Tour de Cure Follow-up

Whew! That 50-mile ride was treacherous but fun up in Grafton, Illinois near the Mississippi River. There were some hills that showed me just how conditioned I was for the ride (70%). I managed to pull through well until around the 40th mile when my legs locked up, but fortunately there was a scheduled resting point up the hill: I ate a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, an orange and drank some more water. I was good to go the rest of the final 10 miles. Our team finished in under 5 hours which was good considering we were fighting prevailing winds and hills throughout the ride. We topped 20 MPH on straight-away's, but bogged down to 5 MPH on most of the hills. The final down hill had us a 34-37 MPH which was a reward for the hours of paddling. After the ride we tried to sit and eat hamburgers etc, but the wind had picked up a lot more due to an incoming storm system across the Mississippi so we headed back home. Our total contribution to the American Diabetes Association was roughly $3000.00, and 2,000 plus calories burned. We registered a 5 person team; however, only three of us rode together. One rode the hundred miles, and the other moved out of town prior to the ride. It was all for a good cause plus it gave me a chance to get ready for the next few 25/50 mile rides. The next one in Missouri in August is a tough one that I rode last year (one hill steeply climbs for a straight three miles--you run out of gears and are brought to a walking pace at one point) I hope to do a lot better on that hill this year. I need to turn in my bike though to have it tuned up. The gear that I needed the most slipped out during this ride. Until next year's Tour de Cure...ride hard.