As most of you are aware I was a rookie cyclist this year. It made for a season of many first for myself. From never having done a group ride to an excursion with over 1000 other crazies over the Niagara escarpment. For myself getting to the Centurion was an achievement that I am very proud of. I owe a lot of thanks to my fellow Sunday riders who encouraged and supported me through my many challenges of bad knees to slow and steady hill climbs and my nemesis the dreaded wind. I hate the wind!!!
The Centurion day started out with my first flat tire of the season and I hadn't even got my bike out of the condo yet. It just added to my pre ride nerves. Getting in to the corral and seeing the sea of others all waiting to start was an
amazing sight. We started out and filled the road shoulder to shoulder as far as the eye could see. The first climb was my biggest fear. Could I do it? A tire rub with my fellow Kate's Kause team mate Christine on the steep uphill ride was my only race incident. No excitement like Ken's chain explosion.
This was my longest ride of the season and riding a good part of the course with my fellow team members made for a leisurely day for the most part. That all changed as I entered the last third of the ride as the fatigue started to set in and everything from the waist down was gone. That's not true - but I knew that if I stopped I was done for. Also, I was determined not to be beaten across the finish by the elderly rider that kept appearing ahead of me out of nowhere. The last downhill was a rush and I was determined to finish hard but with the 5k sign in my sights the legs said it was time for a relaxed finish. But finish I did with my family waiting at the line for support. Thanks to them and all the others that helped me achieve my goal be it a bit short of my personal time that I had set for myself. But 10 minutes is close.
The Kate's Kause cycling team experience was a great. Meeting other fellow cyclists, the camaraderie over a relaxing coffee after our Sunday training rides and being able to raise money for a very worthy Kause made all the aches and pains worthwhile.
Thank you for allowing me to share it with all of you.
Kirk
The Centurion day started out with my first flat tire of the season and I hadn't even got my bike out of the condo yet. It just added to my pre ride nerves. Getting in to the corral and seeing the sea of others all waiting to start was an
amazing sight. We started out and filled the road shoulder to shoulder as far as the eye could see. The first climb was my biggest fear. Could I do it? A tire rub with my fellow Kate's Kause team mate Christine on the steep uphill ride was my only race incident. No excitement like Ken's chain explosion.
This was my longest ride of the season and riding a good part of the course with my fellow team members made for a leisurely day for the most part. That all changed as I entered the last third of the ride as the fatigue started to set in and everything from the waist down was gone. That's not true - but I knew that if I stopped I was done for. Also, I was determined not to be beaten across the finish by the elderly rider that kept appearing ahead of me out of nowhere. The last downhill was a rush and I was determined to finish hard but with the 5k sign in my sights the legs said it was time for a relaxed finish. But finish I did with my family waiting at the line for support. Thanks to them and all the others that helped me achieve my goal be it a bit short of my personal time that I had set for myself. But 10 minutes is close.
The Kate's Kause cycling team experience was a great. Meeting other fellow cyclists, the camaraderie over a relaxing coffee after our Sunday training rides and being able to raise money for a very worthy Kause made all the aches and pains worthwhile.
Thank you for allowing me to share it with all of you.
Kirk