Ironman 2013

I had never given this ride much thought. It seemed like a waste to me. Why spend $50 to ride around on free, open roads and not even be racing?

With the long winter I needed some motivation to get out and force some miles. I haven't been feeling that great lately on the bike and I knew it was because my miles were low. I decided to enter since the ride was fully supported and that meant that I didn't have to carry a bunch of stuff with me.

I started out at Tom's house at 6:15 in the morning and we began our 12 mile ride over to the fairgrounds. We were all starting to think that it was a little far of a ride until we saw all the cars backed up. I couldn't believe how many people were there so early.

We got registered fairly quickly and met up with some MORC people. We rolled out at 7:35 on the Scandia loop and stayed together for the first 20 miles or so. At the first stop when everyone decided they were going to get food, go to the bathroom etc, I decided that I wasn't going to do that all day and took off. I rode by myself and stayed out of all the pace lines. It was interesting to watch the pace lines go past me, and then I would beat them up the climbs. If the grade changed up ever so slightly you could hear all the gears start shifting down.

I stopped before the Afton loop and filled up with water and drank about 1/4 cup of coffee. I figured that I would take my break at the Afton support tent since there would be a lot less people there.

The headwind going out to Afton was absurd. I've ridden in stronger winds out there, but for not as long. It was a fight to stay around 13-14 miles per hour. There were a lot less people on this loop, which was nice.

The second half of the loop had a lot less wind, but the hills picked up. I didn't mind that at all.

I got back to the fairgrounds for a brief second and then got on the Gateway loop and once again there was a bunch of wind. At this point I had had enough. It wasn't fun anymore and I just wanted to get off my bike. I jumped off the gateway in Mahtomedi and headed back to Tom's house. I stopped at the gas station and got a pack of skittles and some beef jerky to reward myself for a good ride.

Back at Tom's I relaxed on the porch and waited for everyone else to get back. There was a nice breeze and it was very relaxing. We ate some brats, drank some beers, and shared our stories.

While it was fun to always have someone in front to chase down, and it was a great training ride, I don't think that I will be back next year. I'll save my money for something else and do my own route.

Going to hang this on my office wall. haha