So this is my first blog of the season and because I’m a commitment-phobe I can’t commit that it won’t be my last. Below is a breakdown of Chilly Hilly from my perspective. I hope you enjoy it and if you take anything away from this blog…take this: Never, EVER do Chilly Hilly….it is miserable, sick and WRONG!
1. Started the day with fresh snow on the ground in my neighborhood…this should have been my first indication that I should have bailed.
2. Hillary, Leo and I shared a few text messages early that morning…all of us looking for one of us to call off the ride. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. We were gonna ride like champs, “In it to Win It!”
3. We met as a team on Mercer Island and everyone was on time…Let’s just say, this might have been the best part of the whole day!
4. The ferry ride was fine…although I did get a bit queasy.
5. Getting off the ferry was a bit tricky….Carlos fell while clipped in and knocked another rider over. That’s okay though cuz she dropped and did 20 (push-ups that is) right before hand…talk about obnoxious! This was the first highlight of the day…probably not for Carlos though. But we all had a good laugh seeing Carlos’ shoe still clipped in, as he stepped right out of the shoe to recover.
6. Off the ferry we headed up the hill, which was much better than I expected, except Carlos hit a bump on the way down and his T-Mobile MyTouch went flying and hit the ground. Don’t worry…because he had T-Mobile his phone survived the brutal crash. But poor Carlos, he seriously had a rough start…another indicator that we should have turned around and headed home.
7. The first few miles weren’t bad; although the weather was a bit chilly the scenery was beautiful. I’ve found my new dream neighborhood. As soon as I win the lottery I’m movin!
8. Then the rain came.
9. The more hills came.
10. Then the snow came.
11. Then Carlos got a flat…bless his heart for not quitting at that very moment.
12. Then we stopped for a quick break to warm up, fix Carlos’ tire and have a nice cup of Lipton tea.
13. About 20 minutes later we were back on our bikes and that’s when the pain came back to my fingers. The throbbing was intense, so much so that I had a challenging time shifting gears and fully clutching my brakes. We stopped a few miles down the way and I had tears welling up in my eyes because my fingers were soooo cold and hurting. I would have quit, but I was too embarrassed…didn’t want the team to see how weak I was
14. We all pushed through and continued on our way…another 13 or so miles to go.
15. The wind blew harder, the rain came harder, oh yes and the snow continued to fall off and on throughout the rest of the ride. There were points on the ride when I was pedaling with all of my power and yet the wind held me back as if I wasn’t moving at all. Talk about deflating.
16. Poor Hillary struggled a bit more than the rest of us on this ride. She is scared it is because she is still on her hybrid and the rest of us now have road bikes. I do believe the road bike would make it a bit easier for her…but I also think it was the miserable weather conditions and her gears…that didn’t seem to be shifting properly. I felt horrible for her because it truly sucks to struggle on a ride and feel you are holding the team back. But truth be told she held no one back and she rocked the shiz niz out of this ride. I’m impressed by her determination to push through!
Hold up…I’m gonna take a minute to say one thing…We have become a true team and no matter what happens, none of us hold each other back…we all have good days and bad days and we will ride together like the 3 musketeers, “All for one…one for All!”.
Okay…enough cheesiness...
17. Yes, I was miserable and on the verge of tears many times, but I have to admit I found myself having many “Cities of Angels Moments”…you know in the movie when Meg Ryan is riding her bike (no hands) and the sun is beating down on her face as if Heaven is opening its gates to her. No I’m not a bible banger…but I do cherish these moments when I can’t wipe the smile off my face.
18. Regardless of the ride conditions, we finished and we didn’t take the shortcut, so we truly “were in it to win it” and we did!
And on one final note…Hillary and I came to the conclusion that Leo isn’t as much fun now that he is riding a road bike and taking spinning 5 days a week. So we have decided he needs to ride his mountain bike going forward and lag behind to make us happy! Decision made and DONE!
Another note, Carlos’ bro-in-law, Earl, joined us. He was such a trooper and an awesome guy. This is a shout out to a new addition to our team…even if he never rides with us again.
One final note...the ride made the Seattle Times...check this out: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014352131_chillyhilly28m.html
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