Tour de Cure 2005 wrap up

Cruising across the finish line 51.5 miles later.

It’s been a long time since my last post. Things have been so busy at work and at home, that even when I’ve had the time to do some blogging I’d much rather just veg in front of the TV.

I promise a complete update on the progress of our Kitchen Aid project and everything else we’ve been up to soon.

But I also wanted to let everyone know how I did in the Tour de Cure yesterday.

It was another hot and humid 90-degree day here in the northeast. This was my third Tour de Cure and easily the hottest.

While everyone was complaining about the heat, I actually felt better than last year when I did 50 miles while still under the weather with a stomach bug I was still getting over. This year I was healthy and had a great time.

Camera phone shot from the starting line.

The ride kicked off just after 8:30 a.m. I made it to the first rest stop at 11.1 miles in about 45 minutes, which is pretty good time for me. Kris and the kids were going to try to meet me there, but they were running behind. I called Kris and she told me to go and not wait for her.

I blew off rest stop No. 2 (at 19.5 miles) and kept going to No. 3 (at 24.9 miles). I was supposed to meet Kris and the kids here, but I was going faster than we all anticipated. They showed up just as I was getting ready to leave.

But they were there waiting for me at rest stop No. 4 at 31.8 miles. As I rolled into the stop, Nolan was holding up a sign that said “Go, Daddy, go!”


My cheering section at rest stop No. 3.

In between stops 3 and 4 I started having some bike trouble. My handle bar started coming loose so that it would tilt if I put too much pressure on it. I remembered that there was a repair guy at rest stop No. 4 last year, and I was hoping to find him there again, but he wasn’t.

So I pressed on, but the problem kept getting worse. It finally got to the point where I couldn’t keep the bar level – and then it started to rattle and slide left to right. Not good. I rode for a few miles with no hands.

Finally, I saw the repair van pulled over on the side of the road helping another biker. My prayers were answered! I pulled over and was fixed up in a jiffy.

When I made it to rest stop No. 5 (at 43.5 miles) Kris was waiting for me, but said I got there sooner than she expected. I thought that was pretty good considering I had to pull over for a repair.

Last year I cruised through the first 25 miles and struggled through the rest. This year I didn’t start “feeling the burn” until about 30 miles or so, but I still felt good.

It was just that last leg -- from stop No. 5 to the finish -- that was a killer. I was already starting to feel fatigued, and now I had to bike through an area full of rolling hills. Most of the time my speed was around 12-15 mph. In this section I had all I could do to keep it in double digits. I was mostly going 8-9 mph.

But once I knew I was in the last mile, the adrenaline kicked in. I was able to double my speed and sprint my way to the finish (the course is actually closer to 52 miles). My total time was about 4:35.

Kris and the kids were there to greet me. I gave them all a big hug and then got in line for a massage!

I felt pretty sore last night – and tired! But today I feel much better than I thought I would. And I have nice tan lines from my bike shorts.

So it was a great day – and here’s the important part. I raised $860 for the American Diabetes Association! Thank you to all of you contributed!