The Good And The Bad In Huntsville

Before I start, let me humbly apologize for not posting in almost a week. I did not have anything mind-numbing or provocative come to mind this week; or, at least nothing that was suitable for public display.

Also, as much as I like writing, my life is a blog but my blog is not my life.

Here I sit, showered, fed, and coming down off my adrenaline high. I took a nice nap at the mechanic's shop while he changed the oil in my truck and then told me that my radiator was leaking: he will have to keep the truck until Tuesday to replace the radiator, free of charge thank goodness because it is under warranty from a job they did in November. I intended to take a nice long nap when I got home, after showering and eating {in that order} but the headache meds he shared with me must have had caffeine because now I am not sleepy. Oh well!

This bodes well for you all, my burgeoning audience.

I rode in the Huntsville Raven's Ride, or Raven's Revenge this morning. Not sure why the term includes "Revenge". Maybe it is because of the sore body that results and hangs on for days afterward.

This was my first bike race after many running races, spanning 5Ks to half-marathons. Aside from the fact that I had to bike 33 miles when I was only mentally prepared for 20, I did those 33 at an average speed of 18.5 mph and was among the first to finish of those who rode the 33-mile route. I had some concerns going into it; and probably a few expectations. Overall, like any race I have competed in, there were things I loved, and things I hated.

Things I Loved {I always start with the good things}:

1. The picturesque scenery of the last half.

   If I wasn't such a twit about not stopping during
   my races, I would have thought to stop and take pictures. I always forget that part.

2. The straightaways.

   ...in a field of hills. No other explanation needed. However, sometimes it was hard to tell the difference between a truly flat straightaway and a very low-grade hill ~ until I was into it a few minutes and started slowing down.

3. The downhills.

   I could throw it into high gear and race down at 25mph. Woohoo!

4. The brisket that was served after...

   ...sounded like something I would love if I had stuck around long enough to eat it.

5. The compliment on my speed and form from another rider.

   He (ya think?) could have just been trying to pick up on me. He followed this with a comment on how he was tucked in behind me in the first 10 miles because of it. Or, maybe he just liked watching my ass. Either way, huge ego boost.

Only 180 participants.

Why can't the other races I participate in be this small and cozy?

Things I Hated:

1. The uphills.

   A lot of them. I am still trying to decide which type
   of hill is more tolerable: the short, high-incline ones where you have to drop into the lowest gear and power up at speed or the long, low-incline ones where you think you are never going to reach the top and the speed you gained from the downhill of the previous hill wears off far too quickly to give you any help up.

2. The fire ants at the start line.

   They obviously thought I was an interloper; I still have the welts. Where's the Ortho man when you need him?

3. The missing marker for the 20 mile turnaround.
4. The last 12 miles I had to do because of #3.

   However, that was where the most idyllic scenery was (see #1 in Things I Loved).

5. The lady cyclist who kept trying to pass me on the hills.

   At one point she blocked me in while trying to pass--huffing, puffing and hacking beside me--but couldn't get the speed to actually do it. I kept waiting for her to pull past me. I finally got pissed off and blew past her as we crested that hill and then in high gear made some distance between us so I wouldn't have to suffer her anymore. She caught up with me at the second rest stop (about 15 miles later) as I was about to pull out.

6. The policemen directing traffic along the route who had no idea what the route actually was.

   In the final three miles, I went straight when I think I should have turned left. Can you say 'missing directionals'? There was a policeman at that intersection who just stopped traffic, smiled, and waved me on. One other rider did the same thing; I didn't feel so very stupid and alone that way. Thanks to Trent for being there; we got a tour of some of the local business parking lots and side streets. We briefly entertained the idea of going the wrong way on the feeder but decided it would be too risky. This added about 2.5 miles to the route.

As you can see, it was a mixed experience. I may not do this race again, but then I rarely repeat races. What I definitely plan to do is use the route they mapped to go up there early some Saturday or Sunday and do parts of it again on my own. It really was a very peaceful and bucolic setting, one which it is hard to duplicate in my town.

And, I promise when I do that, I WILL get pictures. But for now, my body has to rest. I don't want to even think about getting on a bicyle until at least Wednesday.