Pedal to the Point - Day 1

We woke up at 5:00 a.m. Nerves and sleeping in a different bed kept me up some, but overall I slept fairly well.  We were checking out of the hotel and loading up the car before 6 - a little behind but mostly on time. We were lucky enough to get an orange parking pass from Andrea so we could park right in the parking lot of the Polaris Career Center where the ride starts instead of a mile or so away in the lot we were originally assigned. After dropping off our bags to be transported to Sandusky we met up with the rest of the team for our team photograph.

Since Spinners for the Cure was the #5 fundraising team last year, they announced our name and supposedly we got to start a little ahead of everyone else. It seemed a little chaotic and I was very nervous about starting with so many cyclists. They let a group of riders go then wait a minute, then some more, etc. It ended up not being quite as scary as I thought it might be.

The weather was chilly in the morning, but not too cold.

We hit the first rest area before I knew it. There were rest areas every 8-14 miles. Marc and I ended up pulling ahead of the majority of the team that was riding together. We all met up at lunch (the 3rd rest area) and enjoyed sandwiches, little debbies, a million types of salad, chips and fruit outside under a tree. We were just under halfway at this point.

Getting back on the bike started to get a little hard at this point. I think it was a combination of stopping for a little longer and the mileage. It had started to warm up before lunch (we ate around 10:15 a.m.) and kept getting hotter.

One of my favorite signs along the way!

Marc and I continued to stop at every rest area until the finish. Most stops were pretty short - eat some fruit, refill water and gatorade bottles, stretch.

Getting going again kept getting a little tougher. It would take me a few miles to get situated in my saddle and not have all my weight on my legs in my pedals. My legs were tired at this point and putting all my weight on them was really wearing them out.

Marc and I crossed the "finish line" together. It felt great to be off the bike, but even better to have accomplished 75 miles. Then I remembered I had to do it all again...the very next day!

My friend Cindy was waiting for us along with some other team members at the finish line. Everyone gave out high fives and hugs. Marc and I got massages, then headed back to the finish line to cheer in the rest of the team. A few members of the team did the extra 25 miles to make it a Century on day 1.

Once everyone had finished Cindy drove Marc and I to her place, we showered, washed our cycling clothes and went to dinner. It was great to have some time with Cindy and it was so nice of her to allow us to stay at her place. After dinner we went to the hotel to hang out with the team. We were so tired we didn't last long. It was another early night in preparation for another early morning!