September 27, 2010

  • 3-Oh-My!

    Posted by Sammy

    9/27/2010

    10pm from Home

    Ok so I lied. I slacked off and stopped posting. Go team lazy guy. Actually its more like go team busy guy. Its been an absolute whirlwind since the last time I put anything up on here. In an attempt to catch things up and get back to making something out of this and chronicle life without cancer and the new-new normal (had a couple new normals now...hoping this one sticks) here I go. 

    There have been a couple of big events. The first was the 2010 Philly Challenge. I base a lot of my year around this event now. It is important for me to do a good job and represent all those who contribute to the fight against cancer. Id like to try to do more rides like this in the future. It was a great experience this year. Having Steph there at the finish line was a big deal. Coming across the line last year and seeing everyone greeted by friends and family and just sitting there on my bike alone was like wind sucked right out of the sails. So to have here well and able to attend was a big boost. I also knew where things were in the course this year which is valuable knowledge to have. In the fun sense, I knew where the professional photographers were this year at the end so I managed to stay out of groups the last 500 feet or so and hit a turn on the drops with the bike banked at about 22mph and got a great picture out of it. On the downside....I knew where the hill was. Everyone knew there were hills, but I got the pleasure if informing another rider about one particularly nasty climb. 

    This exchange occurred going up Carl's Hill Road....which incidentally is a lie. Carl's Wall is more appropriate. Im going to find Carl and beat him with a tire pump. 

    Random Dude: "So is this how the whole course is or is this the worst of it?"

    *laughter*

    Random Dude: "What?"

    Me: "Well we havent gotten to THE hill yet."

    Random Dude: "Wait, there's a THE hill?"

    Me: "Yup"

    Random Dude: "expletive deleted"

    Me: "Oh and its way worse than this."

    I didnt see him again. 

    "Ok, who's idea was this? Don't hills eventually have to go down?"

    Also I re-discovered the joys of riding in rain. And I dont mean a light drizzle. I mean big ol' fat rain Lieutenant Dan. And rain that came in sideways. See weather was an issue all day and they were talking about closing the 100 mile course and routing all riders to the 70 mile course in the interest of safety. Well they did just that about an hour before the cutoff time to pass the 70 mile diversion. Now I had said that a lot of my year focuses on this. That is to mean that the bulk of my riding was centered on climbing and dealing with headwinds to be ready for the nastiest Livestrong Challenge course which is Philly. (Even Lance says the course is difficult and this is the guy who climbs Alpe du Huez and rides the Leadville 100 for fun). Well guess who trained harder and ended up in a nice drafting line and He-Manned his way across the cutoff line long before they ever closed it? And guess who got to "enjoy" mother nature's version of a water park and find out first hand why they closed it. Did you guess me? Ooohh you win! Here is what I learned:

    1. I have learned the human body can become far more wet than I ever thought. I literally watched water drain out of my shoes when I peddled. 

    2. Rain at 35mph hurts; rain at 35mph on tires 1 inch wide going downhill with no visibility is terrifying...and oddly fun. Like Ricky Bobby on a bike. 

    3. Bike brakes do not deal with water as well as car brakes. Stopping can become an issue. And by become an issue I mean NOT POSSIBLE. 

    In all it was a pretty incredible day. I made it back safe and it was a fantastic and rewarding experience. I really do hope to do two next year. Or this and some other big event. 

    Oh and that other big event? Yeah Im old. Finally hit 30. Doesnt really feel like that big of a deal. Though now my students seem to think ive become legitimately old. Thats probably a good thing though. Maybe if im old Im scarier. Or I can just be grizzled. Or get flamed with lots of angry emails from 40, 50, and 60 somethings who think Im being a turd for calling myself old at 30. Really though Im thankful to be here, to be doing what I do for a living and have the chance to do things like this ride. Im thankful for the experiences I have had and look forward to more. We're off this weekend for a checkup in our home-away-from-home. Looking forward to everything in Houston except the wait to hear the results. Go go team clean scans!

    LiveSTRONG

    Sammy