Today I did the Chilly Hilly Ride with Kyle, his friends Ed and Steve and his wife Rachel. It took 30 minutes in the morning to decide if we were actually going to do it. The weather report said overcast and 45 degrees so we went for it. Of course we got to the ferry and I realised I forgot my helmet at home (arg) The lucky thing was Ed and crew were still on the east side so then went to our house and "broke in" and got my helmet for me so we did not have to go back home to get it. With the delay we got on the 8:55a ferry. It started raining on us while we were waiting for the ferry - yuck. It was amazing how many bikes fit on a ferry. I would have taken a photo of it but along with my helmet I forgot my camera - go figure.
We got off the ferry and it was not raining - yeah! but I was still very cold and we were off. It was super crowded - but Col had warned me about that so no biggy. As the name declares the course is super hilly and I was very chilly. The first half of the ride was not to bad - the hills were big but I was able to climb alright (even though the roads esp the hills were super crowded and no one really moved right when they were slow). The only thing was my left arm kept going numb - I think because the reach is kind of long and I'm not able to really relax my shoulders esp when braking. I was riding slower than Kyle which is always hard to handle for both of us so I just kind of did my own thing as much as I could and Kyle was sweet enough to wait for me sometimes and did not push me to hard and stress me out trying to stay with him. The worst part was definatly the decending - I am always scared decending (I know it makes no sence considering my life on skis). Some of the down hills were winding with random turns and stops at the bottom and with the wet road/wheels/brakes what ever it never felt like I could stop with out killing my hands and forarms.
About half way at a rest stop (or so it felt) at a park I think I saw Jess and should have said hi and finally introduce myself but did not so hi Jess. Anyway when we left the rest stop it really started raining again :( I kind of got in the mindset I just want to get finished and be done with this rainy hilly ride. It only seemed to get colder and much much wetter as we went. On the final steeper hill my chain locked up at the bottom and I could not peddle forward - the first time I was able to stop look at it and it seemed fine. But when I tried to start up the hill again it would not move and I could not get out of my pedals fast enough and I fell over to the right of the road. Luckily I fell into a bunch of black berry bushed and other brush so I only really got some bruises and I think I have sprained or got a deep bruise on my left hand from my handle bars/aero bars something. Kyle was almost all the way up the hill so I gave up and walked my bike up the hill all the while I could not catch my breath - I was just gasping. Once I got up the hill to where Kyle was waiting I broke down and cryed and told him what happened. He checked my hand to see if anything was broken and it did not seem to be. He also checked my bike and it seemed to work - he did find that my brakes were almost all the way open. A support van also stopped and wanted to make sure I was ok. I was ok just very shaken up and upset that I had to walk up a hill.
I got back on my bike and just wanted to get home as soon as I could. Kyle even said I rode faster after the fall - go figure. The palm of my hand hurt so much that I could not really hold my handle bars and I pretty much cried for 10 miles or so. I kept going - the last hill Kyle helped me up by putting his hand on my back and almost pushing me up the hill with him. I felt done I just wanted to be done.
We did not hang around the "finish" area because I just wanted to get on the ferry and go home - so that is what we did. Luckily we got on the ferry it was super crowded but we found some space. I did not want to deal with taking my shoes off or leaving my bike so we stayed on the deck out of the wind and ate a nectar bar. It was cold - by the time the ferry docked on the Seattle side I was unable to control the shivers.
I was just glad we were back - we jumped in the truck and headed home to get warm. I got home took a hot shower and preceded to take an hour nap trying to get my body temperature back up. Now sitting at home warm and dry I don't know if I will ever do Chilly Hilly again but I guess I'm glad I did it. It was a good check in - I was able to spin really well, but I need to work on descending and increase my climbing ability/speed.
ok I think that covers everything - sorry about the length and detail. lol
1 comment:
Brrrrrrrrr....
Nice job getting it done!
And I've never seen a transition area with the bikes lying on their sides before!
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