MS 150

My weekend ride was awesome. About 3,000 cyclists started at UM's Bank United Center and rode 75 miles down to John Pennekamp Park in Key Largo on Saturday, where we stayed overnight and then rode the 75 miles back on Sunday morning for our grand total of 150 miles in two days. I rode with team Bacardi, thanks to Claudette aka "The Bacardi Lady", and there were about 50 people on the team. Our jerseys and shorts were awesome. Hopefully I'll get some pictures from Claudette in the near future and can post a few.
Although there were 50 of us on the team, people ride at different speeds and therefore you end up breaking up into groups of 5 or 6 with others that you feel comfortable riding at the same speed with. The ride on Saturday was good for the most part. We ended up leaving like an hour later than we thought we were going to leave, which led to me having to pee really bad for the first 25miles of the ride. When we stopped, I bolted for the port a potty (gross). I thought I was going to die around mile 40 before we stopped for lunch at mile 50 due to getting into a riding group going at an average speed of 20mph into a head wind (not so fun). I survived though, had lunch, a nice rest, and finished the last 25 with minimal issues. I say minimal though because I got my first flat tire around mile 65. I heard a pop, the sound of a deflating tire, and seconds later felt it. I pulled over to the side of the road and the group i was with came back to help me change it (thankfully because it would have been a struggle alone due to the fact I really did not know what I was doing).
When we got to John Pennekamp, it was really cool. Bacardi had a VIP tent set up for us with food and free booze (of course haha), and a couple massage therapists. I ate my face off, had a drink, and massage and felt ready to pedal back to miami (but that might have been the relaxed muscles due to the massage and alcohol talking). After hangin at the camp site for a while, we went back to the hotel we were staying at and I changed into my bathing suit, which I was looking rather sexy in with my fantastic spandex tan lines hahaha, and hung out on the beach and in the hot tub. It was really nice to relax and keep the muscles loose before dinner. Dinner was back at the park and consisted of ribs, chicken, pasta, and brownies. I was in bed with lights out by 10.
Sunday morning the alarm went off at 5am and we were out at the park by 6. I picked up my bike from bike parking where they keep the thousands of bikes overnight. you go in, find your bike, and on the way out they check to make sure your rider number that you wear on the back of your jersey mathches your number on your bike that way they know you aren't taking someone else's bike. I had to wait in line for about a half hour to get my tire pumped up since I had the flat the day before. When you fix a flat out on the road, instead of having to carry a pump with you which would really suck, you can buy these CO2 canisters that hold enough gas to shoot into the tire to fill it enough to get you through your ride. The thing is that it is a gas, and deflates, so my tire was deflated when I pick it up in the morning. By this point I stuffed down a pancake, filled my camelback with water, and hit up the bathroom before the ride started.
The ride back to Miami started off well. The first 25miles were a breeze. I was feeling really good and the wind was on our side for the most part. After that, I somehow managed to get myself into a group that was haulin ass. We started out having about ten Bacardi people riding together, then around mile 35 I realized we had dropped everyone else, and it was just me and four guys left. Well, we didn't go below 20mph pretty much the entire way back to Miami. I really wasn't sure I was going to be able to hang with them the entire trip back. But they pushed me to my limits and when we did get back I layed on the grass outside the Bank United Center in the shade under a palm tree for a good half hour and just kept saying "I think I'm going to throw up" over and over again. It was a good time haha. I couldn't even eat for a good couple hours after I finished the ride cause I was feeling sick. We left Key Largo at 7:45am and got to Miami at 12:15pm... 75 miles in 4 1/2 hours with two stops... we were haulin ass. And in case you forgot, I've been riding for 2months compared to these guys who have been riding for years. I'm too competetive to say no and join a slower group hahaha.
One of my professors, Dr. G, was having an end of the year bbq at his house, which I went to and again ate my face off cause by this time I was starving and at the point of passing out. It was good. I pretty much didn't move from his couch and watched hockey with Fonzi, Tim, Mike K., and Tory along with some short appearances from some other faves. All around it was an awesome weekend and has only made me that much more excited about my trip!
PS - my new butt cream I bought is call "Butt'r" HAHAHA ohhh man, it never gets old