The MS Society invited Pete and I to join a small group of riders for a test ride of the Corpus Harbor Bridge. In the past, the ride ended at the Texas State Aquarium. This means the cyclists ride from the last break point at Portland High School, onto the causeway, across a rise for the small boats to pass under, then under the freeway to the aquarium. This year, the plan has shifted with the finish line being moved to Whataburger Field which happens to be across the Corpus Harbor Bridge from the aquarium. This new finish will allow for a better experience at the finish line. Providing more parking, more space for finish line festivities, more room for the people to come and cheer us on across the finish line.
Unfortunately, the appearance of the bridge has a lot of people worried about the finish line moving. The bridge is tall enough for ships to cross under. That means it's high. In some test drives with the bike computers in the car, we captured numbers (slope, height, etc.) and it doesn't seem to be as bad as it appears. Easily said by the girl who is still learning the hills. The point in the ride was to gather the data from a bike and get some true impressions from cyclists of all levels.
We carpooled down to Corpus Christi in a few full-size vans. We arrived at Portland High School where we prepped our bikes, adjusted our gear, and had a pre-ride briefing. Then we headed out. I was mentally prepared to be the slowest and weakest rider of the ride. I know that most of the riders invited have been cycling a lot longer than I have. I know that I have been off the bike for over a week. I know that I haven't ridden ten miles without a break before. I know that hills still challenge me. I know that I'm new to my shoes/clips/pedals. This ride is a mental thing for me though. The opportunity to cross the bridge now, know that I can do it, and ride with that knowledge in October will be huge!
We head out and I'm doing fine. I clipped in without a challenge and begin following the group. We start to settle in to our respective paces, and I start to get passed. No surprise there. I stop pointing out road debris when I think I'm the last cyclist. Then I suddenly have two cyclists on my left (who did not announce their passing approach) and I feel bad that I wasn't signaling. A quick glance back and I see that the van is now behind me and I really am the last cyclist now.
We get onto the highway and begin the long straight-away along the causeway. With Pete setting the pace, I'm keeping up a steady cadence. I try to take in the scenery and enjoy a bit of the ocean view. There is bird life and activity all around. People are in waders out fishing. It's really turned out to be a beautiful day for a ride, and the wind was not nearly as bad as I had been expecting. Six miles into the ride, my butt is beginning to talk to me. Yes, that's a little early if I'm going to ride 90 miles in one day. I realize that I need to adjust before I go totally numb. I may have waited a bit too long to adjust because now when I do, it's only worse. Oh well, just have to keep on pedaling.
I roll in to the gathering point where we were scheduled to regroup before heading up and over the bridge and announce "the turtle is here!" I get a few laughs and we take a moment for ice towels, water break and another briefing on the bridge. One of the cops approaches me and says "I don't think you'll make it. " Thankfully Pete steps in and says something. I go back to paying attention to the briefing. The nerve! Who does this guy think he is? He's not going to get to single the turtles out in October. Oh well, I try to forget it and put it behind me for the last leg of the ride.
We head out. I told Pete to go on his own pace up the bridge to get the data. I know Tony is behind me in the van and I'll be fine. I know what I need to do and I know I can stop and walk if I need to. The bridge is looming ahead and I start telling myself it's not as bad as it looks. I decide to focus on my cadence and not keep looking ahead. It's worked before. Sure enough, I'm making progress and maintaining a good cadence. I downshift as I need to and I'm still moving. I know that I'm going to need the small ring and decide it's time to shift to that and then use those gears. I do so and am feeling like I can make it no matter how slow I go. Then I downshift and nothing happens. Then the bike shifts two stops, and comes back. I don't really know what gear I'm in anymore. I try to stabilize with one more click and again a lot of clunking and back and forth. This means I've now lost my cadence and I'm a bit concerned about dropping a chain, or having a slow speed fall with all of the traffic around me. I decide to jump off the bike and start walking the hill. Wow! I never knew how hard it could be to walk up a hill. With bike shoes and cleats on, you're already walking on your toes, then with the incline of the hill, my calves were getting quite the workout.
Tony pulls up to check on me and offers that I can walk in the middle of the lane. I'm still slipping pretty bad there and pause to get some air. He pulls up again and offers a pick-up. I look ahead of me where I see that the other walking cyclist has been getting further ahead (she's in mountain bike shoes which gives her traction on the road.) I take him up on the offer. He jumps out of the van, throws my bike in the back and I climb in (not an easy task in bike shoes). I don't get to enjoy the downhill side of the bridge. I also don't get to test the sharp turn at the end of the bridge as we exit toward Whataburger field. Tony turns the corner and drops me off so I can ride the final stretch to the finish line. This is the plan for the ride in October for those who opt not to pedal the bridge, they can take a SAG van over the bridge, but still ride across the finish line.
I roll into the parking lot where everyone has gathered. The other cyclists start cheering. I do my usual off bike gathering of gear and people start approaching me asking me how I did. I admitted to "cheating" over the bridge, but I did it. Lisa and Tony are thrilled at my experience and Lisa says I got them the most important feedback of all: mechanical problems, walking challenges, newbie input, and SAG pick-up/drop-off. Okay, I'll buy that. I didn't pedal the whole thing, but I still feel a sense of accomplishment. For that, I'm happy.
We fill out our surveys and enjoy our lunch. The group piles back into the vans and we begin the trek back to San Antonio. It was a good ride and I'm glad I did it. I hope my input is valuable to the Society and other riders. I know the ride today will help me in October.
The walking did shred my cleats, so it was time to go get replacement cleats. We headed over to Bike World after our return to San Antonio. Drew replaced my cleats for me and adjusted the cleat on my right shoe by 3 mm. I felt like I wanted my foot rotated slightly when I sat on the bike for the longer stretch. We'll see how that works on my rides this week.
Goals
Today's Miles: 8.9
Total Miles Achieved: 139
Financial Investment: $863.55
Total Weight Loss: 0
Unfortunately, the appearance of the bridge has a lot of people worried about the finish line moving. The bridge is tall enough for ships to cross under. That means it's high. In some test drives with the bike computers in the car, we captured numbers (slope, height, etc.) and it doesn't seem to be as bad as it appears. Easily said by the girl who is still learning the hills. The point in the ride was to gather the data from a bike and get some true impressions from cyclists of all levels.
We carpooled down to Corpus Christi in a few full-size vans. We arrived at Portland High School where we prepped our bikes, adjusted our gear, and had a pre-ride briefing. Then we headed out. I was mentally prepared to be the slowest and weakest rider of the ride. I know that most of the riders invited have been cycling a lot longer than I have. I know that I have been off the bike for over a week. I know that I haven't ridden ten miles without a break before. I know that hills still challenge me. I know that I'm new to my shoes/clips/pedals. This ride is a mental thing for me though. The opportunity to cross the bridge now, know that I can do it, and ride with that knowledge in October will be huge!We head out and I'm doing fine. I clipped in without a challenge and begin following the group. We start to settle in to our respective paces, and I start to get passed. No surprise there. I stop pointing out road debris when I think I'm the last cyclist. Then I suddenly have two cyclists on my left (who did not announce their passing approach) and I feel bad that I wasn't signaling. A quick glance back and I see that the van is now behind me and I really am the last cyclist now.
We get onto the highway and begin the long straight-away along the causeway. With Pete setting the pace, I'm keeping up a steady cadence. I try to take in the scenery and enjoy a bit of the ocean view. There is bird life and activity all around. People are in waders out fishing. It's really turned out to be a beautiful day for a ride, and the wind was not nearly as bad as I had been expecting. Six miles into the ride, my butt is beginning to talk to me. Yes, that's a little early if I'm going to ride 90 miles in one day. I realize that I need to adjust before I go totally numb. I may have waited a bit too long to adjust because now when I do, it's only worse. Oh well, just have to keep on pedaling.
I roll in to the gathering point where we were scheduled to regroup before heading up and over the bridge and announce "the turtle is here!" I get a few laughs and we take a moment for ice towels, water break and another briefing on the bridge. One of the cops approaches me and says "I don't think you'll make it. " Thankfully Pete steps in and says something. I go back to paying attention to the briefing. The nerve! Who does this guy think he is? He's not going to get to single the turtles out in October. Oh well, I try to forget it and put it behind me for the last leg of the ride.
We head out. I told Pete to go on his own pace up the bridge to get the data. I know Tony is behind me in the van and I'll be fine. I know what I need to do and I know I can stop and walk if I need to. The bridge is looming ahead and I start telling myself it's not as bad as it looks. I decide to focus on my cadence and not keep looking ahead. It's worked before. Sure enough, I'm making progress and maintaining a good cadence. I downshift as I need to and I'm still moving. I know that I'm going to need the small ring and decide it's time to shift to that and then use those gears. I do so and am feeling like I can make it no matter how slow I go. Then I downshift and nothing happens. Then the bike shifts two stops, and comes back. I don't really know what gear I'm in anymore. I try to stabilize with one more click and again a lot of clunking and back and forth. This means I've now lost my cadence and I'm a bit concerned about dropping a chain, or having a slow speed fall with all of the traffic around me. I decide to jump off the bike and start walking the hill. Wow! I never knew how hard it could be to walk up a hill. With bike shoes and cleats on, you're already walking on your toes, then with the incline of the hill, my calves were getting quite the workout.
Tony pulls up to check on me and offers that I can walk in the middle of the lane. I'm still slipping pretty bad there and pause to get some air. He pulls up again and offers a pick-up. I look ahead of me where I see that the other walking cyclist has been getting further ahead (she's in mountain bike shoes which gives her traction on the road.) I take him up on the offer. He jumps out of the van, throws my bike in the back and I climb in (not an easy task in bike shoes). I don't get to enjoy the downhill side of the bridge. I also don't get to test the sharp turn at the end of the bridge as we exit toward Whataburger field. Tony turns the corner and drops me off so I can ride the final stretch to the finish line. This is the plan for the ride in October for those who opt not to pedal the bridge, they can take a SAG van over the bridge, but still ride across the finish line.
I roll into the parking lot where everyone has gathered. The other cyclists start cheering. I do my usual off bike gathering of gear and people start approaching me asking me how I did. I admitted to "cheating" over the bridge, but I did it. Lisa and Tony are thrilled at my experience and Lisa says I got them the most important feedback of all: mechanical problems, walking challenges, newbie input, and SAG pick-up/drop-off. Okay, I'll buy that. I didn't pedal the whole thing, but I still feel a sense of accomplishment. For that, I'm happy.
We fill out our surveys and enjoy our lunch. The group piles back into the vans and we begin the trek back to San Antonio. It was a good ride and I'm glad I did it. I hope my input is valuable to the Society and other riders. I know the ride today will help me in October.
The walking did shred my cleats, so it was time to go get replacement cleats. We headed over to Bike World after our return to San Antonio. Drew replaced my cleats for me and adjusted the cleat on my right shoe by 3 mm. I felt like I wanted my foot rotated slightly when I sat on the bike for the longer stretch. We'll see how that works on my rides this week.
Goals
Today's Miles: 8.9
Total Miles Achieved: 139
Financial Investment: $863.55
Total Weight Loss: 0
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