wait. Jeffrey shown is this picture is warning everyone not to go in there because it is scary.Once we got north of Escondido, we hit the all-too-familiar Circle R Drive. This steep, windy road was no problem for me the last time, but this time was another story. About half way up, my legs started to tire and then I found myself dropping off the back. I couldn't make my legs go any faster; they just plumb gave up on me.
When I got to the SAG stop at the top, I felt a little funny. I had felt this way once before, during the Kitchen Creek ride. I knew that this day was going to suck, but felt I had to keep going. I figured if I didn't feel better by the next stop, I would SAG out and catch a ride back with Dan or Tina. Little did I know that the next SAG stop was over several mountains with lots, and lots, and lots of climbing in between. ^^^^^^ :o
Today we veered right off of Circle R onto W. Lilac road which connected us to Lilac road for some steep climbs. This brought us to the top of Couser Canyon road and some pretty spectacular downhill riding. I must say that I am more of a fan of downhill, then uphill, and today I felt like a kid in a candy store. I had dropped back off the group coming up the hill and waited at the top for Scott Bailey who was also struggling a little. Neither of us had ridden much these past few weeks and it showed. Once Scott reached the top, we started down the other side.
With no one ahead of me, I was able to rip through the twist and turns with barley a touch to my breaks. There were a few turns that required some quick braking, but not enough to stop the screaming descent. I had a smile on my face the whole way down and kept thinking that I could ride this all day long. Unfortunately, we soon found ourselves on relatively flat ground, but then another downhill section appeared that was just as good as the first.
Scott and I finally caught up to the rest of the group who had mistakenly thought there were only 10 riders in the group, which on the hills there usually were. :) Scott and I soon found ourselves dropped off the back again as the hills started rearing up through Sleeping Indian Road. After some rolling hills, we found ourselves looking on an awesome sight. We could see the whole valley below us with the ocean in the distance. At this point we knew we were almost home. Or at least close to home - but still 30 miles away.
The last part of Sleeping Indian Rd. was an extremely steep descent that got me up to 46 MPH. Now that was fun. We finally caught up with the rest of the group who had almost sent out a search party to find us. We turned right onto N River Rd. and wound up at the last SAG stop just a few miles away. We were greeted by a group of skater kids who were taking a break from a hard day of grinding.
At this point in the ride, I was totally cooked. I kicked off my shoes to get some circulation back in my feet and downed two PB&J sandwiches, some pretzels, raisins, licorice, half a coke, and a bottle of water. After refilling, we soon were off again and on our way to the Oceanside bike path.
Luckily, the tempo was pretty mellow on the bike path and we all enjoyed a nice talk with each other during the 7 mile ride to the coast. Once again, we stopped to regroup at the end of the path only to find that everyone was already there, so off we went.
The ride south was pretty mellow too. I started feeling better and soon found some reserve strength left in the engine. I figured if I pushed a little extra on the hills, I could stay with the group and not get dropped. On one hill, I guess I pushed a little too hard and the next thing I knew I was way ahead of the group. How did that happen? Pat Jak gave me the Oscar for best supporting role in a drama. He said that it was a great performance I gave earlier back on the hills saying I was tired. I would like to take this time to thank the Academy for this award... :)At the beginning of the ride, we all joked around about riding a few extra miles at the end of the ride to go from a 96+ mile ride to a full 100 mile century. At the end of the ride however, no one was joking and we were all glad to get off our bikes a few miles short of a century. Besides, we will have plenty of chances to ride over 100 miles a day during the QMDC 600 mile ride starting October 18. I for one, can wait until then.
