53.2 miles ....
Just got back from the Rosarito-Ensenada 50 mile fun ride. I did finish, I managed not to seriously injure myself (except for my pride on two clipped-in tip overs), and I am immensely glad I strapped my Teva's on my bike rack for walking up the big #$%^ing hills. Actually, I was pretty pleased with myself, as I managed to clip along at a nice 22mph on the way into the finish line -- which is both fast for me, and courtesy of a nice tailwind. The other fun statistic is that I hit 40mph going down the hill just prior to the humongoid hill. The descent down that hill I took a bit more cautiously, since there were a lot of turns and people riding erratically.
Specifics -- the guy with the cigar, cerveza and boombox blasting 70's funk yelling "get on your bikes and RIDE" to the walkers coming up the 2 mile-long climb, people in costumes - a small group of afro-wigged riders, a group of witches (with appropriate green hairdos), the occasional lucha libre masked wrestler, little kids yelling "CANDY! MONEY!" -- on the coast it was cute, inland it became a little menacing, drinking upwards of 100g of water without having to pee, the wimps who hired taxis to haul them and their bikes up the series of hills and drop them off at the descent, ululating at the spectators who were cheering us on.
All in all, it was a good time. And apart from my traps and neck (and nether bits), I'm actually not too sore. I think the walk breaks did me some good, and I made a point of doing a regular "eating" (gu) and drinking (combo water and emergen-c) schedule, although towards the end I was definately craving something a bit more solid like a banana or hard boiled egg.
Not entirely sure I'll do it again (the yahoo factor is a little high given the terrain), but I'm glad I did it. It definately puts my weekend rides into perspective, and makes them seem a little less daunting (30 miles, no problem!! Torrey Pines hill? Bite me!!) On a side note, this bodes somewhat well for doing a half-ironman, as it involves a 56 mile bike ride and a half marathon. Maybe next year.
Pictures should be up in a couple of days -- I'll link to them as soon as they're available.
Specifics -- the guy with the cigar, cerveza and boombox blasting 70's funk yelling "get on your bikes and RIDE" to the walkers coming up the 2 mile-long climb, people in costumes - a small group of afro-wigged riders, a group of witches (with appropriate green hairdos), the occasional lucha libre masked wrestler, little kids yelling "CANDY! MONEY!" -- on the coast it was cute, inland it became a little menacing, drinking upwards of 100g of water without having to pee, the wimps who hired taxis to haul them and their bikes up the series of hills and drop them off at the descent, ululating at the spectators who were cheering us on.
All in all, it was a good time. And apart from my traps and neck (and nether bits), I'm actually not too sore. I think the walk breaks did me some good, and I made a point of doing a regular "eating" (gu) and drinking (combo water and emergen-c) schedule, although towards the end I was definately craving something a bit more solid like a banana or hard boiled egg.
Not entirely sure I'll do it again (the yahoo factor is a little high given the terrain), but I'm glad I did it. It definately puts my weekend rides into perspective, and makes them seem a little less daunting (30 miles, no problem!! Torrey Pines hill? Bite me!!) On a side note, this bodes somewhat well for doing a half-ironman, as it involves a 56 mile bike ride and a half marathon. Maybe next year.
Pictures should be up in a couple of days -- I'll link to them as soon as they're available.
posted by Holly at 3:43 PM
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