LIVESTRONG Challenge

In February of 2009, I got back on my bike. At the time, I could barely ride 3 miles and participating in the LIVESTRONG Challenge 10 mile ride seemed like a massive feat. Six months later, when it came time for the ride, it turned out to be too easy. My friend and I decided that in 2010 our goal would be to ride the 50 mile route of the LIVESTRONG Challenge.

Fast forward to December, I eagerly registered for the 50 mile route and notified my friend that registration was open. In February, she announced that she was pregnant and wouldn’t be able to participate in this ride or Levi’s GranFondo in October. My friends and family asked if I would still be riding without my best friend beside me.

Well… heck yeah!

Training got off to a somewhat slow start, but once school let out I was able to devote more time to actually trying to increase my ride distances. A 50 mile ride was still an accomplishment I had yet to attain. In fact, it remained so until July 11, the day of the LIVESTRONG Challenge.

I won’t lie. The ride was hard. By far the hardest ride I’ve ever done. However, I didn’t end up riding alone. Thanks to the power of social media, I had a lot of support from tweeps and a couple of other cyclists to encourage me in person. Emily and Michael turned out to be invaluable even though we didn’t remain together the entire day.

The biggest surprise of the day was that 50 miles, while it sounds really far to a person who doesn’t regularly ride, actually isn’t very far. I knew the climbing would be difficult, but I remained unsure about the distance. Of course, I got tired on the climbs (and yes, I stopped and walked part of the way), but at the end of the ride my legs still felt incredibly good. I experienced no leg cramping and minimal discomfort from the saddle. I’m certain that I could have ridden farther.

Should I choose to participate again next year, I’ll likely stick to the 50 mile route. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to tackle Metcalf Road.