Token Straighty.

I. Rode. 33 miles. That's right, 33. Didn't give up; didn't take the short cut offered to me. I did it. And now I am in pain.

But its a good pain, you know? The kind you have when you have used every ounce of everything in your body. And then you treat yourself with a giant burger, some sweet potato fries, more water than a dog laps and peanut butter malt.

We started the training ride at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Climbed out of the area and then rode pretty flat for about 12 miles. Pit stop: Goldsteins Bagels...a little bit of heaven on earth. Even better when you know you actually NEED the calories. Then we started the hills. Oh, the hills of Pasadena/Monrovia/Arcadia/Sierra Madre. Oh how I hate you. Despite all of the pain and shortness of breath I was thoroughly enjoying meeting new people. And by new people, I mean that I have 4 training ride leaders (TRLs) to my self. 4 expert ALC's (AIDS/Lifecyclists). 4 people who were kind enough to impart all of the wisdom they could in a span of 4 hours.

First there were the Erics. Then there was Ed. And obviously, Kerry the Bike Whisperer was there. Eric #1, who we will forever "thank" for designing this training ride, will be called Fancy Eric from here on out. Fancy Eric, at the point in the ride where I was given the option of taking an easier, shorter and not uphill ride and I declined, said dramatically and with lots of love, I might add, "I love newbies." He also referred to me as the "token straighty." Love him.

Eric #2 will be called Safety Eric. At one point in the ride he berated two young gentlemen for skateboarding without their helmets. I mean, don't get me wrong, they deserved it (they were holding their helmets in their hand but not wearing them...umm, helpful). He also speaks Castilian (sp?) Spanish. These are the things you learn whilst on a bike.

Ed, who I will remember as The Yoga Instructor, decided to take a moment out of concentrating on a gradual uphill grade to inform me that I could really improve my back problems by "tightening my anal muscles, my sex muscles and my abdomen at the same time." Fancy Eric found that hilarious. That is why he is fancy. The Yoga Instructor was very patient and helpful today; I think I realized, through him, that this is genuinely not a race but an opportunity to see how strong I really am.

And finally, the Bike Whisperer, who you have met before, was there. All day. Riding my back wheel, teaching me about down shifting and upshifting and yelling, "how you doing girl?" when I started to slow and get quiet.

I felt privileged not only because I was new enough to, perhaps, require 4 TRLs, but also because I met 3 more people than I knew yesterday who laughed and encouraged and pushed me through 32 miles. They did this for a stranger. This is clearly one of the reasons that I ride.

~~Autumn