One of "Those" Endurance Rides

Last Sunday I went on a Club One group ride in Marin: Fairfax; Nicasio; Pt Reyes Station; Inverness; Tomales Point and return. 73 miles, 5100' climbing. Being the kind of person that's always looking to have a good time, I went out to dinner, played pool and danced until 1:30 a.m. the night before. When my alarm clock went off at 7 a.m. Sunday morning, I was slightly tempted to skip the ride but the little voice inside my head reminded me that I hadn't been on my bike for a week so I better drag my ass out of bed, which I did.

When Rey and I arrived at the meeting place, the other Club One members were there and ready to roll. Thankfully, the weather forecasters were wrong about possible rain on Sunday and we rolled out into a beautiful, sunny day.

I was very surprised to discover how much climbing there was during the first half of the ride and imagine my great joy when I discovered that there would be continuous climbing all the way to Tomales Point. I figured I would need extra nourishment to get me through the ride so I drank a cup of coffee and ate a slice of pizza and a piece of coffee cake when we arrived at the Bovine Bakery (20 miles into the ride).

The hilly ride continued and I was excited to see the coast on the horizon. However, I was not excited to see the steep climb that awaited us up ahead. Holy Cow! Do I have the legs for this today? Despite the voice inside my head that said, "There's no shame in getting off the bike and walking up this stretch considering that you've had minimal sleep and are a bit dehydrated from last night's drinking" I pedaled my way to the crest of the hill before beginning my descent into Tomales Point. Despite my tired legs and labored breathing, I was glad that I sucked it up and stayed on my bike.



During our short break, the group and I tried to soak up as much sun as possible to warm ourselves against the windy chill. Although we would have liked to just hang out under the sun, we knew we had to head back so onward we went toward the rolling hills. Of course, on the way back, I just had to stop and take a picture with a cow. The expression on its' face is: "What the deuce are these creatures looking at me?"






As the ride back to Fairfax progressed, I found myself losing a lot of steam. I was so happy and relieved when I saw a sign that said Fairfax was just 9 miles away. Unfortunately, those last 9 miles felt like 90 miles! By the time we rolled into the parking lot, I was ready to take a nap. The lesson I learned on this ride: keep the partying to a minimum the night before a long ride. Duh!