Buescher State Park

A little nervous before starting

Taking selfies less than 3 miles in

Lisa and I taking happy selfies

Nayeem, JoAnna, and Jane are the best volunteers

Gamin says that my average moving pace was 12.5 mph, which looks better than 11.3. Ha. There were a lot of places that I was stopped by my garmin was still going. I got caught at several red lights in Bastrop. Also there was one intersection I had to cross, and I stood there for probably 5 minutes before it was safe to cross. It'll be different on ride day. 

This was the longest/hilliest/toughest ride I've ever done. I was out there over 6 hours, and thank goodness for no cutoff and amazing volunteers. I was the last person from my team to finish, but I FINISHED! A cold front pushed through in the middle of this ride, it rained on me, I had crosswinds/headwinds/tailwinds, and I was completely exhausted. 

The most difficult section was the first 10 or so miles through the state parks. (If you click on the picture below, you can see the elevation profile of the ride) The hills were steep and I had to push myself up several of them. However, I can tell that I'm getting better at rolling hills. I averaged over 15mph through a bunch of rollers for about 10 miles mid-course.

When I got back to my car, my garmin said 61.7 miles, so I rode around the parking lot until I was at 62.15 miles. I officially rode a metric century. Woohoo!

I have pain in places I have never had pain before. Out of my entire body, my hands hurt the most. I was getting numb in my thumb and index finger and then all of a sudden pain would shoot down my arm. I never got this when I was training for a triathlon because I was splitting my time between riding on the hoods or riding in aero. I need to be more aware of my hands while riding. 

Bonus photo: Since I was in Smithville, I found the house from the movie "Hope Floats" on the way out of town.

CycleBar

In addition to my outdoor cycling, I do a class or two a week at the CycleBar. They really know how to kick my butt. It's a lot harder than outside cycling, but it's also only 45 - 60 minutes at a time and if I get tired, I don't have to worry that I'm 20 miles from my car. The instructors there are all really cool. 

Vee is one of my favorite instructors

Mackenzie is also one of my favorite instructors. This is from her birthday ride. 

Anderson Ride

Gorgeous sunrise before the ride started

If you see bluebonnets, you have to take a photo. 

I'm such a Texan. 

I reported a cop to the Grimes County Sheriff's Department mid-ride. I was riding on the right side of the lane on a rural farm road when a cop came flying past me and got on his speaker yelling at me to "GET OFF THE ROAD!" except, there was nowhere to go because the shoulder was about 3 inches. He then u-turned, sped up until he got right behind me then slammed on his brakes and got back on the speaker yelling "GET OFF THE ROAD!" He scared me and I jumped up on my bike and almost fell off. Anyway, I didn't feel safe with him on the road. When I got to the next big intersection, I looked up the sheriff's department and reported him for intimidation. I was shaken. I considered riding back to my car and calling it a day. But, another guy from my club told me to shake it off and keep going. I'm glad I did. I found out later that he was harassing a lot of people in our club that day. There are a lot of people out there who just don't like cyclists. 

SAG

The doc benched me because of my hip, so I volunteered with the club. I SAG'd the Montgomery ride and I was the food purchaser for the ride. I met all kinds of people in my club that I would never have met otherwise (translation: the fast riders!) I only had to drive two people in. One guy broke his pedal, and the other had bad cramps in his legs (and it turns out he didn't have any electrolyte drink or salt tablets while he was riding, so of course he got cramps in his legs)

If I can't ride, I might as well wear fun sunglasses. I got many comments from the people in my club.

I found this cool mural and took a photo.

I stood on the side of the road and said hello to all of the riders.

Thuy was the lead SAG

I've never bought so much fruit in my life. 

Injured Hip Flexor

I was injured enough that the doc sent me to get x-rayed just to make sure that I didn't have a stress fracture in my hip. I'm good. But, I've been benched. No running or cycling until this heals. Boo! I have a bunch of stretches and exercises to do to get better.