I finally did my long bike ride. I completed the 66 mile loop of the Tour de Tucson!. Saturday morning started early with the ride from the hotel to the start line where we cheered our team members off on their 108 mile loop. Because I am so slow Coach Russ then took me to the 66 mile start point where we started early (otherwise I would not have been able to finish in the time allowed). We arrived at the point where the 66 mile loop joined the main route before the professionals got to that point. We crossed the dry wash and then waited for the leaders to get past before continuing. The last thing I wanted was to get in the way of the front runners. After several of those groups had passed we continued up the hill. I had people cheering me on and saying how wonderful I was doing and I kept wanting to explain that I was not one of the front runners, don't cheer me. Russ said the riders would come up behind me and look at my bike and look at me and shake their heads wondering how I got where I was. Eventually enough riders passed me that I did not feel so conspicuous anymore.

The weather for the ride was beautiful and the temperature was moderate although I did get a little warm going up the hills. The countryside is very dry and there were lots of cacti. My favorite part of the ride was coming down Tangerine. This is a very long gradual downhill that went on and on. I didn't want it to ever stop. My least favorite part was a very bumpy road towards the end. I think it was worse than the hills and I hate hills! Eventually I made it to the finish line after about 6 1/2 hours. I don't know the exact time because of my irregular start.

The boys had sent Flat Stanley with me and he rode in my pack all the way. At one point one of the riders passing me spotted him and called out "Flat Stanley! How cool is that!"

After checking in and grabbing a bite to eat I rode back to the hotel for a shower and a nap before the Victory Party that night. My total mileage that day was about 69 miles. This is the furthest I have ever ridden.

this past week was a lost cause as far as biking went. Last week Saturday it poured rain and the ride was cancelled so I went to spin class instead. Sunday was nicer but I could feel I was coming down with something so I just did a short ride around Point Defiance. I figured the hill practice was good for me. The rest of the week was a dead loss as I huddled on the couch with a fever, aches and pains and loss of appetite (something that almost never happens with me). Tuesday was the worst day and things started to get better after that. By Saturday I felt I was able to ride again. The weather turned out to be beautiful. Our ride was scheduled to be about 70 miles - Kent, Auburn, Black Diamond, Enumclaw, Mud Mountain Dam and then return. It did not take me long into the ride to realize I was still feeling the effects of the flu. I just could not get up the energy to go faster than about 9-10 mph. (Lately I had been riding 12-13 mph). By the time I reached the sag stop at Black Diamond I figured that was as far as I was going. So after a brief rest Russ and I headed back. Instead of 70 miles I only did about 40 miles and that was enough for the day. This week I have to work hard on building my stamina back up so I can do next week's 70 plus miles. There are only a few more weeks of training left before Tucson.