Loop The Lake - Section 3...

(Post 6 of 9)


Section 3 –

Upon leaving the second rest stop, I encountered mountain bike girl again.  I asked her how she was doing and if this was the furthest she’d ever ridden.  She said no, but by the time we hit the finish line, it would be.  I again told her I’d see her down the line and moved ahead at my own pace.  

Instead of having a tailwind on the return trip as I’d anticipated, I hit a harder headwind.  I dropped down to 11 to 12 mph.  That really sucked.  Road bikers who lingered a bit at the second rest stop were passing me.  A guy on a really nice road bike pulled up alongside me.  I recognized him from the jersey he was wearing.  He struck up a conversation, asked where I was from, and told me he was from Boston.  He commented on the headwind and how that was tough for me since I was more upright on my hybrid.  I appreciated that he realized it and was trying to be supportive.  He told me to keep it up and I told him I’d see him at the finish line.  He rode on ahead and I tried to settle into a rhythm.  

Fighting the headwind.  Quads and calves burning.  Wondering how far I could take this since I’d never ridden this far.  I tried to relax and started to talk to myself.  Out loud.  Come on baby, you can do it.  Thank goodness, no one was around to hear it.  Bikes up ahead, and bikes behind, but no one else around me.  

For awhile, it was just me and the alligators.  I saw them in the water, their eyes and snouts barely breaking the top of the water.  I wondered what prevented them from running out of the water, up the hill, and eating me?  I didn’t have an answer.  I scanned around to make sure none of them were hiding in the grassy slopes on each side of the path.  

As if I didn’t have enough going on, it was around this time that I realized I was getting really sunburned.  I mean, my arms were getting really damn dark.  And I remembered, I had brought sunscreen.  It was in my Camelbak.  Back at the car.  I had been so nervous and distracted that I didn’t think to spray it on before I left at 8 am.  And now, a few hours later at lunchtime, I was getting burnt to a crisp.  Another lesson learned.  

I pushed on and saw a group gathered ahead.  That became my singular mission.  To catch up to that group before they left and I couldn’t see any bikes ahead of me again.  As I approached, I tried to be calm and not show how thrilled I was to be in the company of other riders again.  I acted (and the Oscar goes to… ) nonchalant as I pulled up to the group and removed my aching ass from the saddle.  I stretched my legs and listened to the conversations around me.  Apparently, the police were again waiting for a group to gather so they could escort us back through the town.  A few other bikes pulled up after me and we waited.  A few people were getting antsy but I was happy to stretch my legs.  Of course, I had not been waiting as long as them, either.  

Mountain bike girl showed up and we chatted some more.  Some of the riders around us commented on how she was doing this route on that bike.  She just laughed and said we should meet her out on the trails so she could kick our ass out there.  We all laughed.  

The officers led us through the town again.  That’s when I encountered two new guys.  I honestly don’t know if they were on hybrids or mountain bikes because I was behind them and didn’t get a good look.  Also, by that point I could care less about details like that.  One of the guys was struggling and his friend was hanging back with him.  I wanted to pass but the struggling guy was all over the place and I couldn’t get past him.  I figured screw it and just paced behind them a bit.  It was actually nice to be closer to other bikes after all the solitary riding I had done.  

We rode into the third and final rest stop.  I threw my bike up on the rack, ate another peanut butter sandwich and I don’t remember what else.  I got a Gatorade, poured it into my bottle, and stuck it in the cage on my bike.  Keep this in mind because I’m about to learn another lesson.