Mission Accomplished!!! June 3rd, 2007

Distance: 100.1 miles
Max speed: 36.3 mph
Average speed: 14.4 mph

Time on bike: 6:56:46

Total Training Distance: 1387.1 miles
Total Time on trainer: 10.0 hours

Links to pictures -

Skip - Tahoe 2007 Pics
Skip - Tahoe 2007 Slideshow
Clint - Tahoe 2007 Team Pics

Mission accomplished! We made it! Our team crossed the finish line after riding 100 miles in The Most Beautiful Bike Ride in America!

It was an amazing weekend. I was one of 24 cyclists representing the Central Florida Chapter. There were a total of 3000 cyclists for the ride with 2000 of them being Team in Training participants. It was amazing at the start to see the line of TNT green and purple extending as far forward and rearward as you could see.

On Saturday morning, Mark took the team up the climb to Inspiration Point. He reported it was as tough as Sugarloaf Mountain BUT twice as long. That got our attention. So off we went. The first 8 miles or so were nice and flat-a good range to warm up. Then we started climbing. We hit some rollers which weren't too bad. And then, all of a sudden, we hit the first long stretch which was a challenge, turned the corner and hit three successive switchbacks with some monster inclines. I have never had to stop on a hill, and I wasn't going to start now. But I made a mistake. I found myself pushing too hard and was out of breath. I couldn't catch my breath with the thin air at the altitude (6828 feet). At one point, I thought I might pass out. But, I remembered my training on Sugarloaf, slowed my pace down to let my breathing control my pedaling, and then used the places that flattened out some to catch my breath. I made it up but, for a while, I was sucking dust off the road, I was breathing so hard.

The team all made it up and we spent at least 30 minutes taking pics and just generally cutting up. What a fun team we have. The scenery from Inspiration Point is simply awesome. Anyway, the descent down was as fun as the climb up was challenging.

When I arrived back at the hotel, I took Melanie out for some lunch and then took her up to Inspiration Point to check out the scenery. She couldn't believe I had climbed up there on a bike. And, she couldn't believe the drop offs on each side of the road either.

The pasta party later Saturday night was very cool. As we walked to the ballroom, all the TNT staff and coaches lined up to cheer us. It was great. The MC for the event announced some of the all-star fund raisers. The top fundraiser brought in over $52k! And, the whole event raised $8.5 million for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! Awesome! We also listened to one of our fellow cyclists who was diagnosed with lymphoma and then lost his son to leukemia. There was not a dry eye in the house.

Saturday night, I slept well up until about 3:00 AM. Then I was too excited to go back to sleep. I checked the temperature at 5:00. It was 38 degrees. Knowing that it was supposed to get warm later in the day, I put on layers that I could peel off. Its a good thing I dressed warmly as it was cold up until about 10:00.

We assembled outside the hotel. Melissa, Liz, Jody, Denise and I formed our own group which I affectionately named the Pacemakers. I didn't need to finish fast. My only goal was to finish in a respectable time.

We headed out at a good pace--approximately 18 mph. We hit the climb to Inspiration Point with me pulling the group. This time I learned my lesson from Saturday and climbed nice and steady up the hill, letting my breathing control my pedaling. Even with the altitude, I had no trouble getting up.

The descent down from Inspiration Point was a blast. In two miles you descend about 450 feet in these nice winding turns. Its a lot of fun.

Anyway, after Inspiration Point, the next 50 miles or so are relatively flat with some rollers thrown in. Both Melissa and Denise developed flats along the way and Liz needed some chain lube as her bike was squeeching pretty bad. We managed to get all the mechanical difficulties resolved and headed into Kings Beach for lunch where we met Melanie and some of the other family members who cheered us in. We were at mile 70 and it wasn't too bad so far. But Spooner was ahead of us.

We regrouped after lunch and then headed off again. Melissa was in the lead, and for some reason was really hammering. There were several serious hills even before Spooner. I couldn't imagine what she was thinking as one of the two biggest climbs was still ahead of us. So I let her go. I settled back into a nice slow steady pace and chewed up the miles while conserving as much energy as I could.

At mile 81, I arrived at the bottom of Spooner and started climbing. Spooner isn't as steep as Sugarloaf or even the climb to Inspiration Point. But its a steady climb with difficult inclines in places. Its unrelenting and goes on for eight long miles. About half way up I passed Melissa who had to walk some. Then I passed Jody, who was also walking with Mark, who had come back to help her up. Mark ended up catching up to me and we rode the last half of the ascent to the top. It was nice to ride with him as we were able to talk some and it took my mind off the pain of continually pushing your legs to keep pedaling. Before I knew it we were at the top and taking a nice long break. Only ten more miles to go.

Melissa and I took off again and shot down the backside of Spooner. We decended 700 feet in four miles. It was the most fun part of the course as we were going fast, riding the sweeping curves, and we were chewing up miles fast. But we got to the bottom and still had three descent hills left. By then our legs were spent and it was just heart that kept our legs moving, propelling us up the hills.

At about 3 miles out, I could smell the finish line. I started hammering and lost Melissa. And, then as I turned the corner, the hotels of South Tahoe appeared. At this point, they looked like The Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz. Everyone around me cheered and we all slowed down to take the last bit of the ride talking and joking.

We crossed the finish line with hundreds of people cheering. It was without a doubt one of the best days of my life. My teammates who had already finished handed me an ice cold beer. It was the best tasting beer I had ever had. Melanie came up and gave me a hug and told me she was proud of me.

The team waited at the finish line for the last of our team. We cheered them in. We all made it.

I can not relate what a feeling it is to finish this endurance event. It meant so much to me on so many levels. I can't begin to relate how impressed I am with our coaches, Mark and Jay, without whom I could not have done this. Its funny. As I turn 48, I thought my athletic days were just about over. Thanks to them, I realize those days have just begun.

And, finally, I have to thank everyone who donated for allowing me to go to Tahoe and representing us all. We raised over $7500. But, more importantly, we participated in the event which raised $8.5 million dollars to help others cope with a terrible disease.

Thank you everyone. It was an amazing weekend. I'll never forget it.

(Stayed tuned... I am thinking of training for a half or full marathon in January!)