Once again…a radical ride with my Team in Training cohorts! We met in Malibu for our longest ride yet: 75 miles.
I was really excited because we added a new group this week so we could pick up the pace a bit. There were only three of us this time. Me, Scott and Guido.
We got on the road around 8:15am and began our quest to conquer all 75 miles. I have to admit, I was a little nervous. Once we were rolling though, I decided to just enjoy myself and not worry about how I would get the miles done. I felt great for the first 40 miles. We stopped at mile 42 to help a rider change a flat and then headed to our SAG stop at mile 56. Our coach had warned us about some head winds along a certain road, but I kept thinking he must have been wrong, since I hadn’t noticed any. And then we took a corner and man! I felt like I couldn’t get over 15mph. Prior to turning that corner, we were holding 19 to 20 mph. At mile 50 I got worried. I thought, man, if this were the century, I would only be half way finished! How am I going to do this? That lasted about 5 minutes. It’s easy to get in your head when you’re on the bike. Everyone’s pushing hard, not talking, and there’s not much to distract you. I decided I’d start singing to myself to keep the bad thoughts away. It worked. The weird thing? I was singing Eminem’s new song “I’m not afraid.” I guess that suited the situation well. Hopefully my fellow teammates couldn’t hear me.
Once we reached the SAG stop at mile 56, I had a pb&j, drank some water, and was ready for the last 20 miles. I was rejuvenated. There are a few good rollers along those last 20 miles, but they didn’t phase us. We were kicking butt! Scott had a slow leak in his tire so we stopped quit a bit on our way back, but they were welcomed breaks. We eventually stopped to change the tire with only 4 miles to go. The CO2 refills just weren’t cutting it.
Four hours and forty minutes later, we were back where we started. It felt great! Sure my legs were tired, but I’m feeling confident that we’ll dominate in Tahoe. GO TEAM!!!
For the bulldog lovers…here’s what Guinness was doing while I was riding: 
You are so ready for the century, you’ve got to feel mad proud for all the work you’ve done and the money you’ve raised.
Do you know what roads you were on today? I went riding in the bu too and was blown away at the number of people out riding – its great to see so many people enjoying the sport, and Malibu has some of the best roads around. Have you been down Kanan Rd since the repaved it? Sooooo fast!
oh – here’s another random question: What does SAG mean?
Thanks Chip! We rode from PCH to Las Posas Road then to Pleasant Valley Road, Ventura, and Port Hueneme and then back. There were only rollers today. No real climbing. I haven’t been on Kanan Rd I don’t think. Where is that? And yes! There are a TON of riders in Malibu. I agree! So cool to have that many people enjoying the sport
And most of them I’ve found to be pretty friendly.
Oh and SAG technically stands for support and gear but those are our pre-set stops where we have a vehicle with cut up fruit, water, and pb&j’s usually. It’s great because then we don’t have to carry all of our stuff with us!
Glad you guy’s had a good ride. Keep it up, and the race will be a cake walk.