Three Little Pigs
I was huffin’ and puffin’ all day Saturday—as I rode 70 miles on a ride known/described as the three little pigs. This ride was the most fun I have had on the bike to date. We had three loops that started and ended in the same spot. The first and last loop were 20 miles and the middle loop was 30 miles. Each loop had some good hills—making the ride challenging and fun. At one point I actually thought about doing the 30-mile loop twice to achieve 100 miles—“butt” I thought twice about it and settled for 70 miles.  (misspelling intended) 

After the long rides, I usually come home, shower and crash for a two hour nap. I felt so good after and about this ride—I couldn’t fall asleep. I still had energy to burn. We went out that night to celebrate a good friend’s birthday. I was so pumped all night—I jogged in dress shoes to get the car after dinner. The last time I remember jogging was. . . . a-yah, I actually I don’t have a memory of that. 

Gu, Gels and One Black Bug
This not a recipe for Halloween—it is what I have learned to consume to sustain myself while riding for 4-6 hours straight. Somewhere between Tang—the drink created for astronauts and the Buck Rogers’ 25th Century roast beef flavored meal substitute pills–today we have gu’s and gels. (The black bug was an unfortunate consumption—I am trying to wean myself off food sources that fly into my mouth on their own accord.) The  gu and  gels are available in shiny little packets with easy tear tops—gu and gels are a virtually indestructible food /fuel source that do  not need to be refrigerated or heated. This modern food source is a flavored carbohydrate bomb in the consistency described by its name. The flavors are chocolate, vanilla, raspberry, strawberry and tangerine. These little packets are easy to store in the pockets located on the back of your jersey and easy to consume while riding. Enjoying the flavor is a separate challenge. Thankfully, they are cheap and do not come in onion flavor. As for the black bug…tastes like chicken.

Bike Butt
Just when I thought I had built up a good case of bike butt—ouch, was I wrong. I was breaking in a pair of new lycra bib style shorts on Saturday and it seemed to work well until mile 58 of 70. (I got a call from my credit card company—they suspected identity theft when they saw an additional order of lycra.) Bike butt, is a bicycling term that means having a level “toughness/callousness” in the buttocks region to endure long rides. I was lamenting about my broken bum to a friend and she said—I should wear it with pride—like a badge of honor. It is hard to walk with pride when your butt cheeks are in a permanent state of pucker.

On Sunday, I went on a short ride up some steep hills with another friend—let’s just say most of the 12-mile ride was spent out of the saddle.

Hello Mona
As much as I feared seeing familiar faces while I pimp my lycra fashion in public—I am starting to see and be seen by lots of friends. I prefer seeing them on a downhill—I am not the most social person when going uphill. In the middle of enjoying the “downhill” rewards of climbing a four-mile hill on Palomares Canyon Road, I saw the daughter of a sponsor out in her front yard—I turned around and rode back to say hello to her. Even though she had no idea who I was—I was excited to see her. My fear of being seen was overcome by the pride that has come with accomplishing these long rides. It feels good to be doing something I never thought I could—on a regular basis.