ALC's "Day of the Ride"- 81.6 Miles

Wow, talk about a wake up call! I survived ALC's "Day of the Ride"; which is a day in the life of what an actual day in June will be like. We rode from Santa Monica to Long Beach and back- 81.6 miles. It was a gorgeous overcast day...and the crew, staff and riders were all so friendly. It definitely felt like a family. I made friends instantly and we formed our own little crew composed of Sonia, Heather, Gwen and myself. We were whooping, cheering and having a blast supporting and cheering each other on. We even made friends with other groups such as Scott & Katie. They were a blast!!

The first & last 45 miles were very similar to the last 2 training rides I had done with the Santa Monica Bike Attack team--we went through the same areas. The familiarity was nice. But, can you say hills? For a newbie like me who really hadn't conquered many big hills, it was a large wake-up call. Not to mention I got me first flat tire and found that I was riding on it for a chunk of the ride. The reward from climbing those huge hills paid off when the downhill portion came. I clocked myself on my cycle computer at 42 miles per hour. Wow!! I hit the brakes at that point and slowed down.

Our first rest area was at Veteran's Park where we overlooked the ocean. It was an amazing site and the sun was shining. But an even more amazing site was at Point Fermin Park where we stopped for lunch. The cliffs and rocks over looking the ocean were extraordinary. It started to get cold and windy at this point in the ride. It seemed that no matter which direction we were traveling the wind was always blowing towards us. We had 4 rest areas with water, gatorade, and snacks. It was nice to be able to stop about every 20 miles to rehydrate and refuel. The orange slices were amazing.

The ride got scary when our team saw one of our members, Sonia, collided with another rider and fell into a traffic lane. Amazingly everyone was fine and the bikes were fine too, but it was a quick reality check of just how easy it is for an accident to happen. We are constantly riding along on streets with traffic and watching out for each other with voice and hand signals, but even with all that things can still happen.

The finish line was right back where we started and Bike Attack, a platinum sponsor for the ALC, had a party afterwards with lots of food from California Pizza Kitchen. Needless to say we were all very hungry.

I am recovering today. My knees, back, quads and neck hurt, but with the help of ibupofin and Arnica Gel I am doing well. Spent the day running around doing errands and housekeeping. I hardly slept last night--the adrenaline was still running. I did a huge jump from a 23 mile ride to a 40 mile to a 45 mile to a 81.6 mile all within a month and my body is in good condition.

Next weekend I am thinking about doing the Simi Century Ride with Team Ventura. The ride is from Simi Valley to Ojai via Grimes Canyon (ouch very long steep windy hills) and back- 100 miles total. After yesterdays ride I am trying to figure out if I will be able to handle it. I am going to play it by ear this week and see...stay tuned to see if I do it.

The photo above is me at the first rest area, wearing the Bike Attack jersey. Also, be sure to check out the photo below from my LA Acura Ride (under the "How Have I Been Training" blog). I've updated the picture. It is me at the starting line at 5:00 am...and yes that is my beautiful bike in both photos.