First Cycling Event of the Year

Today brought my first cycling event of this year. This makes 3 cycling events that I have participated in so far. I am not entirely sure I can count the first one though. It was a corporate event (combined with other athletic competitions) that I was talked into participating in. I thought it would be fun to ride this little 9 mile stretch so I said why not. I was riding my 37 pound mountain bike, slip on shoes and biker shorts. I looked like a complete newb. All the other cyclists had their 19 pound – multi thousand dollar road bikes, special padded shorts, clipless pedals, gloves, etc. Did I feel intimidated? Hell.Yes. They were passing me going up hills. I still had a lot of fun in spite of almost throwing up when I got to the finish line. At any rate, that event was all it took for me to get hooked on the sport. I went home and started reading up on cycling. I sorta submerged myself into it so I could learn as much as I possibly could before going out to buy my first road bike. I was not planning to get involved in this sport for some serious competition but rather something fun to add to my running. I thought it would be a great way to cross train. And I was right. But something else happened. I ended up really really liking cycling. Not just for cross training but for event based rides as well. So, the next event I thought I would try was a mini duathlon. Mini meaning run 2, bike 16, run 2. That was my 2nd event. Actually, I can’t really call it an event because this baby was chipped. I had a timing chip around my ankle (not to be confused with an ankle monitor) and my time was calculated from the moment I started running to the transition spots, to the cycling and back to the running. So…this was labeled more of a race than it was an event. Anyhow, that was my 2nd event and I loved it very much yes. My 3rd event, Ride for Heroes, was this morning. We (me, Hunter and LaBrett) were riding in honor of the Fire Fighters. There were about 450 cyclists out there, which I am sure is a small number of riders compared to some other cycling events, but it was great to see that many people come out and show their support. This event was an 8 mile ride through the streets of Aledo and it was pretty awesome to look up and see the sea of people on their bikes.

There were some very distinct differences between this ride and the duathlon ride. I liked them both very much and for different reasons but I thought I would share some of those differences.

1) Getting out on the road during the duathlon was a lot less congested than getting out on the road for an event like today. The main reason is that todays event, every cyclists started at the same time. The first mile and half was quite packed. The duathlon on that other hand was already spread out since the running portion was first and everyone has a different running pace. That contributed greatly to how spread out the cyclists were.

2) I did not have clipless pedals during the duathlon and now I wish I would have. I made pretty good time nevertheless but I know I could have done better on the hill climbs, not to mention the straightaways too, with clipless pedals. I did go out and buy some clipless pedals a few days ago and what a difference that made in the every aspect of my ride today. And the bonus for today is that I did not fall unlike the first time I took my bike out to try out my shoes. I failed to remember to put my unclipped foot on the ground and down I went. Duh.

3) I did not have padded shorts during the duathlon but I sure did during the ride today. Let me tell you, HUGE amounts of comfort because we all know that road bike seats can pretty much suck after mile 5! I mean seriously, look at this thing. I don’t care who you are, how small your butt is, how naturally padded your butt is, these seats are just not comfortable. Especially on any ride over 5 miles which is pretty much the norm for any ride I am doing. Sheesh, who thought this design was a good idea anyway? Hail the maker of padded shorts.

4) I had a lot more confidence today than I did during the duathlon. I was pretty intimidated by all the geared out riders. But in the end, I crossed the same finish line they did. Go me.

5) Today, I got to ride with my husband and my Southern BF. LaBrett and I have been doing 5k’s together for a long time now, so why not bring in cycling too! And Hunter loves the cycling just as much, so this was a win win. Besides…look at them. Who can resist. Just sayin’.

• Side note: my husband accused me (um, in a fun and loving way) of being competitive when I pulled ahead…not intentionally mind you…okay, so maybe it was.

6) Bonus! This is not tied to either event, but wanted to share anyway. I get more mileage out of my trainer in less time than when I am on the road. Hmmmm, wonder if it has anything to do with no traffic, no other cyclist, no lights, no stop signs, no pot holes to dodge….

All in all, I love this sport.

*keep moving