I should probably admit up front that after the century ride on day two, day three of the Courage Classic was pretty anti-climactic. It wasn't necessarily a letdown, but by this point, everyone was pretty (very?) sore and tired and there was a lot of "let's just get it done" attitude. We got started a little later than planned on our third and final day thanks to needing to be packed up and out of our condo before heading out on our bikes. Nonetheless, it was still relatively early when we got rolling.
Day three's route was from Copper to Leadville over Fremont Pass, with an optional loop around Turquoise Lake once we got to Leadville. I was, quite honestly, surprised at how good I felt when we started riding. Tired? Definitely. Sore? Heck yeah. But it felt doable. As we headed out of Copper and toward Leadville, it was a crazy sight to see the never-ending line of cyclists on the highway. Day one had some of that, but it didn't seem like it was to the same extent, and day two had been relatively quiet since we never saw the majority of riders who didn't do the century. I was pretty shocked at how careless many of the cyclists were. The highway from Copper to Leadville has little to no shoulder and lots of traffic, yet people were pulling WAY out into the lane to pass without checking for cars coming up from behind or even warning the people that they were passing. Common sense, people! Checking for traffic before passing, and a simple "on your left" goes a LONG way toward being both courteous and safe. [/rant]
It was clear pretty early that our group probably wasn't really going to stick together for the day's ride. As previously mentioned, a lot of people just wanted to get done as quickly as possible, which was fine, but my legs just didn't have it in them to go even remotely fast. Megan and one of the other students, Jennifer, and I stuck together for most of the ride since we were around the same speed. The ride up Fremont Pass seemed never-ending. And halfway through, I felt a mosquito bite on my butt start itching. Really? I mean, I know the mosquitos are bad this year, but did it really have to bite me in the middle of a climb in a rather embarrassing spot to scratch? Stoopid mosquitos. Little did I know that it was just the beginning, and that since mosquitos can bite THROUGH bike shorts, I would have a lovely array at the end of the day! Once again, though, the early morning crispness and the gorgeous Colorado wildflowers were totally soul-soothing, even as my legs were screaming loudly in protest.
We stopped at the top of Fremont Pass to semi-regroup. And take the obligatory bike-over-the-head-on-top-of-Fremont-Pass-Photo. :-D
From Fremont Pass, it was time to let it rip downhill again. WOOHOO. I do so love descending! Before long, we were on the outskirts of Leadville. Stefan and another team member, Jay, were pulled over in a parking lot to wait for John and Celia (our noble leaders--and Stefan's parents), so I took the excuse to pull over and rest. I mean, wait for Megan and Jennifer. And promptly crashed. From pretty much standing still. Yeah, that's how I roll. I have yet to have a "real" crash, but I have now managed to crash twice in the past month while not really moving. Making it even more embarrassing? The fact that there were 15 or 20 other cyclists standing in the parking lot and they all witnessed my less-than-graceful fall.
Now you might be asking yourself why I'm admitting to such an embarrassing event when I probably could have kept it pretty quiet...the answer? Because I got the world's most kick-ass band-aid at the aid station, so I have to show it off! :-D
I will say one good thing (besides the awesome band-aid!) about crashing (falling off) your bike on day three of a three day ride...the pain in my ankle, hip, and hand from falling almost completely took my mind off my sore legs and butt for SEVERAL miles!
Just after the aid station where I got patched up was the turn-off for the Turquoise Lake loop. Although it was tempting to turn left and head to the finish, there was really no other option but to go right to the lake. I was extremely glad that I had ridden around the lake on a team training ride a few weeks earlier so that I knew what to expect. And what to expect was a rather significant climb. They should really call it a pass, because it sure feels like one! Up, up, up we went. There was a lot of camaraderie in the group of riders that I was with during the climb, which made it slightly easier. And I couldn't help but think, even as my legs were screaming at me, about the kids at Children's who aren't able to ride a bike. And those who CAN ride a bike because of the work that they do at Children's. And I kept plugging up the hill. Because, really...as John pointed out as we were starting up the climb...what's a little leg soreness and pain compared to the pain of going through chemo? After all, THAT is the reason we all did this ride.
The remainder of the trip around the lake was pretty uneventful. It is truly a beautiful ride, and I really want to spend some more time in that area (note to self: try to find some cheap camping gear!). We stopped one last time just past the dam to regroup and potentially wait for John and Celia, but ultimately decided to just push on through and get 'er done. Compared to the previous day's finish, crossing the finish line at the end was kind of anti-climactic, but it was cool to hear our friends who had already finished cheering for us, and to be given our finisher's medal. And just a few minutes after we finished, we got to watch Team Courage, made up of current and former Children's patients, cross the finish line. Yeah, I teared up. It was pretty emotional.
3 days, 200+ miles, my first century, a crash, two very sore legs, a bazillion mosquito bites, and an incredible feeling of accomplishment
Fabulous Team AHEC ladies: Me, Jean, Amy, Cindy, and Megan
I want to say THANK YOU again to all of my fabulous sponsors. You all took my lofty goal of $1000 and smashed it! As of today, I have raised $1260 for the Children's Hospital Foundation thanks to you. And if you wanted to donate, but haven't done so yet...it's not too late! You can still donate through the end of the month at my personal fundraising page. I am so proud to be a member of Team AHEC, as we were the number 8 fundraising team overall for the Courage Classic! Our team captain, John, was one of the top 100 fundraisers, and there were several of us who raised over $1000. To date, Team AHEC has raised over $31,000!
The Courage Classic was such an amazing experience. I'm so grateful to AHEC for making it possible for poor (aka broke) health professions students to take part! I can say with confidence that this was not a one and done event for me. I really hope to be able to make it an annual occurrence. The people I met, the friends I got to know better, the beautiful rides, and the joy of doing something to help others all combined to make one phenomenal weekend.
What's next? Well, the Boulder 70.3 (that's a half-ironman) is on Sunday. I'm desperately undertrained for the swim and the run, but hey! My bike should kick butt! Seriously, though, this one's going to be all about survival this year. I'm excited to have family in town to come out and cheer for me for the first time ever, so I hope I don't keel over somewhere on the backside of Boulder Res in the 90+ heat and disappoint them! ;-)
Thanks for reading through my long-winded saga! I know I've said it before, but I hope to keep the blog a little more regular in the future, although I make no guarantees once school starts back up!