Ride for Kids Fund Raiser

So, yesterday was the BIG day. The day that I gave myself 2 weeks to prepare for. The day that I was oh so excited and nervous about. The day that I didn't know if my butt would survive. Yes, that is right, it was the day of the 30-mile bike ride. First, let me explain about the "race." All the advertisements and web pages stated that this was a race. So, Kim and I arrived thinking it was going to be a race. We got there and picked up our directions and packets. We took pictures. We visited. We got all our gear on. We set our timers and mileage trackers. All the while other riders were arriving and then just leaving on their bikes. So, finally, Kim went and asked the lady if the "race" was timed and if we had to wait to start. She said no. That is when we realized that our "race" truly wasn't a race, but a fund raiser. So the organization, Ride for Kids, is a non-profit whose goal is to raise money for specialized bikes for children with disabilities. Participating truly was for a good cause.

Anyway, we took off. Not even a quarter mile down the road, we realized that our preparation was more or less in vain. Hills!!!! Rigby doesn't have hills! Oh boy! Were we ever in for it! Well, we just kept on keeping on. Field after field and hill after hill. Finally about mile 12 or 13, the ride leveled out. At mile 14.5, was a restroom stop, and Kim and I both took the opportunity to rest our rears from the bike seats and chug some gels. I had a hammer gel and Kim a Gu. I have never used or taken any type of energy boost. It was a SHOCKER!!! The flavor was not the best and it was straight sugar. I didn't know if my system could take it. Anyway, I got her down, and after a 2 minute break-literally-we were back on the road once again. The next (roughly) 4 or 5 miles were mostly flat, but the wind was starting to pick up. Finally, the home stretch...the last 8 to 10 miles...all HILLS--again!!! AHHH!!!

We survived. We conquered. We completed the 31.1 ride in about 2 hours 18 minutes. We were shooting for about 2 hours, but we were not expecting over half it to be hills. We had a blast. We are so glad we participated. We had some great conversations. Below is a picture of us at our "starting line."