Ms. Vicki's Century Ride

Everyone has heard the term good ole Joe. Today , good ole Joe and I set out to complete our second century this month. Joe told me to be at Willow Beach at 6 am, with wheels down. I arrived at 6:05 and was late , not wheels down! Joe had called and said that I may try and catch up with the 100 or so riders who descended out of the parking lot, but I never did see the pack, as I departed about 6:15, I had not ridden this century layout , which would take us to England, then to highway 79 , a 50 mile down and a turn around back . I immediately took the wrong turn out of the parking lot, and headed left, about a mile down, I realized I had an inclination, that I had gone the wrong way, reversed direction, and headed back down Col Maynard Road, by myself, and not sure , where I was heading , other than thinking , Gosh, I would have waited on Joe, if he had been late, why didn' t he wait on me? Feeling sorry for myself for the first three miles, I happened to look to my left on a side street, and there waiting on me was my good ole Joe. After apologizing , and feeling bad about doubting Joe's waiting, Joe was a welcome sight, and the journey began, Joe is one of my best friends, you can always determine who your best friend is , when you face a crisis situation, last year, my dad passed away, my dad at 88 had a valve surgery, and I spent 14 weeks of my life in a hospital. Dad was doing well following the surgery but contacted staff, and fought for his life. We eventually got to bring Dad home and he had 6 great months, and I was able to take dad fishing five times while in his wheel chair. Joe was there the day my dad had surgery, and later when dad's kidneys failed that Tuesday afternoon, Joe was there comforting and praying for our family, and Joe was there when Dad passed away, and Joe knew that I loved my dad so much. Back to the ride, good ole Joe and I took off , at an average of 16 miles per hour, when another group of riders from Russellville, late as well, came rolling by, and we hitched on to the mule train, and I even took my turn averaging 18 to 20 miles per hour. This would get us the first 30 miles , but I then fell out of the pack, Joe looked back , and then dropped back and we formed a new line for the next 5 miles till we reached a grocery store and check point at mile 35. At that point we filled our water bottles and packs with water and ice, and shoved off with the next wave, which was composed of some of the Russellville group, and a new group, we met up with, which took us to mile 46 , where I bonked, Joe and the group offered to go ahead and catch me on the turn around, but I told the group, go ahead , I was bound and determined to ride the 100 miles, if I did it by myself, which I have had to do, as I learn this sport, road riding is very different from mountain bike racing. I have trying to cross train, with using the road bike, to improve my ability to complete the marathon races on the mountain bike tours. As the other members left me at mile 46, Joe laughed and pulled me 4 miles back and to the turn, where a volunteer man and woman, had ice , pickles, and food, which I thank you so much. Joe told me that he thought I was not taking in enough food calories, so I chowed down at the stop, and surprisingly, was able to average about 17 miles from mile 50 to mile 78 , which put us back to England at 11:30 as the hot sun began to beat down on us. We stopped and the group rode on, We filled up with Gatorade , candy bars and ice, and decided to meet our fate for the last 22 miles, which would be hot asphalt and a wind blowing in our face. For the next 2.5 hours , which included a 20 minute break at the pecan grove at mile 90, we accepted the grind, and Joe pulled me thru the farm land on pea gravelled roads , we pulled back in the parking lot at 1:45 , it took us 2.5 hours to cover the final 22 miles, tough, but Joe helped me finish, so now Joe and I have completed two centuries in a month. Good ole Joe, could have left me at the start, left me numerous time during the day to fend for my self, his speed and cadence is far superior to my abilities, but Joe being the best friend that he is, helped me make it today.As a side note, Joe's wife Maryanne and her teammate Heather were training for the upcoming iron man in two weeks in Lake Placid, New York, they had completed a 112 mile ride, and had run 8 miles when Joe and I arrived back at the ball park, they probably had worked a nap in as well. Joe , thanks again for what you do for me. I hope everyone has a good ole Joe as their best friend.

Womble

Momentum is the word per Todd H. , if I am going to improve my ability to be competitive in the sport division for men 50 years of age and over. I am so slow , that Todd caught me as a sweeeper , and followed me out to the Fishing Village completing the first 12 miles of a 25 mile race. Sweepers ' job are to make sure that all riders have completed the course, so you can imagine how slow I am. Todd took a personal interest in my riding, and was very encouraging, on how I could ride more competitively, namely explode on the hill climbs and build speed in hitting the down hills, I tend to be timid , or too careful in my descents, it probably due to being a CPA, and the way I tend to think. Todd asked me 5 or more times, if I minded , his suggestions, coming from Todd, I was just happy to see someone interested in helping me ride to my ability. Thanks Todd! I plan on taking Todd up on his offer to ride and learn.

The Womble trails were in excellent shape, a big thankyou to the Ouachita Cycling Club, especially Ed, Scott, Todd, Sue, and Geremy and others which I may have forgot to mention, I was able to see some beautiful looks of the Ouachita River, in my travels which was about 25 miles, my average speed was slightly over 6 miles per hour, the race had been concluded , the prizes awarded, and tents were being taken down when I made it back to the finish line. At the finish line Clayton, Lee, Greg, and the rest of the Bell bike team waited on me , and gave me a big atta boy, and it very much appreciated. I do not like to be last in what I do, and I have finished last in every race this year, but I am not last in riding for my health and well being. If you sit behind a desk all week, being able to ride thru the Ouachita Mountains, is truly a gift from God. I plan on improving , by working with a trainer to build my core, and spending time in the saddle.

The next race is Eureka Springs, which is the toughest race of the year, in my opinion. I plan on training for this race by riding with Joe next Saturday, as we try to finish another unofficial 100 on the road bike.

Biking has become a way of life. My good friend Virgil, who started riding his road bike a year ago, is making life changing health choices. At our monthly luncheon , I asked Virgil how many pounds he had lost riding his bike , Virgil answered 6 waist sizes, impressive.

On the political side , if President Obama added a voucher to allow any baby boomer to purchase a bike, for $500 , in the upcoming health care bill proposal , the savings in health care costs for Medicare , and for employers who pay health care benefits for its employees, would be exponential, in controlling two major health costs , diabetes and obesity; riding your bike may be the solution, to solving our health care issues.