"The Ride"

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Well.... I DID IT!! I SURVIVED and CONQUERED the mountain!! Woop, woop it feels good! I guess I'm a “cyclist” now...hmm.. I don't think I'd call myself that; but I did it!

Thank you so much for all your support along the way! If it was a simple good luck before I left, a little razing about my attire or weekend plans (group ride), falling asleep during our conversations post long Saturday rides, or a generous donation during my training, or anywhere in between - IT HELPED... it got me to the finish line! THANK YOU – THANK YOU – THANK YOU!

As a TEAM, we raised $210,670!!! I personally raised over $4500 – HOLY GOODNESS!!! As a whole Team In Training (TNT) raised more than $6 million at the America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride...with the help of people like YOU!

If you are interested in reading my race report, continue on. If not, thank you again for your generous support! WE DID IT :)

On to the race report... LONG…but I wanted to capture it all.
Well, first I'll start off with my arrival in Reno, NV (80 miles east of Tahoe). My long-time friend Sue picked me up at the airport. We arrived in Tahoe on Friday afternoon; I dropped off my things at the hotel and went right to the bike pick-up. I picked up my bike (a lovely reunion). My TEAM all gathered in the lobby for dinner. We ate at a lakefront restaurant. We all commented on how it is surreal it is, we’re finally here and we are “ready” for the event. Post dinner, Sue and I just roamed around, the altitude (6200 ft above DC) and time change (-3 hrs DC) was catching up. I called it an early night. Much love to Sue for being my ride, tour guide, and joyful tag-a-long with the TEAM.

On Saturday, I picked up my race items at the race fair; walked around the different booths to see if I needed anything for race day. I stopped at a booth that was selling woman's t-shirts, arm and leg warmers (temps were in the upper 60’s but start time it would be upper 40’s). I found a cute bumper sticker – 100 miles over a bicycle (bought 2 of them)…one may end up on my jeep – TBD. After the tour I met up with the TEAM at 10:00am to do a short ride to Zephyr Cove (10 miles round trip). At the Cove we took a TON of pictures – big smiles. My TEAMmate Carol was very good at capturing everyone. On the ride back, Lillian (a sassy TEAMmate and Canadian) and I belted out Heart songs while trying to breathe – silly elevation. Back at the hotel everyone was free to enjoy the town and take in the local sights. Several people were checking out the course (Emerald Bay and Spooner); I decided not too – no need to physic myself out – take it HEAD ON ride day. Besides, one of my girl’s (Shaine) from the LBC (Long Beach - SoCal) a recently married confirmed that her and new husband, Kevin were going to come up from Livermore (city outside of San Fran) to see me. This is one of the perks of being a west coast transplant. We spent the afternoon together walking around the town and catching up. It was a grand visit and Kevin is a good man for Shaine.

That night we had our inspirational dinner at the hotel. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect; I had the privilege of sitting next to one of my two favorite TNT couples, Lilian and Ron Parisotto (other couple…Karen and Rob). It was a very moving evening, where they highlighted survivors and those who had lost the fight to this terrible disease. A couple tears were shed and the energy within the room was electrifying. The pasta dinner was fair but the company was magnificent. Post dinner we all met as a TEAM in the lobby to go over last minute ride details. Coach Ed and Cathy went over housekeeping items and said we would ALL meet in the lobby at 5:30AM.

I got to bed early that night since my alarm would be going off at 4:43 AM Sunday.

4:43 AM, the wake-up call from my phone alarm – Rocky theme song…fitting – right??? Not super jittery, I think all the long practice rides helped prep me for this. I met up with the TEAM at 5:30 to ride over to the start line. Our chapter was in the first start wave – 6:00AM! At the start my friend and TEAMmate Phyllis agreed we would ride together... we made a pack – we start together and finish together. It was dark and chilly out ... we were wondering what the heck we were doing! But at 5:55 the over the loud speaker cheers were starting. The countdown began … they started to call out chapters; each chapter cheered. To determine where you were from there was an ornament representing your team, i.e. – Nation’s Capitol (DC), a peach (GA), a record (Detroit), a tornado (OK), cowboy hat (TX), etc… very cool and fun way to guess some states. Next thing you know a horn went off… and WE WERE OFF!!! I made a personal goal – no walking the bike and finish feeling great – time is not a factor.

The first 14 miles went by pretty easy... we were just getting warmed up chatting, comment on the smoothness of the lake while the serious cyclist started passing us by. Phyllis commented at the beginning she wasn’t feel 100% (migraine and upset stomach). We took it at a moderate pace; I was completely fine with this approach. As riders sped off I wished them a good ride; some responded with a courteous reply and others told me to buzz off. I didn’t care, I was happy and in a state of nirvana…not my normal endurance freak-out state of mine. At mile 14/15 was Emerald Bay, the switchback part of the course. I had heard this was a challenge and at the top of it is where they take your ride photo (so smile big and distance yourself from others). As we started up, the view was just stunning; the sun was slowly rising and dozens of riders were riding side by side. I dropped into a fairly low gear and heard Coach Ed’s voice, “it’s not a race, it’s a ride…sit back and enjoy”… well that is exactly what I did. At the top of the peak I could hear the cameraman’s voice so Phyllis went ahead and I started clenching my teeth; the photo looks like a clenched grin. I conquered the top!!! (Naked Mountain was 1000x’s worse.) I didn’t buy the picture…opted to just take a mental photograph.

Now part one of the challenging course was over…two more – hill after lunch stop (mile 70) and Spooner (miles 79-88). I was feeling FANSTASTIC. The great thing about climbing a mountain is coming down; I maybe slow on the climb but I KICK (*&%! on the decent. I told Phyllis I would meet her at the bottom of every decent – gotta love the laws of physics and gravity. At mile 35/36 heading out to Truckee, CA was a tranquil part of the ride; we had a decent pace along a river bend that stems from the lake. For several miles I rode with a man from Dallas, TX and another TEAMmate Nicki…Phyllis was a little back with our mini TEAM. Once, we all arrived in Truckee we refueled and talked about the 1st half of the ride.

Started heading back to the lake (mile 47), we were with a group of women from the Marin County area of No Cal. Then around mile 53 I noticed something wasn’t right…I yelled back to Phyllis to look at my tires – she couldn’t. Then I felt it – MY FIRST FLAT TIRE…EVER! So we pulled over (MILE 53)…several riders got mad at me because I was at the front of this pack – I yelled out…I GOT A FLAT TIRE…I DIDN’T WANT TO STOP. I asset the situation and started to recall my maintenance classes from the TEAM. Luckily it was my front tire; so I went to work. Several riders asked if we were OK…yes, but I was extremely irritated. Our TEAMmates Nicki, Jessica, and John pulled over. John offered to fix it but I was ½ finished. I told him he could muscle one part – pop the final part of the tire back on the wheel. I popped a C02 cartridge in the spare, cleaned up and we were off again.

Lunch time at Kings Beach (mile 70)!!! For weeks, all of our coaches advised us not to over eat at the lunch stop. I was very cautious and uttered those words many times during our stop. We were there about 25-30 minutes…maybe a little longer then we liked. Phyllis had gotten her 2nd wind; I was thankful because mine was fading. So, I reached into my back pocket and downed an energy drink. We were off again; right outside the lunch stop was a pretty beastly climb; the sun was out in full shine. We took it slow and steady. Around mile 76, I made Phyllis pull over; the view was just so gorgeous that I want to take a mental picture o f the view. I had never seen a lake where the water started out transparent and the gradually progressed to a deep blue.

Now it was time to face Spooner (mile 80), a 8-9 mile climb. We stopped at the mid way SAG station (mile 84) to get water, and douse my knee in biofreeze to take away the twitching pain (a god scent from TEAMmate Joan). Spinning away and slowly climbing up the mountain, I could hear the voices of Karen, Kirk, and Ed – they were all positive, inspiring, and cheering. At the top of Spooner, Phyllis and I were on a high; we got so jazzed that we skipped the final stop. Now we had a 5 mile decent – it was incredible!!! I was cruised down around 32-35MPH. At mile 96 we stopped and took our last ride – photo of success. We had two more climbs, I was struggling at the last climb and midpoint I stopped – Phyllis was a trooper and reminded me how close we were. Just on the other side in the far off distance we could see the downtown Tahoe. Closer and closer to the finish line... we started recapping the day our how happy we were to ride with each other and what TEAM meant to us.

At the last turn people were saying "just a little more to go". I thought by now I would be crying with joy. The drive up to the finish line was full of cow bells, cheering, music, signs of success, etc. IT WAS SO EXCITING!! Phyllis and I were super pumped.

YEAH!! WE DID IT!! We took a couple finish line pictures and greeted in the rest of our TEAM. I got on the phone with some family and friends and remember crying my eyes out with relief, joy, and huge sense of accomplishment. After the ride we packed up our bikes and cleaned-up for the celebration. The hardest part of the day was getting back on the bike and riding it over to the drop-off. Let’s just say my bum did NOT want to get back on the saddle.

The post-ride celebration was great! Our team ended up at a local bar sharing stories and watching the Stanley Cup/NBA Finals. The next couple days I was “recovering” in Utah visiting family. By Tuesday, I was ready to get back on the bike. No real pain. All in all it was a great trip! I had a blast! I loved being in Tahoe. The best endurance sporting event so far…thanks TEAM!

Below are some photos of the ride. ENJOY!!
And thank you again for all your support along the way! I couldn't have done it without you!

Much love,
Carrie Valentine