Flats, Flu, and Flow.....the 46 tour

September 22, 2012.....CAPSA Ride    

Lori, Jacque, Savanah, Tori, Joy, Roz, Karie

Saturday morning I loaded up the bikes and drove to Wellsville with Jacque to meet our friends.  We are going to attempt to ride 46 miles. I am more than a little nervous about this.  I have not been training on my bike at all. Neither has Jacque!

Our morning starts out with Roz having a flat tire, before we even leave the starting area.  Eric (CAPSA Support Crew) helps her fix this. And we are off. I think we may have been 2 miles into the ride, and Joy's tire goes flat. (what are the odds?)  I call Eric and he comes to our rescue.  While Joy and I were waiting for him, we laughed, saying that we were glad that we did not go over with Roz when he was fixing her tire.  When he pulled up and got out of his car, he laughed and said, "It's your group again!"  Eric patched up the tire, and we were back on the road. Our friends were waiting for us about 1 mile away.

At this time, we encountered our first big hill. It was a doosey!  A little more than I had expected. Joy was not feeling well. She was getting dizzy and nauseous.  (not good) I gave her my Powerade, and we walked some of the hill. She called her husband to have him bring her some anti-nausea pills.  We made it to Hyrum Dam. This would be our first aid station.  I had a banana.  Joy's husband was not there yet, so she called and told him to meet us at the Hyrum McDonald's.  We continued on the route, stopping at McDonald's.  I had to make a "pit stop," so we told the others that we would meet them at Maverick.  Joy's hubby came to the rescue with some meds!  As we started the route again, we were riding into the wind.  Even coasting down hill, I was not gaining the speed I usually get because it was so windy.  Hollow Road was a nice ride.  Then we went on the highway. It was SOOOO bumpy! I thought that if I went on the sidewalk, it would be a little softer on my tushy. (bad idea)

Our friends were waiting for us at Maverick. We started off again, only to learn that now I had a flat tire, and it was the back one!  I remember Jim telling me that if I got a flat on the back, to be sure to pay attention to how the chain wraps around!  I decided just to call him, as our house is less than 1 mile away from the Maverick. In the meantime, the others had taken off, not knowing that I had a flat.  ( I think I picked up a "goat head" on the sidewalk!) Joy stayed with me, and while we were waiting, she went and bought a Diet Pepsi, to help ease her stomach.  Jim fixed my flat, and we started again, to rendezvous with our friends at First Dam.

When we arrived at First Dam, the others had been informed that I had a flat. It was nice that the people following the cyclists were relaying info on up ahead, as our group  had no idea why we were so slow.  Jacque and her friend Savanah said goodbye to us here.  Jim came and picked them up and took them to lunch.  They rode 21 miles! I was so proud of Jacque!!! I had one of my granola bars here. I also took Jacque's extra Powerade as she was not going to be using it.

From here we went up 4th North hill ( I made it up the hill without walking!)  and turned right and rode through North Logan. We went down past KMart, and Tori's chain fell off!!  Re-group again.  We headed to 6th West, out to Airport Road, then on through beautiful downtown Benson. When we rode past the Benson Marina, I saw a pelican peacefully floating around.  Not alot of traffic out here, which was nice.  Somewhere out here Joy started feeling a little better. But there were times that I could tell she was really struggling.  She was on a Mountain Bike. She was putting in 4 times the effort that I was on the road bike. Oh, and the night before our ride, she did a 5k and was not feeling well then either.

Our last aid station was in Mendon. I had an orange scone, and boy did it hit the spot. I needed some carbs.  We were the last of the 46 miler cyclists, and knowing that we were last did not bother me a bit!

Back to Wellsville we went.  Joy did not quit. Truth be known.....If I wasn't feeling well, I might have just thrown in the towel.  But not Joy! She is an amazing woman!

We did it. 46 miles. When we came into the finish area, there was no band. No applause. No hurrah. No medal. Just 5 friends knowing that we had accomplished something GREAT. And knowing that, was Satisfaction Enough.