Solvang - Today was a good day...

As Ice Cube once spoke, " I gotta say, today was a good day, momma cooked a breakfast with no hog..."

The day started much like last year's ride with some fog and 50 degree weather. The difference is that I learned from last year what to wear early in the day so that I did not overheat late in the day - leg warmers, arm warmers, and toe covers. All items that can be easily removed and stowed as the day got warmer. I thought I lost Pops at mile two. All I heard was "my glasses are fogging up." Next time I looked back, nothing and nobody. I rode easy for a few miles and no Pops so I put the hammer down until about mile 27 when he called me. I waited for a couple minutes and he showed up. We rode together for a few miles and then again, we parted ways. This time, I didn't hear from him or see him again till he finished.

I felt good riding and again, learning from last year, I tried real hard to stay out of the red zone. It payed off later in the day. It is real tempting early when your feeling good to kick culos on the hills when everyone else is crying. I didn't give in. I stayed inside myself and just rode. The section along the coast really was difficult. the wind was whipping up something fierce but I got lucky and jumped on the back of a fast train. As I rolled up to the back of the 'burb, I noticed that I had finished the first 50 in a faster than expected time - a good omen. Mom hooked me up with some Gatorade, some food, and a lot of encouragement. My sister called while I was there as well, giving us the scoop on Pops. He was ten miles back with the wind to deal with - not going to be fun for him. I dumped all the extra clothing and continued on. Next thing I know, I am crossing the 101 where I bonked last year and got dropped by JD. I felt better this year at this point but was starting to suffer. Maybe it was the pain of knowing the worst of the course was yet to come.

I made it nicely to the rest stop at mile 70. It took me a minute to notice that I had sat in some ants but luckily, I didn't any in my pants or sustain a bite. A guy asks me, " do you feel like you look, like after riding 70 miles?" I responded, "yeah, like 70 miles in March!" I was suffering a bit but not the usual emotion pain I experience on long rides. The suffering was all in the legs - cardio was good but legs need some work. After riding the next 12 miles, knowing the big climbs were coming, I pulled over at a nice fence with some shade and took a break for about 5 minutes to recoup and regroup. This paid dividends as I got up the first hill nicely, rolled down the backside at 30+ MPH, up the next climb, rolled down the backside at almost 50 MPH (the GPS said it was 48.2), up the last climb, and into the finish line. I hit the line at just a hair over 6 hours on the bike - 21 minutes better than last year. The overall time was almost an hour better. I worked my plan and it paid dividends - ride to 50, refuel and then bring it home. Although I didn't ride the second 50 straight through, I did what worked.

Keys to success: nothing can replace time on the bike. The work I did leading up to the ride was invaluable. Learning for last year, knowing the course, great support, eating right - no gels this year, only bananas and bagels, and a supportive family and loving wife. I appreciate all C does for me, even rolling out the red carpet for me.

Final note: I missed riding with JD. It is always good to look up, back, or to the side and see a familiar face. I spilled some Gatorade on the asphalt for you at mile 70 and thought of last year, when I rode by the rest stop at 90 where I finally caught up with you. STP - here we come.