Tour de Cure Ride

Saturday was the big day for my ride for Diabetes, the Tour de Cure.  It was an absolutely glorious day for a ride too.  Sunny, but not too hot, at least at the start of the ride.  The start of the ride was at Marymoor Park in Redmond, WA.  Tour had five ride options from 15 to 100 miles in length.  I chose the shortest route, since that would still be the longest I have ridden in at least 15 years.  While the stated route was 15 miles,  it was closer to 17 miles from where the start line was within the park.  The shortest route had the latest start, so I arrived about 20 minutes before the 11am start.

Sign in

I got signed in and turned in my cash donations.  I got my number, 520 and a T-Shirt, next year's will be smaller. ;)

I made my way up to the start line.  Even though we were the last group, they did not spare the pomp and circumstance.  They gave the thank you speech for all out donations, and thanked all the volunteers.  There was a band and they even had a young lady sing the National Anthem.

We are riding to fight diabetes.  Some of those who rode actually have diabetes and were designated "Red Riders".  They got a nice red jersey and got to go to the head of the pack.

Red Riders

The ride started out slowly as there was a pack of riders, but it quickly thinned out and by the time I reached the Sammamish River Trail, I was pretty much riding by myself.  There were a few that I could see the majority of the ride, I was passed by a few and event passed a few myself.  For the most part I kept a pace of about 9-12 mph.  I have to admit I did not stop during the ride to take pictures, so I added some from my previous ride where I rode the majority of the ride route.  So these have been posted on my blog in a prior post.  The weather was just as nice, so they could easily have been taken on the same day...

Just after the eight mile mark, I made it to Wilmot Park, the turn around point.  Had some water and they provided a few snacks that hit the spot.

The first half of the ride felt pretty good.  I thought I had a small headwind, but it must have been a tailwind because there was definitely a nice headwind on the way back.  Of course I also stopped too long, so my legs tightened up.  It was hard to get my momentum going, but I pushed on.  I actually loosened up pretty good and was making decent time, though was going a little bit slower most of the way back.  When I got back to the park, I still had a little over a mile to the finish line and my (new!) rear derailleur fell apart.  The bolt for one of the pulleys came apart and while I think I have all the parts, I could not get it back together in the field, so I walked the last mile to the finish line.  But I did it!

They had a goody bag at the finish line and they put out a pretty good spread of food for the riders.  It was nice.  After getting hydrated and fed, I listened to the music they had playing and watched the festivities.  They honored the riders who raised $1,000 or more, and they honored a five year old who completed the 25 mile route under his own power!!  

It was nice out, but did not seem terribly hot when I left home, so, of course, I did not put on any sun screen.  I was bright red on my forearms and neck, but I will recover to ride another day!!  It was a good day and I was happy I made it.  I know the distance does not seem like a lot, but I am still building back up.  I hope to ride a 50 miler by the end of the summer, my next goal...

I capped the day by taking my wife to see The Great Gatsby for Mother's Day.  A good flick.  And if you have an iPic theater nearby, I highly recommend it!  21 and over only, they serve alcohol that you can take to your seat, and plush leather chairs.