America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride '07 -- around Lake Tahoe, CA.

[DonO]

Both my wife, Heather, and I made it around beautiful Lake Tahoe, she on a b*ke, I on my 36er. And just to prove it, here's a pic at the finish line.


Nathan mentioned that Teams in Training were a big part of this ride (about 80%, or 2400 riders), but he did not mention that it was a fundraiser for Leukemia research. And boy, did they fundraise! Each rider was required to come up with a minimum of $3000 for the cause, and one club (I think it was New York) had to raise a minimum of $4500. And when I say "minimum", I really mean "minimum". If you didn't reach your goal, the difference came off your Visa! One person raised $50,000, and a few others raised in the $30,000 to $40,000 range. My hat is off to those folks - they were the true heroes on this ride!

As Beau found out, it was a blast passing all the b*ikers on the uphill sections - they were totally amazed and very encouraging, especially when they saw the Canadian flags on our helmets. But then they passed us as they raced down the other side (one guy said he hit 47 mph), only to be passed by us again on the next uphill.

Unlike Nathan, I'm hobbling around a bit today. I cramped up twice on the uphill sections, and I think I'm paying for it now. But the pain was worth it, especially after having met such a wonderful group of unicyclists. I hope to see you all again next year in Nova Scotia at the "Ride the Lobster" race.

DonO

[johnfoss]

Originally Posted by john_childs

Congratulations Tom. That's a longer ride than I've ever done.

Got to mention to JC that one of the teams had cans of Guinness on their helmets, in little foam rubber cupholders! Most of the various Team in Training chapters had stuff on their helmets to help identify their locations. My favorite were the ones with the little rubber chickens. As they rode, the little heads and legs constantly bobbled around.

Originally Posted by nathan

Saturday we registered, met the other riders and relaxed, playing disc golf or studying instead of riding.

Finally Jacquie and I got to try disc golf! Fun! But a more accurate name might be "throwing discs as hard as you can at trees." At least that's what it looks like when you play in the woods. We're thinking of buying our own discs and visiting our local courses.

Originally Posted by nathan

The first and hardest climb comes at 15km and felt easy this year - I even had Beau in sight at the top!

You guys will continue to inspire me, but I didn't make the whole climb this time. I had to stop at the "Photographer - 100 meters" sign, but I finished the climb after that. My last sight of Nathan, Beau and Mike was at the Emerald Bay rest stop. After that I was with Irene and Ryan for a while. I had an extended stay at the Meeks Bay rest stop to take apart my seat. Talk about riding with the seat too low, how about having no air in your seat! Somehow that didn't affect my knees. Perhaps it was the overdose of glucosamine I had taken for the previous two days...

Originally Posted by nathan

It was somewhat scary at times and annoying often. Imagine a 50 person paceline passing you with each person screaming "On your left, Car back, Hole", etc etc in the most strident voice possible.

I imagine it was worse riding with the century group, especially on the narrow bike path. The "on your left"s seemed a bit like overkill, but after a while I realized that on the downhills there were lots of different bike speeds as well, with super-fast bikes alerting the "normal" ones while they alerted us. Unfortunately I have to admit not having the pleasure of passing as many bikes, though I did get past quite a few on that long Spooner climb. Louise kept dropping Corbin and me on the climbs, though Corbin would fly way ahead of us on the descents. Louise had longer cranks, and Corbin couldn't modulate his brake due to a broken seat handle.

And to their credit those TNT people are the best booster/motivators I've ever seen! I haven't been on many organized bike rides, but this one has by far the most people rooting from the sides of the road, ringing cowbells and cheering. And I had no idea of the finish area excitement and noise! It made me feel like I'd just won a major bike race! All that positive energy, from the people along the sides and the bikers, made a big difference in keeping me going.

Originally Posted by nathan

By the end, we all felt amazingly good. I asked Beau if he could do another 50km and he thought a little and said that he could.

Wow. I could have keep going further as well, though I'm glad I was done. And I'm still not inspired to try 100 miles next year!

Now on Tuesday, the tops of my legs are a little sore, and part of my crotch is still numb. but somehow my quads and calves seem fine! Thanks for posting the photos. Mine are still in the camera...

Corbin, Louise and I finished in about 9:25. It would have been a little quicker if I hadn't had to take my seat apart at two of the rest stops, and I am thankful to them for waiting for me, and Corbin for finding the leak and patching my seat tube. That seat had been built by Chris Reeder, and I'd never taken it apart before!

We ate lunch with Bronson at the Kings Beach stop. We were on mile 43 and he was on 71 I guess. Whew!

Originally Posted by Daytripper63

All of you didn't even slow down on the hills, you must be immortal.

If I didn't slow down, how come I was all by myself? That climb's a killer. There are other long climbs along the ride, but the first one is the steepest (and most scenic). It sure ended any feelings of being cold though!

Learning experiences for someone relatively new to long rides:
- Train with long rides. Lots of short rides isn't the same thing (though it's better than nothing)
- Train on hills if you can!
- To keep going, you have to keep eating (and drinking) at every rest stop!
- Glucosamine for the joints. I always got sore knees on the long rides I did in the past, but not this time. The stuff works wonders!
- Use your brake on the descents. I didn't use mine enough last year, and I think it toasted my knees in the first 20 miles.
- You *will* get sunburned through the little holes in your helmet. That was a first for me as well. Apply sunscreen more than once when you're more than a mile above sea level! Even if you do have hair on the front of your head, other areas will be affected.
- Did I say keep eating?
- Power Gel, or similar glue-like substances may not taste good, but they really work
- If it's a supported ride, like this one, you don't need to carry 3 litres of water, a banana, several food bars, cheese sticks, pop tarts, etc. It's all at the rest stops! Except the pop tarts.
- Remember to enjoy the ride, or what's the point?

Top five most common comments heard:

5. That's amazing (or similar)
4. How do you do that?
3. Are you going all the way on those things?
2. You guys rock!

And the number one most common thing heard:
1. On your left!

Not heard often enough (by me):
"I just got passed by a unicycle again!"

[Daytripper63]

A little info on Team in Training, I rode this year for Team in Training and if you compare them with the majority of charities they are one of the best for funds actually going to research and not into some CEO's pocket ( like the United way) as for people hitting up all their friends for donations, there are tasteful ways and tackful ways, I never pushed anyone to donate all I did was let people know what I was doing and the rest was up to them.
All the p[articipants with Team in Training raised $8.5 million dollars for Leukemia & Lymphoma research for this ride.

[corbin]

Originally Posted by johnfoss

Not heard often enough (by me):
"I just got passed by a unicycle again!"

My favorite, after about 50 miles:

"It *kills* me that the unicycles are *still* ahead of us!"

[steveyo]

Truly amazing ride you guys and gals. I'm reading every word of your post-ride discussion. Keep it coming.

You're totally inspiring me for my Whiteface climb in a week and a half.

[nathan]

I think my previous post sounded pretty much all negative about Team in Training. It's true that their riding style is annoying to someone used to cycling a lot, and yes, they are a business so it is more efficient to donate directly bypassing them.

But it was very inspiring to see so many people out there (mostly doing the 100 mile course) who would NEVER be able to do something like this on their own. There are people of all ages and sizes and experience levels. That part is cool. They are huge on encouraging themselves. The amount of positive feedback in the air that day was immense. My video of us finishing shows just a hint of what it was like. Actually they are screaming and cheering and ringing bells etc all around the lake, everywhere.

Some of the even more annoying behavior we've seen in past years was missing this year. I didn't ever see a group of 4 or 5 riding side-by-side. There are more "Ride single file" signs around now, but it was ridiculous a few years ago, riding 4 wide into a blind corner on a relatively narrow two-lane road. I still saw examples of extreme (scary) lack of skill, but what do you expect with beginners? I didn't actually see anyone cause a crash unlike in previous years.

And I loved the Guinness team - they were a bunch of real cyclists. Beau was surprised to see the huge difference in riders and how easy it is to tell a cyclist from a TNT beginner.

---Nathan

[nathan]

Here are some links to the professional photos:

Irene http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...um=0&adjust=-1

Ryan http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...um=0&adjust=-1

Nathan http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...um=0&adjust=-1

Scot http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...um=0&adjust=-1

Beau http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...um=0&adjust=-1

Grace http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...um=0&adjust=-1

Mike http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...um=0&adjust=-1

Louise http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...um=0&adjust=-1

Corbin http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...um=0&adjust=-1

John http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...um=0&adjust=-1

(Courtesy of Gary who couldn't make it this year but has done the whole 72 miler with 170mm cranks before).

---Nathan

[johnfoss]

Well I won't be buying *that* picture! It looks like I'm dying but actually I think I was talking to some people near the photographer. And kicking myself for forgetting to take off the jacket at my "oxygen" stop about 100 yds back (Note: these pictures are taken at the top of the very steep climb up to Emerald Bay, about 9 miles into the ride).

[Daytripper63]

Here's my pic
http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...um=0&adjust=-1

[DonO]

Don and Heather's photos with Canadian flags flying high ...
Don: http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...um=0&adjust=-1

Heather: http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...um=0&adjust=-1

[tomblackwood]

Originally Posted by tomblackwood

Yup, I made it, although s l o w l y. I was having trouble with the food, and ended up stopping a lot just to rest and try to take in and keep down small bits of food and electrolyte. In the end, I had just under 8 hours of pedaling time, but my total time on the course was 13 hours.

Interesting comparison of stats between this ride and my previous 75 miler when I was well-trained and at sea level. Last September, I completed 75 miles with a total of 9 hours 38 minutes on the course, versus 13 hours at Tahoe. My total pedaling time in September was 7 hours and 5 minutes, versus 7 hours 55 minutes at Tahoe. Net is that while I did keep a faster average speed during the September ride (better shape, fewer climbs, sea level), the bigger difference was in the rest breaks. At Tahoe, it took me a lot longer at every rest stop, as I wasn't feeling well and was struggling with taking in food.

Originally Posted by johnfoss

Finally Jacquie and I got to try disc golf! Fun! But a more accurate name might be "throwing discs as hard as you can at trees."

Ha ha ha johnfoss, that's damn funny. I never would have thought of it, but as soon as I read that I cracked up, since that's basically what my game consisted of all afternoon. The trees won... Still, thanks to Nathan and Beau for re-introducing me to the sport, and for the excellent tutelage.

Finally gave up on my unicyclist.com gallery, and opened a smugmug account. Click here for my shots from the ride and disc golf outing.

[unicycle6869]

Congrats to all who made it! It looks and sounds like a great event and I think I'm gonna have to do it next year. Especially since I live pretty close and hope to buy a Coker one of these days.

The pictures looked awesome and it really did look like "the most beautiful uni ride". And you guys even got to play disc golf in what looked like a nice scenic course. Hoovers-thanks for getting more people hooked! It's such a fun relaxing sport. Perfect for before or after rides.

I'm really going to buy a Coker soon. I do not know anything about them, are they all the same or are some better than others? If someone wants to PM me some info on them, that'd be great. Like who's/where's the best place to buy one, kind, etc. I'll do some research one of these days....