My first bike tour.

You may remember that back in the end of July my sister in law and I went for a 32 mile bike ride at the end of July.  We were doing a family Biggest Loser and she wasn't supposed to be running so we set a goal to ride from the family cabin to West Yellowstone but then changed it to a different location for our own safety.  It was great.  I really enjoyed it.  It had me wanting to do some bike races.

Well I have been trying to run and bike every week because I enjoy them both quite a bit.  I still hadn't ridden in any bike races or tours.  Friday I got this email from my friend who cycles a lot.  She told me about a race on Saturday (today) in the town next to ours.  She asked if I wanted to ride it with her.  It was more of a tour than a race.  Really laid back.  I said yes and that was that.

We chose to ride the 30 miler.  Last night my husband and bought some spare tubes, packed my camelbak and got things ready to go.  My alarm went off at 6 this morning.  Man I haven't had to get up that early in a long time.  My friend came to pick me up around 6:35.  We loaded my bike on her bike rack and headed to Claremore, Ok.  It isn't that far away.  We got there and entered the Dickens of a Ride road tour.  We left the finish line at 8 and went for a wonderful ride.

I was riding my husband's cross trainer.  It is what I have been riding for a while.  It has mountain bike tires on it.  So I felt a little out of place but I was there for me and to have fun with a friend.  It was a beautiful day.  The day started out a little cold but warmed up.  We rode around lakes, over bridges, and past landmarks that actually knew.

It was a good ride.  I started out strong and at mile 14 we stopped at a rest stop.  It was very much needed.  There were so many ups and downs.  I didn't know that there were so many hills in Oklahoma.  It was beautiful but every hill took more and more out of me.  The race turned out to be about 35 miles long making it the longest ride I have ever ridden.  About 8 miles from the the end my knees started to ache.  By the end my legs hurt quite a bit.  When we finished I just walked around, took some Ibuprofen and ate some food.  After about 20 minutes my leg were fine.  It was a great ride.

I'm a little tired still but other than that it has been a great day.  It has me wanting to train better and possibly get a road tires.

I'll keep you posted on my training.