June 2, 2013: Milestones

Mission accomplished. It was a good day. 62 miles logged in and some milestones met. I like milestones and I love meeting them even more.

Milestone 1: I logged in my longest bike ride; ever. My previous high was sixty. Those serious riders are shaking their heads. But to a newly minted rider (not quite three years into owning a road bike), this was a milestone. And it wasn't an easy feat. The first thirty miles were into head-on high winds. Thanks to Garrett for pulling me (bikers lingo for blocking the wind...thanks). Once we made the turn after 30 with the wind behind us, I knew it was all "downhill" from there.

Milestone 2: I completed my first official Colorado sanctioned cycling event. For the last three years I have been envying every rider promoting their favorite Colorado ride on their jersey. I have been longing to join the fun. Now I that I have done it, I can chime in "Yea, I did the Elephant Ride last year."

Milestone 3: This was my first sanctioned bike ride with Garrett. Although he has a long resume of bike rides he's participated in over the years and I have done a few myself; we have never gone together. We can now add this to our list of sporting dual-participation. To date these include hiking a fourteen-er, running a half-marathon, hiking the Grand Canyon, and skiing a lot and in a lot of places. Still on my list to come are a triathlon, cross-fitting, and ballroom dancing.

Milestone 4: I did it!! And I felt great about my effort. With the wind and the climbing, we still finished in under five hours. I burned 2,968 calories and we enjoyed BBQ and a beer after. No falls by me. Colorado was beautiful. The greens are livid right now and Pike's Peak was continually in our view. I pushed myself and finished strong. My new ACL worked great.

As a final note, I always gage my progress by the quality of riders who pass me. Those passing me overall appeared to be athletic and in good shape. And I passed far more people than the number who passed me.

As in road races, you see all kinds of people participating in these events. There were people with road cones taped to their helmets, a man wearing jeans, and a woman who was a Melissa McCarthy look alike. She sported cross and skull bone arm warmers. I passed her climbing up a hill. A good thing, I believe.