the longest blog

TEAM B.O.B.

Leslie, Leigh, Ester, Tiana, Jamie, Corinna

The Whitney Classic is over…my brother’s wedding is over… I’m still tired. But, finally feeling some inspiration of what to share with all you anxious readers about my experiences J…to the tune of a nice mix of jams from Jon Tan accompanied by the gentle ringing of the wind chimes J…under the stark white cloud feathered bright blue skies of southern Arizona…mom pulling weeds in her garden oasis nearby… the garden is bursting with purple and pink and yellow and green and orange - not quite the dry desert brown you might imagine…okay, it is a rock lawn rather than a grass lawn, though…but we’re also overflowing with fresh harvested jalapeños and bell peppers!

Now that I’ve given you a fairly adequate picture of my current setting and inspiration let’s go back to two and half weeks ago…

…trucks and cars loaded with enough food, drink and gear to sustain 40+ riders and drivers on a 135 mile bike ride through Death Valley to the Mt. Whitney portal covering about 15,000 feet of net elevation gain…you’re probably burning calories just thinking about it… we headed out through a lovely Yosemite sunrise for Lone Pine where we set up shop for the weekend at the Comfort Inn, Mt. Whitney towering outside our room windows.

Saturday, the day of the ride, was a beautiful day. We were blessed with mild temperatures in Death Valley of only about 95 degrees at 200ft below sea level! After lots of organization and informational briefings we made our way along the exact route we’d be returning on our bikes…a little unnerving over a couple mountain passes! But, the energy was slowly building to our 3pm start time…I had no idea what I was in for. My friends from San Diego had come up to be our support drivers and were amazing at their job, though I don’t think they knew what they were in for either! – making sure all four of us and themselves we were fed, hydrated, rested and over all supported on our ride.

Then, “BANG”, off we went into horizon. (I'm there with the pink gloves and turquoise bike!) Four of us dropped to two as we began to stagger our riding time. We had four bikes, but our bike rack could only hold two and although we made an effort to start conservatively, it quickly became clear that having two riders on the road at all times was not sustainable. Once we determined this we ditched my heavy, 10 speed bike (to be carried back by the sweep vehicle), I learned how to use clip pedals and we continued a little more comfortably and confidently. It at least allowed for much longer rest times for each us and boosted our morale for a little while. We shared lots of sleep deprived laughs, desperate overwhelmed tears, good double fisted food and drink (2 burritos, melon, Gatorade and coke all at once!) …but by about midnight or so the charm of the desert in the moonlight had worn off and we were simply exhausted. All I (we) wanted to do was climb into a bed and sleeeeeep. Somehow, by everyone’s persistence at one time or another we continued on, right past our hotel in Lone Pine and up the mountain to 3am and the glorious finish line at 8,000+ feet. Despite the joint pain and the exhaustion, it actually felt better, more enlivening, to be out there in the cold on the bike than fighting sleep in the now foul smelling car with the anticipation of having to get out again into the cold and muster up what final bits of energy we had to ride…and we’re not talking flat desert highway anymore…come 1am it was mountain hairpin switchbacks, up which I could barely go a quarter of a mile before switching with one of my teammates. It was grueling to say the least!! Then, there it was, FINISH LINE!!! 3:30am!! 12 and half hours!! And Fourth place! More fooood, hot drinks!..and ahh, SLEEEEP!!

I woke up 3 hours later at 7:30am, feeling like I hadn’t eaten in days. I tumbled out of bed scavenging for anything to consume quickly…a cooler outside with melon, half full Gatorade and I collapsed back into bed, only to wake up an hour later feeling like I hadn’t eaten in days. This time I was smart enough to stumble my way to the continental breakfast where I scarfed down everything I could as fast as possible, shared some stories with some of the Sammers and Hammers – these were the folks, the Good Sam Club, that provided the personnel for our rest stops, cooked the refried beans, cheered us on and heated up the hot water for our cup o’soup and hot chocolate all night. Then I went back to bed, woke up, ate more and so on…

It wasn’t until a day or so later that I felt noticeably recovered and caloricly satisfied. I returned with my friends, our support (SAG) drivers, to San Diego later that Sunday, after our pizza party and recognition picnic. It was a hard goodbye to the community I had found such safety in this summer. And so it goes…

San Diego and all my great friends there welcomed me back with open arms and I did what is familiar for me to do there - pack, play, visit and eat with friends and say goodbye again. And what is unfamiliar – a 20 mile run along the Silver Strand on Coronado alone for three hours and 45 minutes! It felt surprisingly good – sea level, sea breeze… conditions couldn’t haven’t been better. J Hopefully Kansas City will be so merciful. I can’t say though that I had enough time, another few days would have been better. I missed visiting with some dear friends and look forward to my next stay.

And now I’m in Arizona, soaking up the sun, marveling at the sunsets and sometimes a sunrise, enjoying the remembrance of my brother’s wedding last weekend, trying to keep up on my marathon training in this not so merciful climate and elevation and doing a good job of doing nothing. My brother’s wedding was lovely. I enjoyed visiting with family who came from Virginia, Florida and Colorado! It was such a treat to have a little reunion amidst a really nice celebration for my brother and his new wife. Days since the wedding have been a slow enjoyable time of relaxing and trying to make plans for the next leg of my journey. I love being here, but I find that I almost totally detach from any outside contact, which has its ups and downs. I suppose I do it because I know it’s only a short time before I return to the movement and energy of elsewhere and others. I’ll be leaving Saturday for Colorado in a rental car… apparently it is my new means of travel. I have mixed feelings about it. But, it’s what works for now…too much stuff, just enough time and money, a hassle-free cancellation policy and the mystery of what craigslist might have to offer by way of an alternative ride and/or riders in the meantime. J