dreadedmonkeygod . net

I had a big day, but I'm in much better shape tonight than I was after last week's ride in Solvang. D and I headed out to Upland, CA, to ride in the Tour de Foothills.

(Map: "Tour de Foothills 2007")

The first curveball hit us nearly as soon as we got there. We arrived at about 8am, planning to do the 100km "metric century" ride. The official start time for that was 7am, but we weren't concerned-- typically, riders start whenever they like, and the support staff stays on for most of the day to make sure everyone has water and munchies to keep them going.

But when checked in, they gave us route sheets for the shorter ride, just 50km. When we asked for the century ride sheets, the lady at the booth said, "Oh, that ride left more than an hour ago!"

Evidently, they take their start times pretty seriously in Upland. The metric century ride started at 7am, and the shorter ride started at 8:30, and that was it: the route sheets indicated in no uncertain terms that lunch was at 11am, and that there would be no sag service or support available after 1pm.

Not to be intimidated by either distance or finishing the ride unsupported (Oh God! Unsupported in Uploand! Tremble with fear!), we set out with the riders in the 50km group.

About 5 miles into the ride, the routes diverged, and that was the last time we saw anyone associated with the ride.

We soon realized that being an hour and a half behind the main group, the support crew might have picked up and gone by the time we reached the rest stops marked on the route sheet. Sure enough, the support tents at the first aid station were gone like Brigadoon. So we relaxed, refilled our water bottles from the tap in the park, and sat to munch on the food we'd brought with us.

And that's pretty much how the rest of the ride went. No support, no other riders, and lots of roads all to ourselves. It was a fantastic day in the saddle.

After rolling over the finish line in an empty parking lot, we grabbed a quick meal, and headed home, exhausted and grinning at how good we felt after such a long ride. Both of us made sure to get good food and good sleep for the last couple of days, and it showed. I'm beat, but nowhere near the total exhaustion of last Saturday, and D also said that she felt much better.

So, we're having a great time, and getting better and better at this as we go. She says there's a century ride in Palm Springs early next year, and that sounds fun. Maybe mix it with a weekend trip or something. Dunno. For now, my legs and my budget are done with this kind of ride for a while.

I've posted all my photos here (and they've been geotagged, but my resizing code has done something new and terrible to them, and they're all pixelated. So, if you want good quality images, check them out on Flickr.

Oh, and when I got home on Saturday after the ride, I demolished half a pizza in about 10 minutes: