SHORT VERSION:
What was supposed to be a 30 mile easy ride to and from Buffalo High School in Buffalo, Minnesota turned into a 15 mile sprint and rush to return home to move my furniture from my apartment to my new home! Planning is NOT something I did for this day!
LONG VERSION:
I just knew today was going to go as planned ;-) I had prepared carefully for the event, getting my moving van set up on the same day as this ride, but late enough so I could finish the event and pick up the van on the way home. I had loaded up the car the previous night, laid out my clothing requirements, and gone to bed, both anxious and excited that I would be moving out of my miserable apartment and into a new home in less than 24 hours, and I was also going to do it AFTER riding 30 miles!
Daybreak, and I've already been up for some time, casting a careful eye at the sky and wondering whether it'll rain or not, something like last year's ride....I get into the car by 5:30 (a one-hour car ride awaits) and zip along to my destination. There'd better not be anyone in my way, 'cause I'm on a mission to race this race and fly home again! Traffic is light (what'd you expect on a Sunday morning at 5:30?) and I arrive at about 6:30 on the dot. So far, so good....
I quickly ride my bike to the school, unclip, and clop into the gym for the presentation on safety (just like last year....). This time, I realize that the speaker is a bit tired, and he rambles on a bit....Then a perky female speaker jumps to the mic, and away we go! (Not so bad....we got the short and quick version this time!)....Allright! Move 'em out! Let's go!....
Only 6:45 or so, and there are already lots of riders on the course (and I can bet they didn't follow the 6:30 start time rules :-p) I mount, ride off into the "sunrise", and immediately make a wrong turn onto the 62 mile course....I don't know it yet....but soon will!
After a few turns and miles, I get the nagging feeling that I'm not on the right track. I have done this course before, and it just doesn't feel right! I glance at the map at every intersection, and soon I realize that I'm MILES off course! There goes my plan....and all because I must have missed a sign somewhere....But what can I do? I can't take forever completing the 62 mile course and then miss out on my moving van! So, I do the next best thing....I cut the course!
Not exactly the "best" thing to do, but I can't risk missing the van and paying for another one and not moving my stuff out on time. I consult the map. I consult it again. And yet a third time. Where can I go? Is this road on the map? How to get to the high school? I ponder....and eventually find a solution :-) I turn at an intersection where there are no county personnel, and immediately find I'm on a solo ride, just like a training ride....it's great! I cruise along, and eventually get back to some roads I recognize from last year. I sprint (relatively speaking...) for the school. I clop inside and grab my finisher's packet and t-shirt (claiming un-fixable mechanical problems) and zip over to my car (parked MUCH too far away!). I load up, zoom toward home, and that's all she wrote!
POST-RACE: Not one of my better efforts. I netted a 15.3 mile ride in about one hour, for a dismal speed and foretelling training note. This was to be my test for preparedness for IronHorse in Springfield, and I just wasn't up to it! I have dropped it from my schedule, and will concentrate on the USTS race in Madison as a mid-season goal. Here's to everyone that finished the IronMan Bike on that day, and hope you had a much better ride than I did!