Woodside Ride

This was one of the most beautiful rides that our teams has gotten to experience this season. It was originally set up to be a team ride but got bumped to a buddy ride due to permit issues.

It began as a great ride day for me...I felt very strong on this ride, my average speed increased and I was climbing with more ease without dropping to my granny gear every time. Sally and I rode the ride together and enjoyed our own pace.

In spite of it being a buddy ride, we did get to enjoy the comforts of an unplanned SAG stop...thank you Mike! This was the first ride that we experienced another TNT team, the Santa Clara Cycle team was out in the area, on a team ride. As the Spring season is gearing up and overlapping with the Winter season, I am sure we will experience this again before our season comes to a close.

We experienced more climbing than we had anticipated on ride. It was a beautiful and busy day on the roads...since it was the first nice day in awhile and the cyclists were taking advantage of the break in the weather.

As the day continued, we noticed the clouds coming in and the temperature starting to drop. The last 4 miles of the ride suddenly changed for me as we rounded a corner up to a short steep grade. I hit the turn in too high of a gear and quickly tried to downshift...but pushed to the top before I found my lower gears. For this, I paid dearly as it leveled out at the top...suddenly, I felt a twinge in the front of my right leg...I paused my cadence but kept riding unsure what had happened. We continued to ride and what began as a mild ache quickly turned into sharp pain that increased with each pedal stroke. I geared way down and pedaled with my left leg but was still clipped in on the right, so the leg was still felt the rotation. Sally was up front and stopped to check on why I had dropped back...at this point the rain began to fall and I knew if I stopped now that I wasn't going to get myself going again. I am too damn determined, stubborn and tenacious to let some pain keep me from finishing this ride under my own power!


Sorry Sally but this picture made me laugh!


My mind began to race, as I wondered how badly I had injured myself and if it would inhibit me from continuing my training and riding in Solvang. The frustration and fear was building up in me as the rain turned into a down pour and in that moment...I realized my eyes were blurred with tears. It felt like the weather and my emotions were in perfect sync. I was so pissed that a seemingly perfect ride was ending like this! As I was pulling myself out of my internal pity party, I looked up and noticed the finish...thank goodness! I finished pulling myself together and put on a brave face as I rolled into the parking lot.


Surprisingly, we figured out that all the people waiting had come back early for various reasons and we were the first to roll in that completed the route. After taking a handful of Ibuprofen, Sally took great care of me by putting me in the car to get warm and loading up the bikes...thanks Mom! We got out of there quickly to find some ice for my leg, a bathroom and food. Next stop was Sally's tri-athlete, brother-in-law, who is also a Kinesiologist and was willing to take a look at my injury. He found it was a muscle strain and my recovery would be to follow the regiment of, R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression and elevation)...not a dietary plan:)

For various reasons, the Woodside ride was full of high's and low's for me and not just the route...haha! I look forward to getting a chance to ride there again with better weather and less drama:)