Today was my first bike rally: The Peach Pedal 100K in Weatherford,TX. I wasn't sure what to expect. When I picked up my packet on Friday, they suggested arriving early Saturday morning. I left the house at 6 AM, thinking it would allow me to arrive and park by 6:45 AM. There was a lot of traffic as I neared the start (Weatherford High School). I finally managed to find a parking spot around 7:10 AM. That left me 20 minutes to get my bicycle and self ready for the 7:30 AM start.

Cycling takes a little more time than running to "get ready". I always air up my tires before leaving home for a ride so I don't have to take my pump with me. But, essentially, you can lose a lot of the air pressure in your tires over a 24 hours period. The guy at the bike shop said to check the pressure and air up my tires before every ride.

In addition, these long distance rides in hot temperatures require a lot of hydration. So, I put two insulated water bottles in my carriers on the bike. Next comes the map holder with a cue sheet (attaches to the handlebar), the top bar bag (containing cell phone, id, money and gels), and the under seat bag (containing extra tire tube/CO2 for flats, tools for chain/bike adjustments). Then comes all the "stuff" you wear while riding: bike helmet with mirror, bike shoes with cleats, and 2 liter Camelbak.

Once I was ready, I tried to figure out where to put my number. In running, we would always put our "race numbers" on the front of our shirts. Apparently, in these bike rallies, you put your number on the back. That was something new. It took me a couple of minutes to figure out the best place to attach my number to the Camelbak so that it didn't flap in the wind. The number was actually wider than my Camelbak in the back, but I found a spot on each side where I could pin the number without puncturing the fluid bag inside.

I had never cycled in crowded conditions before. Even on our FWBA group rides, I would try to stay at the back (not hard for a newbie to do) or in a gap so that I had plenty of room. I was very nervous at the start, surrounded by so many bikes. I didn't see any of my cycling group at the start, so I just found a spot and hoped I wasn't lined up with the 25 mph cyclists. I picked up a copy of The Racing Post at Bicycles, Inc. and one of the articles said: "...Similarly, that Texas institution, the t-shirt ride/bike rally, degenerates into an unofficial road race every single time...". It also talked about avoiding the pile-ups of less experienced riders and about bumping/rubbing wheels and how errors can make you hit the ground. I just wanted to be able to have room around me (front, back, and sides) and be able to go as fast/slow as conditions dictated so that I could complete the distance (100K).

After the 1st 5 miles, the pack started thinning out. I felt pretty good until mile 25. Then I seemed to lose energy. I don't know if it was the heat or the fact that I was not rested prior to this ride. I have only been cycling about a month. This last week I did two 50+ mile rides at what was a brisk pace for me. I only had one day between the last 50 mile ride and the rally today. I thought that would be enough time to recover. A lot of the more experienced cyclists were able to do both. However, with the heat, hills, and pace, I really needed more time to replenish my muscle glycogen before today's ride.

By mile 40, I was ready to stop, but I had already passed the turnoff point for the shorter ride. I had a choice: continue on or take a sag vehicle back to the start. It's a good thing I didn't see a sag vehicle between miles 40 and 50. Once I arrived at the rest stop at mile 50, it seemed like a pity to not complete the distance with only 12 miles to go. There was a sag vehicle at that stop and it was packed full of bicycles from people deciding to call it quits. There's no shame in stopping if you feel bad, but I just couldn't stop that close to the finish. The rest stop had ice, Gatorade, water, bananas, watermelon, water misters and shade with huge fans. I stayed underneath a mister in the shade for about 15 minutes. That cooled me off enough to allow me to finish the last 12 miles without stopping. And there were a lot of people stopping between miles 50 and 62. It was the first time I had ever seen anyone stopping and walking their bikes up the hills. They were also pulling off the road underneath shade trees. The last 10-12 miles were almost all climbing with no shade and a 100 degree temperature.

I was so happy to see Bethel Road (the road with the start/finish line at Weatherford High School). At that point I knew I only had around 1.5 miles to go. Seeing my jeep felt like a joyous homecoming. Doing endurance exercise in 90°+ heat always makes me feel sick. I could not wait to get into the car and cool off with the air conditioning.

All in all, I consider it a successful ride because I finished my completed distance. And even though I finished near the back of the 100K pack, I maintained my goal pace (14 mph) in spite of the heat and hills. That's not a stellar pace for experienced cyclists, but for me and those conditions, I was happy with my performance.