Yesterday, I went out for a road ride out Frontage Road with 3 other TriGirls. They wanted to do 100 miles since they are training for IronMan, which is on April 15, but I didn't want to do a whole 100 miles, especially since it has been awhile since I had done anything over 45 miles or so. There was a good stopping point (meaning, there were bathrooms and water fountains) 35 miles from the start, so I decided to do 70 miles.

We headed out from the cars and things were good for the first 2 miles. Then one of the girls got a flat and it turns out that there was a rip in the tire. So we hung out and talked on the side of the road while she borrowed my bike and rode home to get a tire. Once we were on our way again, I started my HR monitor. I figured that if I stopped, I would turn it off and record the information so that I could see what was happening during each section of the ride. Riding out Frontage Road was great. Frontage Road is the regular two lane road that parallels the "highway system" out here (that is what Tucsonans call the one highway here -- the "system"). I maintained 90rpms or better for the whole 35 miles, and we were going between 18-22mph. We stopped at Picacho Plaza and it turns out that this section of the ride was 1:50:39. I was feeling pretty good at this point since I have never made it out that far before, and I was with the group the entire time. The other girls headed out to do the rest of the 50 miles out, and I refilled my water bottles and headed back towards Tucson.

And straight into the horrendous wind that was blowing my bike sideways sometimes, but mostly impeding my forward progress. My rpms dropped down to about 70 or so and my speed stayed between 8-10mph. The wind was strong enough to hold the flags at the travel plaza out completely straight and making that snapping sound. By this time, it was about 11am, and it was SO HOT. Of course, there isn't a dot of shade on Frontage Road, and the road is reflecting the heat up at my legs. It was about 100 degrees. It only took about 8 miles to empty my first water bottle, and since I ended up stopping every 2 miles or so to drink and apply chapstick because my lips were about to crack down to the bone, I emptied the second one too. I thought I was going to die on that road -- between the sun beating down, and the waves of heat rising up off the pavement I thought I might have been baked (and I was a little sunburned by this time too). I was so grateful when the sun went behind the clouds for a minute -- such a relief! Even better, I realized then that there WERE clouds and that it might happen again!

I was aiming for the Chevron, a gas station that is 17 miles from Picacho Plaza. The Chevron just seemed to disappear into the great beyond. Surely it was moving farther and farther away with every mile I passed. FINALLY, I saw the sign and was so relieved I couldn’t believe it. I managed to get my rpms up to over 90 and pulled in, hopped off my bike, and went straight to the gatorade. I inhaled the gatorade too quickly (it was SO COLD) and had to sit down and debate whether or not I was going to vomit in public, right in front of the Hell’s Angels, Arizona Chapter, taking a break then too. I did ask them for a ride back to Tucson, but they didn’t seem to have any sense of humor at all. This section of the ride was 1:52:39. So, I had gone exactly half the distance in the same amount of time simply because of the wind. It was horrible. There were no other options since the Hell's Angels wouldn't oblige me, so I headed out after refilling my bottles.

Back into the unbelievable wind. For another 18 miles. I spent a lot of time wishing for a taxi. And then one appeared! It was like a miracle. However, it kept going and I didn’t get to ride home in the big green taxi. I was bummed. By the time I got to Cortero Road, the exit that was 4.5 miles from where I could get off of Frontage Road and be 3 miles from my car, I realized that I was going to make it back to the car, but I was hating life – my seat was killing me, both wrists were totally swollen and painful, and my lower back was also making its displeasure known. The only good thing was that the clouds HAD come in and the sun wasn't beating down on me the way it had. I was so grateful.

I had to keep stopping every couple of miles to work out some the kinks. I finally was able to get off Frontage Road at Orange Grove Road and I stopped immediately to refill the bottles. I had 3 more miles to get back to the car. As I was heading to the car, I was riding and riding and riding and the park never appeared. Eventually I asked a pedestrian where the park was, and it was just around the curve ahead. This section of the ride was 2:03:14, for 18 miles. I checked in with the rest of the group, and told them that I was back at the car. I was really surprised that they hadn’t caught up with me. It turns out that one of the girls hadn’t had enough food, so she was fading fast. So, I loaded up my car and drove out to Cortero Road to pick her up. All in all, it was a good ride, but making the return trip all by myself was the pits. Usually, the rest of the group would catch me easily since they have all been cycling much longer than I have, but not today. Between the heat, the wind, and not enough food, they never did catch up. My coach told me that riding alone into the wind builds mental toughness... yeah, right.

Today, I am assessing the damage. My legs feel ok, but not perfect. My wrists aren't swollen anymore, but they ache and so do my elbows. My seat is sore -- no way around it, that isn't a happy area. I really need to continue to ride longer distances so that my body is accustomed to it. I am going to register for 2 olympic distance races (a 24 mile bike course) and so getting in longer rides will be a really good way to prepare for it.

In other news, Andy, Benjamin, and Elias all start baseball this week. Of course, Elias' practice time and the other guys' practice time are exactly the same, at different places... I am going to have to figure out how to do this. Games start next week and go through May. Swim team starts on April 20.