Tour de Cure

Hello, friends! Hope you had a fabulous 4th of July!  As you may recall from previous posts, Joleen and I teamed up again for a great cause.  The local chapter of the American Diabetes Association asked "Team Jo&Em" to be "celebrity" riders for the Tour de Cure this year.  We spent about 6 months recruiting team mates, raising money and training.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Joleen Chaney, Scott Hines (emcee), & me pre-race

Pineapple nerd alert!

Joleen and I actually had to work the night before the Tour de Cure so we did not get an ideal amount of sleep.  Thankfully, this isn't a race...it's a ride. In other words, you can take it at whatever pace you'd like.  The prize is raising money for a great cause!  There were 4 different ride distances to choose from: 62, 48, 30, or 10 miles.  I did the 48 mile and Joleen decided to do the 30.

The 48 mile riders started at 8am.  The weather cooperated with sunny skies and light winds.  I could tell it was going to get really hot really fast.  We passed the first water stop and rolled up on the second one about 20 miles in.  They served "fancy water" as I like to call it - with cucumbers or oranges, etc in the water.  We also ate pineapple on a stick! Very innovative and delicious!  However, it's the paper towels I looked forward to the most.  Note to self, never put sunscreen on your forehead when you are going to sweat a lot.  It will drip into your eyeballs and hurt!

Johnny Mac, me, & Patrick Lively

We journeyed on encountering a surprising amount of hills.  I don't mind a row of steep hills but the slow, steady inclines are rough.  I went from an average of 16 mph to 10 on those long hills.  My riding buddy, Johnny Mac helped push me through it.

Drafting

An example of cyclists drafting

Totally forgot that you can draft in cycling events!  In triathlons, you have to leave a 3-bike distance between you and the cyclist ahead of you or else you will get a time penalty.  What is drafting?  It's where you ride up really close to the cyclist in front of you so they take the brunt of the wind and you trail behind them with ease.  According to this study, you can save up to 40% of your energy in a drafting group versus riding into the wind solo.  It's a pretty good deal...unless you are in front!

The Heat is On

Araine Cash organized the event!

We finished in about 3 hours...crossing the finish line at 11am.  YIKES...it was already well into the upper 80s with a heat index in the low to mid 90s.  Thankfully the event provided plenty of water and cold, wet towels.

All in all it was fantastic experience.  I should have a trained a bit more but I survived!  I dare say that love cycling!  Although, like other sports, it's a love-hate relationship.

I dedicated this ride to my Aunt Louise on my dad's side.  She's lived with Type I Diabetes for nearly her entire life. She has to watch what she eats and take insulin shots regularly.  She's a trooper!  Thank you to all who donated an our fabulous teammates!  We raised exactly $1,000 for the American Diabetes Association.

Aunt Louise!