today i registered for the ms150, a 150 mile bike ride from st. augustine to daytona beach to benefit ms. i am definitely nervous, as i haven't ridden my bike even a fraction of this distance. we are also required to raise some $$, which is usually harder than the training itself. i joined the team at bcbsf, so it will be great to meet a ton of new people in town and get some great exercise! now if only i can find some way to avoid the never-ending series of crashes i seem to enjoy due to my lack of ability to quickly clip out of my pedals!!
so i've decided to think about registering for the ms150 with the bcbsf cycling team. in order to make a decision i arranged a bike ride with my friend amy this morning to get back in the saddle after a winter hiatus. we met at the baldwin trail, with a goal of riding 20 miles, at any pace we could hold for the duration. it was a beautiful morning, partly sunny and cool (for florida of course). as we took off, we discussed how neither one of us really felt confident in our ability to ride for 20 miles without complaining at least a little bit. we broke into stride after the first 1/2 mile, and started to get into it. around mile 0.8 (yes, that is correct), we came to a stop sign on the trail, prepared to coast right through it - afterall, there is never any traffic on the trail! at the last minute we spot a car coming around the corner at full speed, simultaneously yell "CAR!" and frantically clip-out of our fancy pedals. this is when we both also simultaneously fail to clip-out and fall in opposite directions, at the same time that the car speeds past us. my friend has a bloody knee but i am a skilled bike crasher so i land smoothly in the grass. we look over, realize we both fell at exactly the same time, and burst out laughing. it's going to be a long, hard day.
the remainder of the ride follows this generic pattern - 7 miles of rain, followed by 13 miles of wind. the last 5 miles of the ride were particularly difficult, as i began to feel that i hadn't eaten in weeks. our conversation turned to nothing but food, and i devoured that granola bar i left in the car a few weeks ago, even though it was mostly melted. it took every remaining ounce of my energy not to pull into the wendy's hamburger drive-thru on the other side of the street. i went home thinking that it's better to start out with a bad ride so there is plenty of room to incrementally improve. this is what we novices tell ourselves all year long. i think i'll sign up for that ms150 afterall.
total miles = 20.04
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