Dam2Dam – Yeah!
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Dam2Dam – Yeah!

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So last year about this time, I posted a blog entry titled “Dam2Dam – Damn” Last year was to have been my first attempt at riding a 50 mile bike ride. My f-ing quads locked up at mile 38 or so and I was forced to do the last 11 miles in the passenger seat of a Cadillac Escalade. So this year it was time to give it a go again. 40 pounds lighter and working out a LOT more this year must have been the trick cause I FINISHED!

Friday Teri and I set out for Wenatchee around 1PM. After arriving, we connected with Brandon and Chuck and the four of us headed out for dinner at Visconti’s Italian restaurant. On the way (Teri and I were walking) Teri stopped with her mouth hanging open. I looked at her and said “What is your problem?” she replied “I’ll give you about two seconds to figure it out.” I looked in the direction she was staring and after a few seconds, my eyes locked in on what she had seen. A Sonic drive in. We both love Sonic, but alas, there are none in Western Washington. We knew a limeade would be in our future. After a FANTASTIC dinner and some GREAT German Reisling, we headed back to the hotel. We crashed around 9PM.

At 5:45, the alarm went off and Teri decided to stay behind as she had come down with a horrible cold. So at about 6:15, Brandon, Chuck and I headed for Lincoln Rock State Park to check in and get our numbers. Finally at about 7:30 when Erick, Jerry and Steve hadn’t arrived yet, we decided to head out before the whole group of riders left at 8AM. I made it very clear to Brandon and Chuck that I would NOT be trying to keep up with them this year. I was just going to set a comfortable pace and see what I could do. At the first hill out of the park, they were gone. I turned up the iPod and kept cranking.

The first 10 miles or so are mild rolling hills where you just start to get into a groove and then you hit the first rest stop at about 10.2 miles. Brandon and Chuck were waiting for me there. They headed out while I rested for another 10 – 15 minutes and stretched, drank and ate. Then it was back on the bike for the next 15 miles to the turn around. Before we left, Brandon mentioned the “Four mile hill” and as I remembered it, it came up around mile 14. At mile 14, sure enough, I started climbing. I made it through the first hill without much difficulty, then the next and the next. Finally at mile 18 I started wondering if I had forgotten where the 4 mile hill started. At mile 20 when I started going downhill at over 30 MPH, I realized that I had already DONE the 4 mile hill! (Funny thing, climbing at around mile 15, Tim McGraw’s “How Bad Do You Want It” came on the iPod)

I pulled into the turn around, mile 25, around an hour and 40 minutes. I was feeling pretty good, but my right hip flexor was bugging me a bit. So I drank a lot, ate some more and stretched a lot. Brandon and Chuck left basically as soon as I got there. When I pulled out of the rest stop, I went really easy. I knew that the 4 mile hill had claimed me as a victim last year on the way back and I wasn’t about to let it ruin my mood this year. The climbing started around mile 30 and at mile 32, it gets pretty steep. So I stopped and drank some more and stretched some. Then back on the bike for more climbing.

I made it over the hill and during the climb, waved to Erick and Jerry coming down. At mile 38, I smiled as I went past the spot where I had bonked the year before at about 20MPH. Pulling into the final rest stop at mile 40, no sign of Brandon or Chuck. The guy manning the station said “One of your buddies wanted to wait for you” I said “Oh yeah? Which one? The short one?” and he said “No, the tall one, with the jersey like yours”. I replied “Oh? That’s surprising, he’s usually the one on a schedule” The guy laughed and said “Yeah, well he wanted to wait, but then ‘Mr. Purple Shoes’ came by talking smack and the tall one got on the bike and took out of here cranking to catch him”. I had to laugh cause that morning Brandon and I were giving Chuck crap about his purple and gold cycling shoes. After some drinking and a bit of eating, I was back on the bike for the remainder.

The final hill at mile 48 was killer, but there was no way I was going to let anything get between me and the finish line. I wanted to hit the 50 mile mark in under 3 hours 30 minutes and hit it at about 2 hours 29 minutes 19 seconds. I finished at 3 hours 31 minutes and 28 seconds. 50.56 miles. It was AWESOME to get that monkey off my back! Can’t wait to do it next year!

And the details:

Map of Dam2Dam 2008 50 Mile Location: Sunnyslope, Chelan, Washington, United States
Activity: Road Biking

Distance: 50.60 (mi)

Comments: 2008 Dam2Dam Bike Ride in support of the Mike Utley Foundation. Finished the 50 Miler this year!

Click the Map to the left to view details for this activity at MotionBased.com

No Comments
  • Dara | Oct 2, 2008 at 12:36 pm

    Wow, right on I don’t think I could have done it. Good Job.

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