5am and 43 degrees

So what do these two pictures have in common? 5am? 43 degrees Farenheit

They were the time and temperature when we left for the Salt Lake Marathon Bike Tour!

This was my first official bike ride. It was 25 miles long. The first 6 miles were probably all downhill...of course, not having to pedal very much did little to warm me up. It was probably worst for my toes that felt like popsicles.

Here I am with my new jersey. No that is not helmet head...I just didn't realize until I took the picture that I hadn't brushed my hair yet...it was 4:30am in the morning!

The ride was great...nothing too difficult. Steven was very nice and stayed with me the whole time, eventhough he could have easily left me in the dust.

There was one little mishap...however, these were not my battle wounds, but Steven's. Note in the pictures that it is dark still. Well, Steven had on his sunglasses (it helps keep the wind and bugs out of your eyes) and he ended up trying to ride on a painted line in the middle of the street that wasn't really a painted line but a raised median. Actually, just before he did a flip and a roll, someone else did the same thing because it was really hard to see. Steven was bleeding pretty bad and now has a thumb nail barely hanging on. His back was also hurt, but luckily the bike was OK.

Taking care of his wounds slowed us up a bit and we literally ended up at the back of the race behind EVERYONE! Nevertheless...we finished up the ride with out problems. It felt like a metaphor for life...if you feel like you're at the back of the race, don't feel discouraged...it's easy to pass up all the stragglers! If you get ahead of the stragglers...don't think you're better than them, because at the next bend...they will pass you up! Don't judge a book by a cover...the large lady on the 1 speed may be able to ride faster than you on your 'specialized' eventhough you keep trying to pass her up. Some trials are blessings...the extremely cold weather completely numbed Steven's fingers so he didn't feel the pain until much later.Life is better with a partner, even if they sometimes slow you down.

At the end of the race I was starving. They had some bananas and yogurt and ice cream bars...yeah...let's just say I skipped the ice cream bars. (Even by the end of the race, my toes were still numb.) To get back to our car and the start of the race you could take trax (which had at least a half hour wait) or just ride 5 miles back up hill. Steven gave me the option and I chose....

5 miles uphill! It was harder than the whole race! Overall it was a fun, easy ride. I don't think I'm ready for any 100 milers yet, especially with any up hills, but I just might ride again...especially when it is just a little warmer!