shellenefoster
rbent member
Posts: 100
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I am really impressed with all of the rbent and LSR riders! Every one of you is tough as nails. Peggy, you were having an awesome day on the bike and I was so sorry to hear about the asthma attacks. Steve was having a good start of the day and I was lucky enough to get to ride near him for a while. That was probably the best part of the day, being able to ride with a friend. I also had the great pleasure of being able to ride with Sandy for a few minutes on the first 100 miles, and for a few minutes on the track at night. Wow, she was riding GREAT! Sadly, I had to keep stopping for nature breaks, so I didn't get to stay with her for very long either time. However, when we were riding together during the long out and back, I mentioned my knee fears and Sandy's sage advice was "Well, your knees are going to hurt. Just ride." So, more on that later..... At the turn around point (50 miles), a gentleman walked up to me and said "I'm doing Bacchetta support, what can I do for you?" Oh, man - that was such a nice thing! I handed him my poker chip (you have to turn it in to get credit for the first 100 miles) and asked him to please drop it in the bucket which was surrounded by cyclists. His offer of assistance enabled me to simply turn my bike around and head back on the return trip. The return trip was all fun since we had earned a great tail wind. It felt all downhill and fast! Once we made it to the short afternoon loop, I began seeing Kent Polk and John S flying past me. That was a ton of fun. John was always saying something as he passed and would always lift my spirits though I couldn't get any intelligible comments out myself. I was busy working and didn't have any brain cells to spare apparently. It was neat to see them drafting or soloing it out on the course at such a fast pace. During these short loops, I began thinking about how best to ride on the track at night. I had a serious problem with my bag of supplies not being at the track. But that wonderful gentleman with the Bacchetta support team had me thinking that they might, just maybe, have time to grab my bag for me. So while riding and making plans for the night, I had a flat on the rear wheel. Dang! What luck. I’m no speed demon at changing tires, so it was nice that one of the race officials stopped and visited with me while I changed my flat. The official let me know we were just about to be allowed onto the track, and that made my day because I was tired of the cars on the highway. Finally, we made it onto the track. I stopped to put on more clothes, and at the same time found the Bacchetta crew and asked if someone might be able to fetch my bag. Without a definite answer, I went on to ride some laps, and after dark had fallen I stopped and there, waiting for me was my bag of supplies! Food and clothes and water. The Bacchetta crew were lifesavers! They also provided me with 2 caffeine pills during the night, and let me stand in front of their heater when I stopped to add more layers. Those are some very kind and generous folks to have been out there in the cold. On the night track, my knee started hurting pretty badly, so I had to back off. But, because of Sandy, I knew that I was not going to stop riding. It had been a good day so far, and I was still having fun despite the pain. The weather was no worse than Texas, and I had gone to Sebring to test myself and my ability to handle solo riding, so I decided to go the entire 24 hrs unless the knee was on the point of injury. The knee lasted ok with the reduced force, and at the very last hour, Mark Metcalf finally was where I could see him. On my final lap, I kept him in sight, glad to have the company on the near deserted track. Not knowing how much time I had left, and being tired, I decided I had enough mileage to stop, so I ended a little bit too soon. I’m off the bike this week to let the swelling in the knee go down. It is not injured like I injured it last year, but I am probably not going to ride the Texas Hill Country because of the knee trouble. That is a little depressing, but I’ll get over it since maybe I can crew for Vickie or someone at Texas Hill Country, and I’ll be able to ride with these great recumbent riders at Hell Week! Oh yeah, the only reason that I looked well energized at the awards ceremonies is because I hadn’t had a chance to wind down from the race yet! Sharon and Daniel can attest to my suitable zombie behavior on the drive home Sunday! Shellene
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