Training Ride #2

To catch my blog up to speed (if you are behind- look at the previous 2 posts at least where I introduce our first training ride and then more importantly the post titled Mahalo is dedicated to everyone who has supported me and donated to the Illini 4000)- last Saturday (4/9/11) I had my second training ride with my team.  The team always meets on campus bright and early (only in this case it wasn't bright).  The training route was roughly 50 miles and took us to the small neighboring towns of Seymour and Mahomet and back.  This is what I learned from that ride:

• You ride your bike in rain or shine.  Ron and I left for Champaign from Springfield at 6:15 am with our bikes in the back of the minivan in a thunderstorm.  We then stopped at Walmart to buy cheap rain jackets to hold us over for the day.
• Before we took off on our bikes the team had a tutorial on how to change a flat tire....fyi if you have a flat tire do not come looking for help from me.  It was raining- it was early- and there were lots of technical terms and air pumps and patch kits and tire levers....I could do it but I am just saying I wouldn't be your safest bet.  It is going to take me a couple times  before I am a pro.  (Or in my opinion that is what Ron is for.....right??) lol  

• We were told to expect to get a flat at least 5 times on the entire trip- some people were well on their way considering 2 people in my group got flat tires the same day during our training ride.
• I hate riding in traffic.  It is even worse riding your bike in traffic up a ramp.
• Just because you have cues for directions does not mean you won't get lost.  My group got lost at least 3 times.
• My group decided to have a hygiene conversation (unfortunately for the men) during one of our snack breaks.  Hygiene is one of my most serious concerns for this summer- considering I will be working out the majority of the day, not wearing any underwear (I stated in my earlier posts that it is ill advised to wear underwear under your bike shorts due to chaffing), and not having access to long hot showers like I would at home.  Gross, I know.  But as soon as the topic of bladder and yeast infections came up the guys in my group got queasy.  And one of my favorite quotes from the day was from our ride leader (who rode on the trip last year), Pi.  He said, "Just bring lots of baby wipes."  haha  It was funny coming from him, but sadly it probably is good advice.
• Another one of my favorite quotes of the day was from Connor.  He said, "When in doubt- dip it in peanut butter."  I am going to have to learn to like the stuff sooner or later- I do agree it is good with grapes (not jelly- just grapes)
• I learned that I need to learn how to pull up on my pedal (my shoes are clipped into my pedals) as well as pushing down in order to get full momentum and not put all the strain on just my quads.  This is a lot harder than it sounds.  Because when I pull up, I forget to push- it seems like I can only do one or the other.  It is either pull pull pull pull or push push push push.  I need to master push pull push pull with my legs and feet.
• I learned that you can take a nap anywhere with your helmet as a pillow.  While one of our teammates was changing his flat tire (the second one of the day) we had nothing to do but wait for 15 minutes so we went over off the side of the road right by a farm field of dirt and took a siesta.
• Falling off your bike is not uncommon as you would think.  Myself (third fall and counting) and at least 2 other of my teammates took a spill.
• I learned to expect the unexpected and to add at least 2 hours to the expected time of arrival.  We were supposed to be back around 1:30pm or 2:00 at the absolute latest.  Well we didn't take into account two flat tires and getting lost a few times along the way.  And then you have snack breaks and side of the road siestas.  We didn't get back until 3:30pm.  Which was really unfortunate for me because I had to be at work at 5:00pm in Springfield.  (That is a completely different and incredibly not-so-fun story that I don't like to talk about because I would rather not relive it.  I would rather focus on how much fun the day actually was instead of how awful rushing to work was after riding 50 miles and serving lobster on a unfathomably busy Saturday night.  I was physically and mentally drained and on top of it fried from the sun.  But again- not going to talk about it.  I survived.)

• #1 thing I took away from training ride #2 was: DO NOT FORGET SUN BLOCK!!!!!  uugghh  Since it was so gloomy and stormy out in the morning I wasn't planning on taking off my rain jacket so I didn't put any SPF on.  Zero.  None.  Zip.  Nada.  And when it was 1pm the sun was beating down and it got up to 80 degrees.  So I had to take the jacket off- and I paid dearly.  I don't think I have ever been that burnt on my shoulders (I was wearing a sports bra tank top under my jacket).  Not OK.  

*I have also officially started to get my biker short tan :)  Super sexy!