Why not, I thought. Why not sign up for a 200 mile bike ride when my longest ride was 52 miles of the flat Katy Trail. On most of my rides, I was tired or my neck hurt or something else was bothering me. But peer pressure is a powerful thing. It doesn't take much pressuring of my peers in fact to get me to do something; especially if it's something I sort of wanted to do anyways. So I signed up for my first brevet. I wasn't able to do the 200k, so I started with the 300k that had an extra 15 miles tacked on for a total of 200 miles. Why not start big? I'm really surprised I even finished the darn thing. Not because of how I rode, but because of how I almost didn't even get myself there on time. Friday night I decided to drive home since the start was closer. But first I had to pack. And get my bike ready. And my clothes ready. What was the weather giong to be like? Should I bring two batteries for my light? My helmet light as well? I don't have that fixed yet. Oh yeah, I need to get my new wheels, put on my new tires and replace a pulley. Basically, I ran out of time. It probably didn't help I spent an hour at Klunk's drinking a beer and talking shop with the guys. (The rule is, you're never to say no to a drink when others are providing it. I selectively follow rules and this is one of them.) When I finally got home, I scurried around packing clothes, bike things, food and things I didn't even need. To my surprise, I think I packed everything I thought up. I did however, give up on the idea of all the bike changes. My wheels weren't done yet so I just swapped tires (like how easy I made that sound - in reality it took close to an hour because I couldn't get the tires one without some help and that, quite frankly, pissed me off; I was making all sorts of angry noises and steam probably poured out my ears) and opted to leave the pulley alone for fear I'd never get the blasted thing back together. The bike did get a wetting down and some dirt scrubbed off. That was pretty impressive for me. The bike weighed a ton when I was done packing my handlebar bag and saddle bag full of things I *might* need. I love my bike rack, but don't trust it to keep important things like lights, computers and gear on the bike when I drive super fast down the interstate, so I shoved the bike in the hatch. (Did I mention I also love the fact my seats fold flat and my hatch opens up?) I quickly shove everything else in the car, get some snacks for the drive and call home saying I'm finally on my way. I drove fast home, but stopped to get gas and made a second stop to try to find the brevet's start. I failed. I can't seem to find anything on my first try. Like ever. You would think a Wal-Mart right off the interstate would be easy to find. As would a hotel. But no, I drove right past it I later learned. I gave up and got back on the road because it was dark, late and I was hungry. Another thing I love: Pizza Hut pizza waiting for me when I get home. My parents rock. I inhaled my pizza, talked to my mom and dad and then put myself to bed...at 10:30pm. (Thanks parents for the toothbrush, too!) My alarm was set for 4:02am. Because I'm me, I also asked my mom to set hers for 4:30am. Come on, how many of you have set a new alarm and set it wrong? I do it all the time with my cell and as much as I wanted to have an excuse to miss the brevet, I didn't want to have to use such a lame excuse. Morning comes way too fast. I eat pizza for breakfast (yes, this is something I love, too). And then I eat more pizza. It takes me forever and I'm not even talking to anyone! My mom gets up. I'm still not out the door yet and I really needed to leave at 4:30am. Finally, at 4:45ish, I'm in the car and on my way. Too bad the brevet starts at 6:00am, it takes 45 mins to get there and I have no idea where I am going or what to expect for registration. And I'm nervous. Which means I'll have to go to the bathroom like a million times. I put that all out of my mind and just drive. I also have a plan: to stop at the QT and get directions. Yeah, left, then left, then left. Any closer and it would have bit me. When I arrive, I panic my car door won't open. Luckily it was just Cink, pressing his body against my car door. He did a good job making me panic. The way my morning was going, it wouldn't have surprised me if my car door suddenly got stuck. I register and got the feeling the organizator wasn't sure I was going to finish. He might not have felt that way, but I couldn't tell for sure and needed to go to the bathroom to sew my pants. So I quickly left. Yes, my shorts had a dime-size slit in the rear seam near the tag. Not a big deal until you consider two things: 1) the hole could get bigger and 2) I could very well get very, very sunburned throughout the day in that one spot. So my mom (again, she rocks) sent me on my way with thread, a needle and some scissors. Back at the QT (I drove around the building lost again) I sat in the bathroom fixing my pants while everyone around me kept flushing and leaving. I quickly fill my water bottles and then hop in the car to jet back to the hotel. I pull the bike out and realize I forgot my reflective vest. Seriously? Luckily Clink has an extra and now I owe him big time. In fact, I wore the silly thing all day to just not have to worry about it anymore. I also love myself a lot and was super duper glad I had packed everything in my handlebar bag. The things in my overnight bag were packed just were I remembered them so I was able to get ready in about, oh, five minutes. Not a rush or anything. I was just so glad I had decked my bike out the night before, too, because there would have been no way I would have gotten my lights on my bike in a timely fashion. Finally, we were off. Yes, finally. Basically, the day went in such that every 15-30 miles or 1-2 hours we got off the bikes, fueled up, got cards signed or I stopped to pee. So the 200 miles was broken up really well. It made the day bearable for sure. I'm going to skip most of the ride, at least for now. There are some parts worth mentioning, but each day that passes I forget more and more of the ride; this is probably a good thing so I do another, but also indicates I probably blocked it out because it was hard and I didn't want to remember it. Anyways, the highlights afterwards: no saddle sores. No butt butter. I could still sit down afterwards, thought it was hard to turn to wipe my butt by the end of the day. I didn't crash, I didn't lock my keys in my car (I couldn't remember and tried to block that out for the whole 18 hours). I also didn't fall asleep. After some GI distress probably due to dehydration early on, I think I stayed hydrated the rest of the day (ok, it was obvious I was when I peed 3 times in 20 mintes and then almost peed my pants an hour alter) thanks to 2 x 32 ounce fountain soft drinks. (And yay for the caffeine!) The thing I knew would happen did: I used stick sunscreen. Being in a hurry in the morning, I forgot to put the spray-on sunscreen in my bike bag so I only had the stick stuff. I have a poor history with actually covering all my body when my sunscreen comes in a little tube. I tried to rub it in this time and did better than before. But yes, I still ended up with some stripes on my legs. In my defense, I would have been WWAAAYYY worse; I left my arm warmers on all day to protect my arms. At the halfway point, near my current town, we saw some friends. A little odd and disheartening, considering we were only half way done, close to home and would finish far from home. But, by golly, I did the whole blasted thing. Night riding was a little eery, what with not being able to see the dogs and having cars come super close to us a few times. I also met some new people. The best people were the ones I saw at QT afterwards (no, I can't get enough of that place). This couple were on the recumbant tandem (yes, they do exist) and I saw the husband but didn't recognize him at first. I just thought some very nice gentleman who knew about the event was talking to me. It wasn't until he asked me when I finished that I began to realize I did know him. Although my brain wasn't fully functional, I was able to make some converstation and ask when he finished. He said *we* finished 55 minutes ago it began to sink in. He also went over to his wife and told her I finished while pointing me out (I wasn't hard to miss, what with my bright orange windbreaker and cycling tights still being on). I was on my way and kept going, but as soon as I got in the car, my head began to unfog and I considered going in there to have a normal converstation. But as much as I like talking and being nice, I decided to head home. Besides, my mom, who obviously loves me dearly, was awake waiting for me. I popped in some gum to ensure I kept my mouth busy (which is somehow correlated to my ability to stay awake and some what focused). Forty-five minutes later, I clumsily backed into the driveway. My mom and I talked a little bit and then I decided a shower was in order. Man was it nice. After I got ready for bed all I could think was: my first brevet was done and it wasn't all that bad. Oh, and next time I will be packing a toothbrush and toothpaste for the ride. | 
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