It took me 8.5 hours, but I rode 109 miles on Saturday, November 19th. To be more precise, my time was actually 8h 27m 19s. I averaged 13 mph. Don't laugh - all I wanted to do was finish, and I did. It was still daylight when I crossed the finish line.
I'm glad I bought a cycling windjacket before I left because it was pretty cold on Saturday morning. My fingers and toes were numb. The Tucson paper said that there were around 7,700 people entered to participate in the ride. Of course, not all of them signed up to do the 109 miles. I think there were routes of 60 and 30 and a kids' fun ride, so that number includes those participants as well. Anyway, the official start time was 7 a.m., but because there were so many people, my team and I probably didn't cross the start line until around 7:20 or so.
Here are some of the things I remember about the ride. We had to cross two river beds. That's right, everyone had to dismount from their bikes and walk across two pretty wide beds full of sand. There were a few hills. Hills suck. This was made more clear to me when I was trying to go up one and I passed a kid (around 9 or 10) who had tears streaming down his face. I don't know exactly what was going on. All I could do was say, "it's alright, you're going to make it." The scenery was beautiful. Although Tucson is desert country, it is surrounded by mountains. El Tour de Tucson takes you around the perimeter of the city, so the entire ride you are heading towards or riding near the mountains - I'm glad they weren't included in the course. About 16 miles from the finish line, I realized I was going to finish the ride. That's when I got the most emotional - I really was going to accomplish this, and that was a great feeling.
I'd also like to write about going to church in Tucson. I went to Palo Verde Church of Christ and had a great time. The worship was refreshing and encouraging. However, what was the best were the members. So many people came up to me before and after church to welcome me and ask about me and what I was doing in Tucson. I felt so welcomed. After church, I went to eat with some of the members and I felt like I had gone to church there for years. Once again, I was blessed by people in God's Kingdom. If you're ever in Tucson, visit this great body of believers.
So now I can say I've ridden a century ride. I'm pretty proud of that. I will lay off of bananas, oranges, and gatorade for a while - that was my food of choice during the whole ride. I've never thought of myself as an athlete, but I guess this brings me a little closer to being called one...if only they had had cycling in intramurals at ACU.
On a more serious note, my father had surgery yesterday. On Friday, when I left for Arizona, a mass was found in his colon. The surgery was to remove the mass. The surgeon found some of the lymph nodes enlarged, so those have been sent off to pathology to see if the cancer has spread. Please keep him and my family in your prayers. He's doing fine as of right now. He walked a little this morning.
I raised $4000 for cancer research and rode in my century ride on the weekend my Dad was diagnosed with cancer. Life is funny sometimes. I hope everyone who reads this has a blessed Thanksgiving holiday. May God continually bless you and yours.
Thanks for reading.
