This seemed like a great idea… until I realized the following:
a)The ride was going to be 90 miles!
b)The longest training ride I’ve done so far this season was 55 miles, and that was only cause Les and I got lost!
c)We had to be at South Station by 6:30A.M. to participate!
d)We wouldn’t be “stopping” for lunch until the whole ride was done!
e)And yes, all of these exclamation marks were completely necessary!!! (Though the quotations around stopping are debatable)
I think this Before-Ride photo says it all:
(side note to potential PMC boyfriends: I promise, I clean up nice. Call me.)
But there was no going back once we’d purchased our ferry tickets and told our employers to screw. And since we’d be joined by 14 other hardcore riders - including Michael Augustine of Team Velox Rota and Bally’s fame - how hard could this ride really be?
Umm. Pretty. Effin. Hard.
The group was relatively cohesive for the beginning of the trek, but by 20 miles in we’d split into 3 distinct pacing groups, divided in large part by a slew of grueling hills. It was at about this point that my newly installed iphone mount decided to dislodge from my bike handles, sending both the holder AND iphone flying onto the pavement, where I immediately biked RIGHT OVER THEM.
Kerplunk!
Is that the saddest road kill you’ve ever seen, or what? No time to mourn, though – there were cold beers waiting for us at the end of the route! So after gathering up the pieces and confirming that the phone AMAZINGLY still worked, it was time to get back to pedaling.
Unfortunately, that pedaling remained extremely challenging, and after about 10 more miles, I had to stop and give my aching legs a pep-talk. This is when I discovered that my back tire had sprung a slow leak who-knows-how-long ago and was undoubtedly (at least this is what I like to tell myself) the cause of my struggles.
Thankfully, Ira I’m-Such-An-Intense-Biker-I-Don’t-Own-A-Car Kemp helped me replace my busted tube and gave me a fighting chance at finishing the ride alive. It’s worth noting that Ira used to (okay, still kinda does) scare the crap out of me. I simultaneously love and fear his spin classes because he demands the absolute best from himself and those around him. His approach certainly isn’t for everyone, but after watching him fix my tire and successfully intimidate an aggressive truck driver while on a bicycle – I can tell ya that Ira is a-okay in my book.
Ira – you da man.
The rest of the ride was filled with death-defying bridge crossings and more hills than my butt cared for, but by 4:30p.m. all 16 riders had successfully completed the route, and it was time for the real fun to begin.
$530 of bar tab, 90 minutes of ferry riding, 1 shattered iphone, and countless laughs later, we were back in Boston.
As it turns out, the night wasn’t quite over for me and les, but I’ll save my MBTA protest post for another day…
For now, an experience of Friday’s caliber deserves to end on a high note, and I think this After-Ride photo says it all:
Donate to Danielle
Donate to Les
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