The Wed-Blog

Tony's Tour de Cure Recap
(emailed out to close friends on Monday...)

Well, I made it back to Oak Ridge on Sunday, but things didn't go entirely as planned.

Day One...

Saturday I stayed with my team until the first major climb, at which point myself and another teammate dropped off and paired up. We re-grouped at the first rest stop and I fell off the pace line maybe a mile later. I ended up lone-wolfing it for 8 miles and following a team who wandered off course, so I added 2 miles to my route and took a side trip through scenic downtown Norris. All of the streets in Norris are named "Hill Top" and "Mountain View." Those names are bad omens when you're already tired of climbing and you're all alone.

At Norris Dam I regrouped with a teammate and we started the toughest climb of the day. He was struggling, so I took it slow in my lowest gear, instructed him to stay on my wheel and climbed without stopping for about 20-25 minutes. I talked him through the whole climb and he was answering me when I asked questions. When I finally turned all the way around to look behind me I realized it was someone else! Apparently I dropped my teammate at the start of the climb and this guy hopped on my wheel. The downhill there was epic and well needed - I hit 40mph and could've gone faster had I tucked and stayed off the brakes.

At the lunch break I buddied up with a fellow rookie rider, Taryn, who was seperated from her team as well. We wandered off course because (again) because I wasn't paying attention, but we were able to keep riding on the main highway until we met back up with the official route. Againâ€¦ we added a few miles to our ride and were a little worried being out there alone.

After about 40 miles of rolling hills, slow and steady elevation gain, a run-in with a shirtless redneck and another missed turn, she and I crossed the finish in Harrogate, TN at 8 hours and 1 minute. I couldn't have finished alone, so I am glad I had a buddy to keep me going towards the end. My total time on the bike was 5 hours and 59 minutes with an average speed just under 13MPH. Obviously I took a lot of breaks and even laid down at one rest stop to stretch for what seemed like an hour. My team captain managed room upgrades at the LMU campus, so we had really nice suites and private baths. Waaaaay better than a standard shared dorm room. At the Tour dinner that night I was very popularâ€¦ more on that later.

Day Two...

Sunday morning I was in so much pain I was ready to tap out, but my team rallied behind me and kept me in it. I ended up taking a SAG truck to the top of a 10 mile climb to try and save my legs and helped setup the rest stop. My team was the first to arrive at stop #1, but the last to leave due to mechanical difficulties. We lost nearly 45 minutes while the mechanic worked on one of our bikes. After that it was pretty smooth sailing. The team slowed up for me on climbs and we lined up and kept a very good pace until a downright painful climb at Big Ridge State Park. I cheated and took a SAG truck to the top. After lunch we regrouped and kept a mean pace line until the last rest stop. We were all lined up and passing lone cyclists left and right through the rolling countryside, it was pretty cool.

At the last rest stop a thunderstorm hit - a cold, hard rain kicked in, at which point my team split up into two groups: people who were really fast and me. My team captain stayed back with me and we busted our humps to blow through the last 10 miles in the rain. With about 7 miles to go I was in pain, I bonkedâ€¦ the rainâ€¦ the endless hillsâ€¦ I don't know what it was, but I started crying and got really upset. A SAG truck stopped for me, but I refused a ride and got back on the bike. My team captain was waiting at the top and yelling and waving to me, which helped. After that I incident I felt great, considering, and we only had one more big hill to go. I was powering up that hill, riding out of the saddle and giving it all I could when I broke my chain. We stopped, went back and found the chain and worked on it for a few minutes - I had the tools to fix it, but I was cold and wet and really angry and being passed by everyone. I was also missing a few links. The SAG van pulled up and they did not have a mechanic on board and we chose for me to SAG rather than lose another 10 minutes working on the bike. Mike, my team captain, went on without me.

Riding the van back with only 5 miles left was entirely disappointing. We passed all of my team mates, we're driving through my childhood neighborhoods, it stops raining and the sun comes out and everything is drying up. I was imploring for someone in the van to lend me their bike for the last few miles so I could rejoin and finish with my team, but nobody stepped upto the plate. The director of the ride was in the van and she was assuring them I wouldn't steal their bike. They were all skinny short people who were afraid I would total their bikes. My team regrouped with a mile to go and all finished together - it looked really awesome, I refused to cross the finish line on foot so I just cheered them on from the sidelines and walked around the finish to get my bags, a massage and a bite to eat.

So that's itâ€¦ that's how my Tour de Cure went down. To be honest, I wasn't pumped up about doing it again next year, but since I didn't finish even after skipping a few climbs on the SAG, I am compelled to do it again. Right now it is all I am thinking about - that and the massage Molly booked for me tonight. I still rode about 135 miles, which is about 110 miles longer than I've ever riden in a weekend. I managed to raise my average speed for the entire weekend by a mile an hour on day two, so I probably averaged about 15 yesterday. I have no idea what my time was since I rode the SAG, but the team finished in about 6 hours total.

And I'm now famous, or infamous, on the tour. The person who raises the most in the region wins a shiny new road bike. Well, that person is me, for now. I won't know if I win until June 24th, the last day for fundraising, but thus far the director of the race assures me I have a "significant lead." She announced it at the race dinner and had me stand up for a short interview, so everyone in the ride knows who I am now. We are still raising money to try and stave off any last second runs on my fundraising lead. I'm very humbled by the generosity and comradery of my team and I feel fortunate to have ridden with such a great group of guys.

Right now I'm in painâ€¦ I have no feeling in my hands, they keep spasming and my rear-end is literally blistered. But I feel great and I'm looking forward to next year, when I will be better trained, lighter and a heck of a lot faster. As crazy as it sounds, I think everyone should attempt something like this in their life. I really feel like I have grown from the experience.

Thanks for the support and apologies for such a long winded recap.

Cheers,
Tony

Relevant Links:
My Tour de Cure site (a tamer version than the original)
My Flickr Account A few TDC pics are posted
News Report on Patrick Gray ... member of Team Pilot. I'm also visible for half a second in the video.

I am still accepting donations through June 24th, so you haven't missed the chance to support me and the ADA.

I have re-enabled comments on a trial basis. If you see any comment SPAM please email me via the link on the right panel.

06.08.06 @ 01:34 PM EST [link]