The Things I do for Ben...

In a few months I committed to Ben that WE will, once again, embark on a 100-mile bike ride...why you may ask? I need not remind you of the deep, burning love Ben has for cycling...if I do, please refer back to one of the first posts...& since there are only like 5, it shouldn’t be that hard to find. Point being...Ben loves to ride his bike...and I love to hang out with Ben, therefore, in order for us each to get what we love...a compromise must be had. That compromise has been a Century (100-miles) Bike Ride.

Let me recount my first “compromise” which just so happened to be a Century Bike Ride as well...

Ben and his Dad participate annually in a Century in Oregon that ends on the coast. p.s. I LOVE THE OREGON COAST!!!!!!!! Ben absolutely loves that ride and he really wanted me to love it the same, and since I LOVE THE OREGON COAST, I thought, “Hey, this could be fun!”

Alas, circumstances Rogue so kindly referenced in an earlier post prevented my attendance. This did not stop Ben from finding a Century closer to home however...who knew what to expect.

I remember asking him a few times if I would be ok or if I was going to die and his response was a little laugh or he would tell me “I’d be fine”. I had gone on a few long rides before and I was totally fine, but when I say “long ride” here, I am meaning like 35-40miles...if I could have conceptualized distance I would have realized that 35-40miles would not cut the mustard in a Century. But I didn’t, and went about my normal life...consisting of: no sleep, eating Twinkies, eating Sugar Babies, eating Cafe Rio, and exercising(a 20 minute walk with the dogs) So yeah, I was training like CRAZY...but hey, Ben said I’d be fine and I trusted him...right?

Driving out to the Century we went up this hill that WOULD NOT QUIT, I asked if that was part of the race and Ben said “I’m not sure, but this would be the biggest hill according to the map” Which, that part really wasn’t his fault...whoever made the map must have gotten a kick out watching everyone decompose throughout the race...because the whole race was hills like that...

At the beginning I was riding like a Rockstar...well, because:

#1 I’m in spandex shorts 

#2 I’m wearing a helmet 

#3 I passed 2 people on the first massive hill so I thought...”I’ve got this in the bag!”

Around mile 50 I realized that I was in the bag and that my legs were officially some nasty form of old Jell-O...and I was frequently floating above myself on the bike (probably not a good sign)...but yet I was still peddling...weird...

There was little rest stop with food...I was clearly not hungry just sleepy...and the thought never crossed my (or Ben’s) mind that my body needed fuel to keep pumping them heavies (just a little nickname I have for my legs) so after 5 or so minutes I throw my energy depleted body back on the carbon-fiber horse and start at it again. As we are leaving the rest stop I hear someone say...”Yeah, this next hill is 9 miles and uphill the whole way.” I wasn’t able to process this at the time, but I wish I had turned back so not to have experienced my darkest moment of my athletic career.

I’m not a wuss...let’s just get that straight...but sadly, at mile 65, 5.4-miles up that horrific 9-mile climb, I hit the WALL...and let me say...IT IS REAL PEOPLE! I would laugh when I saw the marathon runners wobble around and then collapse or puke all over...I’m sure the video of me was much more entertaining/very sad. 

The wall resulted in a loss of motor control, so as I was tipping over, my hands chose not to respond to my brain and refused to reach out and catch me. In addition to the loss of motor control...I quickly lost any ability I had to maintain emotional regulation...I was literally digressing toward infancy. I was sobbing, unable to talk, and curled into what some may have identified as the “fetal position”. If nature had called...it would have just come out. Thank goodness it didn’t.

Needless to say, I crossed the finish line in a coma – which I took in the bed of a truck...let’s hope this next Century turns out a little differently.