2nd Annual Pedal for PAL Ride
On Sunday, April 19, my husband and I participated in the 2nd annual Pedal for PAL ride. The ride benefitted the Police Athletic League of Palm Beach County. We did the ride with members of our On Your Mark bike club.
Approximately 300 riders showed up for the ride, which could be done as a 16, 34, 62 or 100 mile option. We decided to do the metric century ride, 100K, which was supposed to be 62 miles but actually ended up being 64 miles.
The first half of the ride was great, fresh legs, felt great, had a tailwind so we were able to fly at speeds up to 23 MPH. Coming off Blue Heron bridge, I got up to 32.6 MPH. I probably could have gone faster, but there is quite a bit of debris and lots of traffic on the bridge, so I tapped my breaks a couple of times as I was descending. We didn't stop at any of the SAG stops until the half way point, at mile 32, at the South County Ball Park. All the SAG stops were well stocked with water, Gatorade, PB&J sandwiches, bananas, oranges and granola bars.
Nasty Headwind
Turning around at the half way point, we knew we were going to have a nasty headwind on the second half of the ride. The wind, which was gusting between 12 and 20 MPH, just slowed us right down. Dang if there wasn't a couple of spots where I was only going 12-14 MPH, but we still managed to average 17.2 MPH for the entire ride.
Coming back over Blue Heron and Skyline bridges, I think I was only doing around 9 MPH, couldn't freaking move, but walking wasn't an option. My husband forgot to put his water bottles on his bike, so I had to give him one of my bottles. I filled 4 water bottles with MotorTabs electrolyte tablets, and brought them to the ride. But somehow he managed to forget to grab his water bottles. Uh, do I have to do everything!?! So we ended up stopping at every SAG stop on the second half of the ride.
I was dying anyhow, so the SAG stops were greatly appreciated. I wish I had brought my rescue inhaler along with me, I have exercise induced asthma, I should have it with me at all times just in case. Oh well, I found my lungs before having to complete the ride, but they were screaming for more air.
Breakfast and Lunch for Riders
The Pedal for PAL ride began and ended at the Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach. We picked up our goody bags that morning, which included an official event t-shirt. The Vitamin Shoppe had a table setup which was full of free samples of gels, vitamin waters, protein waters, granola bars, and lots of other goodies.
There was another table setup with breakfast for the riders - orange juice, coffee, bagels, bananas and oranges. A much needed lunch, of sandwiches, salads, cookies, fruit, juice and soda was waiting for all the riders at the conclusion of the ride, inside the cafeteria at the Dreyfoos School.
I burned 3,800 calories during the ride, I spent the rest of the day eating, and trying to refuel my engine. Can you say Ben & Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch? We had a great time riding with our friends, despite the wind, and helping to raise money for a terrific cause.
Bike Diva's Sponsors I'd like to give a shout out to some of my sponsors. I used some of their gear during the 2009 PAL ride:
- MotorTabs - electrolyte tablets for my water bottles
- Action Wipes - baby wipes for adults, to clean up at end of ride
- Rudy Project - cycling helmet and sunglasses
- Vetta - cycling computer, which I've been letting my husband use ever since he misplaced his Garmin Edge 305.
- Sock Guy - socks
- Brooks - running shoes worn on the car ride to/from the PAL ride
Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Bike Diva
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