May 18, 2009

The Agony and the Ecstasy

This past Saturday was definitely the most grueling ride I've ever experienced, and everything that could go wrong that day, did. We rode 80 miles in the Livermore Valley, in 90+ degree heat. Unless you're regularly training in hot weather, you will never be completely prepared for the toll high temperatures will take on your body and mind. The upside of the ride was that it was a relatively flat, fast route. Team Chaos finished the ride in about 6 1/2 hours. But let me rewind to the start of the day...

An Untimely Timeline

6:21am
Received a call from one of my SAG volunteers. She cancels due to a close
friend's medical emergency. It's bad for us, but no comparison with how bad it is for her.

6:35am
My ride picks me up. I lag, we get gas, we get our third passenger. We're running late. I
call Coach Doug to formulate a new gameplan for the cancelled SAG stop.

7:40am
Arrive in Livermore. Consult with Coach Doug and we find a new SAG volunteer.Doug
goes to buy food.

8:30am
Team Chaos rolls.


Mile 5
My first flat of the day.


Mile 20
Team Chaos riders not keeping single file. Speeding car passes us in opposite lane and
forces oncoming car into shoulder. Coach Scott is not happy.

Mile 25
Rachel stops for a bike adjustment. I stop with her and we are separated from
Team Chaos.

Mile 28
We find Iyer sitting under a tree. He has early signs of heat exhaustion.


Mile 34
David swerves to avoid a squirrel, crashes and cracks his carbon road bars. He SAGs
out.

Mile 40
Rachel needs a nature break. We separate from Team Chaos once again. Just me and
her for the next 20 miles.

(The heat is becoming oppressive)


Mile 50
Third SAG stop. We regroup with Team Chaos.


Mile 54
Stop in Sunol. My first feelings of nausea.


Mile 60
Begin Palomares climb. (The heat is now unbearable). I get my second flat, same tire.


Mile 62
I'm riding strong, albeit feeling like crap. I notice teammates sitting and laying
on the ground at various points along climb.

Mile 63
One of our Mentors gets heat stroke. He has stopped sweating and is disoriented.


Mile 68
SAG stop 4. I sit for a while. I'm woozy. I accidentally step on Meena's dog's tail.


Mile 73 Slow ascent up Dublin Grade. No one speaks. All are exhausted and ill.


Mile 74
I spot Iyer laying under a bush.


Mile 76
My tire is going flat again. Scott tops it off with Co2. 2 1/2 miles to go. I am at my
limit and start to dry heave a little.

Mile 77
One of my teammates, separated from Team Chaos, breaks down and sits on the curb one mile out from the finish,
crying. Anonymous Mormon family in a van with 10 kids picks her up and takes her to the end.

Mile 78
3:30pm
We're done! We sit on curb outside Chevron station. Mark buys us all water. It's all
any of us can manage to stomach.

4:30pm
Waiting for my carpool buddies to roll in...


5:30pm
We leave.


The Journey Home


Somewhere on 580 in Oakland, my bike almost falls off the bike rack. We pull into the shoulder on the fast lane side, and I'm terrified. You hear about people getting killed when they step out of their car on the freeway. Obviously, we survived it unscathed.


One of our passengers has a medical issue and urgently needs to go to the bathroom. We try to take the last Oakland exit, but the driver instead gets in the bus-only diamond lane. We are promptly pulled over and issued a ticket. We ask the officer if our friend can use the bathroom just on the other side of the freeway wall (by the Bay), but are yelled at and told to "go in the car."

That's not really an option, so we try to make it to Treasure Island. Traffic is at a standstill and it takes forever. It must be prom night because numerous stretch Hummers roll alongside us, with hoochies and meathead boys bursting out of moonroofs. Our teammate is on a downward spiral and bangs on the doors and sobs while she considers her bathroom options (or lack thereof). We finally make it to treasure island and she hops out and goes on the side of the road, just as a limo of promgoers whizzes past. We later stop again in downtown for another bathroom break.

I finally arrive home at 8:10pm. Friends from Sacramento have been waiting there for me since 7:00, and I am sun-baked, salty, grease-covered and smelly.


All heat, no shade in Livermore

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