Ever since I bought my bike, I wanted to know what other people did. I found out that people like to ride on long-distance cycle tours. This isn’t necessarily a race. The goal is just to finish. It turns out that there is a long-standing cycling tour in Solvang, CA, which is very close to where I went to college.
I have to admit… I’m a little bit nervous… but … “Annuit cœptis”… the literal translation is “He favors our undertakings”
The total route is 62 miles with 3,500 feet of climbing. I added 3 miles because I biked to/from my hotel.
I crossed over the 101 Highway to go to dinner. They say you should “carbo-load” before a long ride. It’s a nutrition strategy to increase exercise performance. A typical program lasts one to six days before an athletic event or competition.
I’m also hydrating before the big race. The famous restaurant in town is Andersen’s Pea Soup.
The event starts and finishes in Buellton, just down the road from its namesake, Solvang, a quaint, Danish village. The tour goes through Solvang, Ballard, Santa Ynez and Happy Canyon. Passing Los Olivos, the route goes heads out to the vineyards, and Foxen Canyon, one of the main roads that make this area famous. Along the way are three full SAG stops (for edibles and drinks to keep fueled and hydrated).
1st SAG stop. A SAG stop is generally a ride stoppage at a pre-planned meeting location where someone has brought items to support riders. Such items might include food, replacement consumables like tubes and Co2 cartridges, and tools for mechanical adjustments.
The road surfaces in and around the Santa Ynez Valley can be, and often are, pretty lousy. There were deep cracks and bumps and potholes on Foxen Canyon and Ballard.
Half way through. I swapped batteries right after this. I had run out of battery before just riding around my neighborhood, and it isn’t good.
Cow crossing…. notice there is no fence between us.
Turn-around spot. Every mile from now on takes me closer to the finish.
One of the event coordinators offered to take my picture. I was so tired. That really isn’t a smile on my face, I was grimacing just to get through to the end.
This was a big deal for me. It was my first time to participate in an official event. I was able to generally keep up with the crowd. I was obviously beat-tired when I got done, but it was a special kind of feeling to push through a new personal limit.
