Viva Bike Vegas! (10/9/2010 Sat)

Friday is the drive down... Diva in tow... Off to Golden Nugget I go... Pumping new Les Mills tunes through my speakers: BodyPump, BodyCombat, BodyJam, BodyStep, BodyAttack, BodyFlow (then repeat - it is a long drive!). My Viva Bike Vegas team? Andy, Alex, Tiffany, and me. It's gonna be a great day :)

 The Viva Bike Vegas is a sold out ride benefitting the After-School All Stars Las Vegas and Nevada Cancer Institute. Participants can choose to ride 23, 50, or 115miles. The 115milers get a chance to ride over the newly constructed Hoover Dam Bridge Bypass... a once in a lifetime chance to ride over the bypass! The route takes us from Downtown Las Vegas, along Lake Mead, next to Hoover Dam, into the heart of Boulder City, across Henderson, into Southern Highlands, along side Mountains Edge, around Blue Diamond, and across Las Vegas as you return back Downtown.


Saturday is THE ride... Mass Start at 6:30am. The air is cool so we know it's gonna be a warm day. It was awesome to have police guiding us through intersection after intersection as we rode through town... now, why can't I always have that kind of treatment? haha!  Just as we came out of town, it opened up into gorgeousness! It's breathtaking, special, and amazing... this is why I ride.... 

1st rest stop.... MOB scene!! Ok, I'm so not stopping. Five portables for hundreds of riders? Right. However, coffee runneth through me... Luckily, I ran into a lady who is a Las Vegas local and we rode off to a little public restroom within the park itself. A very interesting way to meet people, but that's just how it is  :) We chatted and rode past Lake Mead and then I took off... 

Lake Mead on the horizon

Next special attraction, Hoover Dam bridge bypass.


So far the ride has been amazing... those crazy hills in California provided me with some awesome training as I passed people on the hills who weren't really used to steeper climbs for a long duration. I had guys ride with me saying they needed someone to pace them... and then they'd drop off. OK, I'm feeling VERY strong.


There is a rest stop right before the entrance to the bridge bypass and I meet up with Alex and Andy. It's a great ride to the bridge, but the walls are so high, I can't see anything... a bit anticlimactic. The ride deadends and there are a ton of us taking pictures and looking over the wall before heading back out. I had to stand on my tip-toes to see over the wall. Thank goodness for tall Andy. He took my pictures for me so I didn't have a big ol' rail smack dab in the middle of my supposed beautiful view of Hoover Dam. 

Hoover Dam from the Hoover Dam bridge bypass... over a tall wall

Time to go back. We go back over the bridge and continue a very scenic ride. It's pretty hot at this point and there are cyclists on the side of the road overheating. I asked a few of them if they needed anything but they just needed to rest so I moved on. We rode through a lot of residential areas, a park, and then had lunch. The hard part of the ride started when we got to Southern Highlands and then to Mountains Edge. Headwind is horrible. Couple that with a mild 2% grade that goes on for miles. My legs were so tired! My injury, an old nagging injury from way back when that acts up if I ride more than 60miles in my left hip/lower back, decided to rear its ugly face and I had to stretch for a little bit. Hopped back onto my bike, and rode into Red Rock Canyon. 

Pretty! It was nice to see a little more color after riding through green speckled beige for miles on end. The ride continued for another 10miles through headwind and then back into Las Vegas... To the finish line... where Outback Steakhouse catered food awaited us. Andy finished a little earlier and I waited for Alex finish his first Century ride. 115miles, 5710' total ascent. We did it!!!!  

Alex's first Century. Congrats, Alex!!!

If you'd like to see more Viva Bike Vegas 2010 photos, visit my Facebook Album!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2097637&id=1379574757&l=6f48321adc

2010 Tahoe Sierra Century

Climbing Tahoe Donner

I signed up for the September 25, 2010 Tahoe Sierra Century because I've always wanted to ride in Tahoe. If you've never been there or ridden (or hiked) in Tahoe, you've gotta go! It's amazing... the beauty, the fresh air, the nice and relaxed people, and the view from every mountain... just can't get enough. 


Just to acclimate a little for the ride on Saturday the 25th, I borrowed my client's condo in Squaw and drove up on Wednesday. The air is definitely thinner.... climbing the stairs within the condo just to put my bags down? I felt like I needed an oxygen mask and possibly even a nap. Thursday I did a 30mile cycling sightseeing and on Friday I did a 6 mile hike along Tahoe Rim Trail then met up with some other cycling friends for a little 15 mile ride. Ok, that was a little much... Despite the delicious pasta carbo load at Pizza & Pasta in Squaw Valley Village, I did pay for all that fun activity during the 100 mile... ok, 98.28 miles (according to my handy Garmin Edge) Century ride.... ouch....

The Tahoe Sierra Century is a local Tahoe fund-raiser with all proceeds benefiting the Music Programs at North Tahoe Middle and High Schools. 

Morning temperature: 40degrees F.... Cold! The minute I put my cycling glasses on my face, it shattered.... RIP sunglasses... you did good.... Luckily for me, the condo was only 2 miles from the Start/Finish point at Squaw Village so I pedaled back to my car and rode in style with "normal" sunglasses. Starting at Squaw Village, we rode along the Truckee River down to Tahoe City, fingers freezing, earlobes burning, toes numbing.  First rest stop, Kings Beach. We start to strip down a little because there's a hill to face. Hill = Heat and the temperatures were expected to climb into the 80's. 


Brockway Summit wasn't so bad. Roads were freshly paved and gorgeous. Mostly 5-6% incline did go on forever. The downhill was quite exhilarating, especially since there were no cars at that time of my descent. My top speed was 44.86 mph - probably could've gone faster if a little prairie dog-squirrel type rodent didn't play chicken with me until it decided to make a u-turn after getting to about 300 yards from me. 


After a second rest stop at Donner Camp Picnic Area, the torture begins. Ski Slope Way. I tried not to pay attention to how much more hill was left of the 8 mile strenuous climb, but I did look frequently at my computer at the hill grade. 9%, 10%, 9%, 10%, 10%, 10%... seriously?! It was getting hot and people were peeling off layers, sweat dripping, heavily breathing, quads burning, cadence slowing... 2000' of elevation gain. However, whatever goes up, must come down.... Down to Donner Lake Rest Stop #3.  Did you know that V8 vegetable juice is the best thing EVER?! Oh, it was the star of the rest stop. 


Hwy 40 was closed to motorists for a few hours and that was nice!!! The climbing on the other hand, painful, again. The vista point made up for it. My pic at the top of this blog post? That's the view... can't beat it. The incline grade wasn't horrible... between 5-7% grade but when it goes on forever, that's when you do a little self talk motivation. I even spoke to my Diva, my bicycle. No, not delirious. You gotta do what you gotta do to get through the urge to quit. I blame myself for having too much fun the days prior. :) Went over Donner Summit and then into Cisco Grove for lunch. Food tastes so good at mile 67. 


With a full-ish belly, time to take bambi legs back up to Donner Summit for the final rest stop. Oranges! YUM! Fig newtons... delicious! There could've been liver and it probably would've tasted fabulous, or not. Well, it's downhill back to Donner Lake and then back to Squaw Village. YES! Done with 98.28 miles, 7146' total elevation, of beautiful Tahoe Sierra mountains with sore sits bones, exhausted quads, and PB&J overload. 


Participants were greeted with Jazz music from a local high school and food and beer. Did I mention beer? It came with the meal.... I don't drink beer and it was insanely delicious! I think it was Sierra Nevada... how appropriate!  The hardest part of the day? Getting back on the saddle again to ride back to the condo.... yep, my butt was sore. Well worth it.